Beijing
Going to China requires a pre-arranged tourist visa, at least for Americans. (No showing up at the airport and getting that 90-day stamp.) Lucky for me, I happened to think of this before I bought my ticket. I was living in Japan at the time, which made things a bit more complicated. When I started doing research, I discovered that I needed to get a tourist visa from a Chinese Consulate, the closest being in either Osaka or Fukuoka (neither within easy distance of where I was) and they said it could take up to a month if I did it by mail but I had less than a month before spring break. A little worried, I found some forms online and called the Chinese Consulate. After one call with a long, hellish Press 1 if, Press 2 if message only in Chinese and Japanese (my Japanese was not THAT good), I finally got a hold of a person. They told me that they did not accept individual applications and that I would need to go through a travel agency. Wha...? (Note that this may have only been because I could not go to the Consulate in person - I know two other people who visited the Consulate a got a tourist visa to China fairly quickly.)
So, even though I would have rather done it on my own, I went through the JTB (Japan Travel Bureau), paid $100, gave them my passport and a copy of a special certificate that proves I'm a legally registered alien resident of Japan. Not long after, I returned to JTB, and got my passport back with a fresh new sticker in it. An official Chinese tourist visa!
Before I left, I spent some time learning pinyin (which is English lettering that goes with Chinese characters - but it only sort of sounds like it looks. For example, x sounds like "sh" and q sounds like "ch".) I made sure I knew how to count to 10 and say 'I don't understand' in Mandarin. I read my Lonely Planet like I do, which inspired me to also learn how to finger-count to 10, which is a great deal more specific in China than in the U.S.
When I looked at the weather in Beijing online the night before I left, it said mid-60s and SMOKE. I thought maybe it was a mistake but weather.com even had a little icon for it! Oh, dear.
Luckily, I was not visiting China completely solo. A friend from Colorado was studying and teaching English there and I met her at a hotel not too far from her place (easier to tell a taxi driver the name of a hotel) and stayed with her. The first night, she took me out to a great dinner (it was like shabu-shabu in a yin-yang pan!) and introduced me to the basics, including how to properly haggle and how to spot cheap taxis (which are almost all a dull red) based on antennae location. I also had to re-learn to jaywalk, to eat while walking, to put my hands in my pockets, to blow my nose in public, and to do other things I had not realized I stopped doing while living in Japan. It was liberating, except that jaywalking in Beijing is not something to be taken lightly. I was terrified the first few times. The traffic conditions here are the worst I have ever seen.
I expected more bikes on the streets, recalling the photos I've seen with thoroughfares full of people on bicycles, and although there are more than usual, cars are clearly the dominant form of transportation in Beijing. My impression from watching the traffic is that it is aggressive, but not violently aggressive. If there is room to move, and even if there is not, cars, bikes, and people will force their way through. Lanes and traffic lights are only vague guidelines and the concept of right-of-way is nonexistent. Honking is rampant, but I don't hear tires screeching often. It is kind of a cooperatively selfish way of driving, with terrifyingly close calls so regularly, they must not seem like close calls anymore to the locals. I saw one fender-bender while in China, though it seemed I should have seen a lot more and a lot worse.
After I ate the breakfast I had bought in the very international convenience store down the road from my friend's apartment (Japanese, Korean, American, and British brands, maybe more, were there though not a great selection) I headed out to the light rail and took it to the connecting central loop subway (for 5 Yuan total; 60 cents.) Oddly, I don't actually recall seeing the price listed anywhere; I just knew it because my friend told me ahead of time. From the train, I saw both new fancy high rises, old run-down high rises, and a number of one-story brick building blocks with dirt streets. The word slum came immediately to mind at seeing these. As I walked along, I noticed that I was stared at more persistently by more people. In Japan, it tends to be limited to older folk and young children and if people my age stare, they do so discreetly. Not so in Beijing. Also, hacking and spitting is a very common sound/sight, women and men alike. On one hand it's gross, but on the other hand, the pollution in the air can be so thick sometimes that you feel like you are constantly breathing car fumes, so I can SORT of understand why. I do wish they'd spit quieter, though, and off the sidewalk.
I hailed my first taxi outside the subway station which was luckily on a small side street. I had prepared and had written my destination on a little notepad. It was kind of hard to show the driver since he was in this metal cage around the driver's seat, but I managed, then I was off to the "Dirt Market" which I very nearly did not go to because of the name and because Lonely Planet said it was intimidatingly crowded. I'm glad I went! It was an awesome market, huge, well laid out, and with a great variety. And here, finally, were so many foreigners I did not feel so singled out. It was not intimidating at all and when I finally worked up the nerve to start haggling and buying, I had a great time. It is truly amazing how much communication can happen with facial expressions and a calculator. Cool stuff! I even bought a bag off this random guy selling them and, just to keep in practice, I got him down to 50 cents from 60 cents. Heh. My cheesy new bag said "Monkey Monkey Monkey" on it and lasted me the whole trip.
I found a restaurant down the street and had a cheap lunch, despite that I accidentally ordered two large dishes. I think she only let me do that because she was afraid the spicy tofu would be too spicy for me and so suggested chicken. I ordered by either looking at pictures or pointing to other guests' dishes since my kanji knowledge was only a little help where food was concerned. Odd thing: I ordered some water to go with my spicy tofu and it came hot. I did not learn until much later that getting your drinking water hot is a typical Chinese thing. It did not help cool off my tastebuds, however. I felt a little silly having two giant dishes in front of me when I was the only one dining (I wonder what the other patrons thought.) There was a lot leftover. After that, I hailed another taxi and headed toward the Lama Temple. (To my credit, I just took the taxi to the nearest subway station and rode from there, but taxis were so cheap (20 cents per km) so it was tempting to just take it all the way. One sign I've been in Japan too long: I nearly forgot to close the taxi door and the driver yelled at me. Oops. The Lama Temple is one of the big places to go in Beijing. It is a huge temple complex and, like many historical sites in Beijing, it is aligned north-south and is pleasantly symmetrical. The many statues of Buddha were nifty and I enjoyed the architecture a lot, especially the roof shape and details. I was really amazed by not only how many donations went in the various clear boxes (it looked like they had not emptied the box in several years) but how involved the devotions of visitors were. Many Chinese I saw knelt on the platform provided and kowtowed to the Buddha repeatedly. I was impressed. I don't know that I'd go that far for my religion in public.
After Lama, I went to the Confucius Temple just a couple blocks down. This one did not have much in it, but was a pleasant place to ponder things while strolling amongst the symmetrical trees. Afterward, I continued down the street which felt very old. It still had nifty gates at intervals (that the city is apparently getting rid of as they widen streets) but it felt like I was on the edge of a Hutong. According to Lonely Planet, Hutong are "charming alleyways" that "offer a glimpse into the past." I had trouble telling them from slums and did not feel it was the safest place to be wandering around. However, the street soon ended at a major thoroughfare with stores galore and I immediately felt like I was back in Tokyo again unless I looked down the alleyways. We had pizza for dinner (yay! I miss pizza!) at a restaurant called "Tomato" in English. Beijing does seem to offer some good western food despite that I have seen less chains. So far, I've seen a McDonalds, a Pizza Hut, a Subway, and a KFC. There's also a strange imitation KFC with an Asian Colonel. What's with that?
I've been getting up at a reasonable time in the morning, which meant that I hit my first weekday rush hour when I left today. Yes, I could have taken a taxi to Tiananmen Square for probably $3, but why pay $3 when you can pay 60 cents and have the experience of being packed into a train car with lots of locals on their way to work? Actually, it was so much like rush hour in Tokyo, it was reminiscent and kind of fun.
It really is just a big, giant concrete square, emphasis on Big. It is so big that one subway stop is on the east side and the next stop is on the west side. Despite its size, though, there is not much there besides the "Mao"soleum on one side, the entrance to the Forbidden City on the other, and a pillar in the middle. I'm not sure quite why it was so crowded. I guess because, well, it is Tiananmen Square. Along the way, I saw this sign, an example of "Chinglish" as it is called.
One of the best things about the Forbidden City is that once you pay, people stop trying to sell you stuff. On the way, though, is hawker heaven with gates and stalls and massive people. A lot of the grandeur of the Forbidden City (actually called "The Palace Museum"), aside from its size, involves the imagination. If you can put yourself in the place of the emperors long ago and their servants, families, concubines, and children, who were born and raised here probably without ever stepping foot in the outside world, you can kind of feel the magic of the protected-city-within-a-city. Other than that, most of the buildings are of the same beautiful style and all, but not of overwhelming I-must-take-a-photo value. Wandering randomly through the interlocking courtyards where the empress used to give banquets was a lot of fun, but there were far too many, um, 'forbidden' parts. I was able to get a cheap lunch in one of the areas still being renovated, though, and avoid an overpriced tourist restaurant. My favorite part by far was the east section.
No joke, I'm about to exit the Forbidden City and suddenly a detachment of troops comes marching in. First, I thought, "Oh, free entertainment" and went for my camera, then they made a deliberate turn and started marching straight at me! I jumped out of the way, my camera half out, thinking they might continue to turn, but they stopped and headed for one of the bridges. Yikes!
I had some time left and so decided to check out the Zhongshan Gongyuan garden nearby. (Side note: the name of that garden is apparently also the name of a porn star? Google imaging this brought up a strange combination of images.) The wind was already blowing pretty strong and soon, it was blowing sand in my eyes, causing me to sneeze over and over (and use the rest of the tissues I had allocated for the day to use as toilet paper since no toilets in China have any, even the clean ones with soap.) I thought this might be one of the spring dust storms I read about, but it apparently wasn't even close. The sky would turn to night and I'd be running for shelter had it been a REAL dust storm. The garden was very beautiful, though and had a neat roofed path to walk along where the painting on every single lintel was different. (I found these original, but underappreciated, mini-paintings in other Chinese gardens as well and was always amazed at the time it must have taken.)
When I woke up, I decided to go to "Mutianyu" section of the Wall instead of the more famous, easier to get to, touristy "Badaling" section. There are other sections as well, but I had narrowed it down to those two before heading out. When I walked out early this morning, I could see the sky for the first time! The wind yesterday had blown away the persistent smog and left Beijing looking like a completely different, and much prettier, city. They sky was blue, the weather was sunny and cool and it was a perfect day to go visit the Wall.
I knew I should have used the facilities before I went, but I wanted to get going early. I thought I was in luck when I saw a McDonald's across the street from the long-distance bus area. I went up and first saw the two characters for "hand wash" which MEANS toilet in Japanese, but here, it was really just a sink. Then I turned around and saw the unmistakable man-and-woman symbols. I followed and it led... right out of the restaurant into a private corridor with a door marked "STAFF ONLY" in English and Chinese. Err. I walked back in and a foreigner (probably American, judging by the accent) stopped me. "You're looking for the bathroom?" he asked. I said, "Yes." He said, "They shut it down, apparently. That's why I came in here, too." "Oh." He wished me luck as I walked out, but I saw no other candidates in the area. I gave up and looked for my bus.
I don't know if it was because I heard my dad's voice in the back of my mind, but taking the cable car up just seemed, well, Wimpy. I opted instead to dodge the T-shirt saleslady guarding the entrance and take the stairs up the side of the mountain to reach the Wall. I'm glad I did. It was a lovely, lovely walk up. I was practically by myself, the air smelled wonderful, and the increasingly panoramic view of the mountains of China receding into the distance was unbeatable. Best of all, little signs marked my progress every 50 stairs so I knew how many stairs I had climbed as I got my nice endorphin rush. The Wall came in and out of view and when I was nearly upon it, I hit 1000 stairs and was finally On The Wall itself. I LOVED the Wall. It could have been me and that I enjoy that sort of thing, but walking atop this raised stone highway was pretty darn cool! I met some other people up there from various places around the world, but few enough that I was able to get some tourist-free photographs.
The views were amazing. You could see other inaccessible sections of the wall as well as ruined towers snaking up into the mountains. I was surprised how steep it was on the wall itself. I walked as far as they let you in one direction and had to carefully mount foot-high steps for a portion of it. But, wow, was it awesome! I guesstimated that the wall was about 15 feet wide and the sides were 6 feet at highest and 3 feet at the lowest in the castle-like pattern. The pictures below just don't quite capture the whole feeling.
At the bottom, I actually did want to buy souvenirs, but I did not want to buy them from someone obnoxious (which ruled out several dozen stalls.) I ignored the people in my face and kept walking forward until one woman just called from where she was sitting. Yep, I had a good feeling about that place so walked on over. I decided to go big and buy all the souvenirs in one place since it's a hassle to haggle multiple times and because she was adding things I wanted anyway and lowering the price if I bought both. I love the English that Chinese salespeople know: "Best price" "Low" "Too much!" and "I lose money!" I had to 'walk away' several times, but I ended up with some neat stuff for a good price. However, because I bought stuff from her, the other salespeople assumed that I was a stupid foreigner who would buy from anyone and they became even more aggressive. I didn't get it. I was done! Then I immediately took back my words 'cause I wanted to buy a shirt, too. Luckily, I was close to the entrance and able to fight the rest of the way down after my second purchase. A little rattled, I took the first illegal taxi driver who offered, and gave him a good deal because a: I had no idea what the going rate was and b: I was so happy that there was a taxi there that I didn't care. (Our entire conversation: Me: "How much?" Him: "50" Me: "How about 40?" Him with a big smile: "45." Me: "Okay." Really, 45 RMB is about 5 dollars and 50 cents, so we're talking the Haggle of Penny Pinching here.)
I was willing to have him take me all the way back to Beijing, but he was just going back to Huairou. He dropped me off at a bus stop and the right bus came up in less than ten minutes, practically empty. Yay! I did actually do a bit of touring in Beijing afterward (and sampled some pineapple on a stick) since I had time, but I realized too late that most tourist places close at about 5:30, at sunset. I learned a new gesture, though. At this Ming dynasty compound near Beijing Station, I asked the guard on duty if it was open, although I don't think he understood English. He gestured at me. He had one hand palm-down and the other hand HOLDING HIS MIDDLE FINGER UP until it was touching his palm. His expression was not the one a person would have while flipping me off, but I was baffled. I tried to ask what he meant and he did it again. I finally turned away. Later, after my friend asked her Chinese tutor, I found out that it simply means "Closed."
I woke up late, but was more tired than usual. Maybe the walking-all-day fatigue is starting to catch up with me. I eventually made my sluggish way to campus to try out the coffee shop my friend's roommate recommended. I found "Sammies", but was sleepy and unable to save most of my mocha whip when I tripped over a small step and knocked everything on my tray over. The workers appeared instantly and cleaned it up fast, but did not replace my 3/4 gone mocha. They did replace my napkins, however. Bleah. Finally, I headed outside to get a taxi to the Summer Palace, using a taxi that some guys had just gotten out of at a red light.
Unfortunately, my Random Wandering took me on a beautiful tree-lined path that went... ALL THE WAY AROUND THE LAKE. I thought the path would fork somewhere to a bridge that went back, but no, it led all the way around the lake. It's a huge lake. My walk took well over two hours. I did stop at the only temple along the way to rest my feet and I did gaze longingly at this tower in the distance that I could not get to, and I ran into about three construction dead ends, but it was still a LONG walk. I was nearly back to the beginning when I had a bit of luck: I FINALLY found a place where I could buy a Beijing-priced disposable camera - I could not believe what they got away with charging for a Kodak. Along the same willow-lined path (the trees just starting to get green), I saw these two signs on the side within about 200 feet of each other. The Chinese character (I looked it up) means "laziness" or "scorn." Huh? I think it might just mean "edge" though. The other one is not a Chinese character. and I do not recall the path being in that particular shape.
I was too late to get into the museums I had paid for, but enjoyed going back to the hilly area and taking more pictures. I went out the North Gate and saw lots of really cool stuff. If I had entered here, I would have been more immediately impressed - there was an awesome view up the rocky hill to the temple at the top. Also, there was a cool on-water mini-city. I wish I had seen it earlier. Anyway, I was about to walk out, when I heard someone say "King Soopers." I did a double take and turned toward the group of foreigners. One had a familiar-looking university sweatshirt. Sure enough, they were students from my hometown doing a "semester at sea"! I chatted with them for awhile and gave them some pointers about Japan, where they were headed next. Cool coincidence!
Just for fun, I decided to get something breakfasty at the supermarket instead of the convenience store. I wanted to see what it was like. Well, I was a little intimidated first because there was this guard at the only entrance making sure everyone put their bags into lockers. The guard practically did it for me, despite my initial whining, then he pointed me up the stairs since you have to enter from the 3rd floor (and work your way down to the cash registers.) At first I was annoyed with it, then I realized it kept the store safe. The store was quite nice, actually, and it had a good variety. It was a lot like supermarkets back home. A lot of big-brand products have their own Chinese name. Coca-cola has its own characters. I did randomly get stopped by a college-aged woman with decent English looking for a language partner. I had to explain that, even though I was in the supermarket, I didn't live here. I felt bad for her, but oh, well. Anyway, the supermarket offered a lot, but, in China, they simply have no concept of good baked items. They may look good, but they are just not. The donuts, the muffins, all of it tastes bland and 'off' and overly sweetened. Other than that, though, foodstuffs seem to be pretty decent. The line at the end, though, was long and inefficient.
No joke, The Passion of the Christ was available at the local DVD store. (Rather, the local DVD bootleg shop.) That was one of several in-theatre movies I've seen for sale here. It cost about $2.50. Jesus Christ.
I got off the subway at Tiananmen Square, which is also known as No Taxi Stopping Allowed Square, hoping I could walk to the nearest street and hail one. When I got to the nearest street, though, all the taxis were going the other direction (toward Tiananmen) and the only thing going my way were buses (and lots of them) so I took my chances and hopped on a likely candidate. A few minutes later, I got off again and a block away was the entrance to the Temple of Heaven. Lucked out! There was a ticket booth, so I bought the all-inclusive ticket, however, the ticket lady did not seem to be checking anyone's ticket so I just kept walking. Then she pulled me aside and asked for my ticket in broken English and I realized that she was only checking the tourists. At first I was kind of grumbly about that, then I saw how much the locals (mostly retired folk since it's a weekday) appreciated the park. The park is Huge, filled with old trees planted in neat lines, occasional gazebos and walkways, and groups of older Chinese folk doing everything from tai chi to light aerobics to disco dancing. A fair share of tourists were also present. I walked around for awhile and eventually came up the symmetrically aligned temples. The tall wooden structure on the left above is famous for having been built with no nails (had I known that at the time, I would have looked) and the one on the right was taken from a strange concrete monument that kind of looked at first like a helicopter pad or an incomplete temple. Actually, it is a winter solstice viewing area that is notable for its structural use of 3s and 9s. For example, there are three flat levels, each nine stairs apart, and at the top are tiles in concentric circles. The first circle out has 9 tiles, the next 18, and the final circle out has 81. I counted, stepping on each one like a Michael Jackson video. Other than that, though, it was well, just a big, concrete flat thing (despite my attempt to be clever and take the photo between two posts looking out onto the temples lined up beyond.)
More than all of the temples I saw, I was moved by something else I witnessed at the Temple of Heaven. While walking, I heard singing and drifted over to an area amidst the trees and flowers to find a whole group of people gathered in song. It felt very spontaneous, as if a small group in the center had started an old traditional song that everyone knew and people who were passing joined in. It was a beautiful song and I was very impressed when a fellow in the center, leading the group, had them harmonizing in groups. I didn't take a picture, and even hung back a bit, because I could not interrupt something that beautiful. An older fellow came up to me and started chatting with me. His English was not fluent, but it was excellent. He told me that they often gathered and sung old songs about nature and flowers and love. (I was half worried they were nationalistic songs which would stifle the feeling a bit, but they were not; they were universal songs.) He was actually quite friendly and we talked a bit. Apparently, although it appeared spontaneous, there was some order. He told me where the group would be gathered again in half an hour and, sure enough, there they were. The songs were still beautiful and I could have listened quite awhile.
The Temple of Heaven was one place where no one tried to sell me anything the whole time I was inside. However, the second I walked out the gates, I was hounded again, mostly with taxi offers. I ignored them for the moment and walked down to the end of the street, randomly in the mood for ramen and, lo and behold, a ramen shop appeared (I could tell by the pictures.) I wouldn't exactly call it a high quality restaurant and they clearly did not get many foreigners, but it was good enough. I ordered the item at the top, crossed my fingers, and was served exactly what I wanted: beef ramen (way spicier than anything I would get in Japan) and a coke. When I used the gesture I learned from my friend that meant "Check, please" the woman came over and, apart from giving me a receipt, gestured the price, and it was here that I was glad I had practiced Chinese finger counting. Still, it was hard to believe that she only wanted eight kwai - one dollar - for my lunch. Wow.
I apparently committed a no-no and took a taxi that was parked at a tourist locale, but even if he did overcharge me a bit (and I can't even be sure that he did) he was polite, friendly, and it was the cleanest taxi I was in the whole trip. (The sign that advertised "disinfected" may have been true here.) He took me to a big park sort of northwestish of the Forbidden City. It doesn't have an easy-to-remember English equivalent to the Chinese name ("Beihai Gongyuan") so I just called it the "Park With That Big White Thing." The reason I went there (as it is not listed as one of the top destinations in Lonely Planet) is simply BECAUSE of that curious White Thing, which I had seen both from the Forbidden City and from a couple taxis and finally found on my map.
The park, garden, and lake were well worth my time. The grounds were like a mini Summer Palace and atop a hill was the Big White Thing, which is called "The White Dagoba". I paid several small amounts several times on the walk up to the tower, but there is no actual way inside (not that it looks like there are any windows, anyway.) However, the walk was very nice and near the top, I had a good view of the red roofs of the Forbidden City. Around the lake (a much shorter walk than Summer Palace, luckily) were a whole lot of other temples. I'm thinking the Lonely Planet didn't make note of these because they were under construction (and a few still were) but I enjoyed myself a lot. The best part was this hard-to-find garden behind one of the temples. The sheer amount of rock used as well as the elaborate walking paths, including occasional mini-caves, make Chinese gardens feel very different from Japanese gardens, though both make good use of water and temple elements.
I thought it would be simpler to have the taxi driver just drop me off on this nice stretch of road along the university so I could do some last minute shopping. I saw some other taxis parked so I told him that around there was fine. He pulled over, but no sooner had he stopped then a police car with sirens flashing pulled up nearby. My driver pulled away fast and turned into the small university street. I looked behind me. There was an officer with a camera leaning out of the passenger window taking pictures of all the taxis (presumably to fine them later.) He might have seen the plates. I felt really bad since I didn't know it was illegal to pull over there. (I am noticing a funny trend in Beijing: if there is a really nice, wide avenue with plenty of space for taxis, then it is a no-stop zone.) I would have just directed him to the hotel near where I was staying had I known; I REALLY hope the poor guy didn't get in trouble because of me. (Honestly, out of all the crazy things cars do in Beijing, I can't believe they restrict something simple like where a taxi can pull over.)
For the first time ever, I had Peking Duck! We took a nice illegal taxi to a nice restaurant and my friends (who spoke Chinese) ordered appetizers and duck! We were served a whole lot of other (very delicious) food before the duck actually came, and when it did, it didn't come simply on a plate. The duck itself, sliced in little crescent-moon-shaped pieces, was on one plate, a container of mini-tortillas was on another, and little plates of cucumbers and mushrooms were included as well, and finally, a little bowl of sauce. I was instructed on the correct technique which, similar to fajitas, involved putting a bit of everything in a tortilla and eating! Yum! I could tell the duck was not the least bit healthy or low-cal, but it was quite tasty. I've now eaten duck! Cool! (And it wasn't even expensive... the pizza cost more.)
I got screwed! Out of... a dollar fifty! It was really early in the morning so I used a taxi that was parked at the corner, even though the driver seemed really confused at first. The drive was extremely fast (about 30 minutes) since it was before rush hour but I got charged 82 Yuan instead of 69. He didn't give me a receipt, he just wrote down the amount. I probably would have objected except that it wasn't worth fighting over (I mean, the tip would be more than that back home) and I was ready to get going. The airport was confusing. I had to go through a security barrier before I even checked in, but I had to get the airport tax paid beforehand. Then once I was in, there was no obvious map so I just had to walk around until I found my airline counter. Then they printed my gate number wrong which wasn't really a problem since it was the right area, but the gate at THAT number led to the same city! I found myself stuck waiting in a lot of lines because I was on a flight with a MASSIVE Japanese tour group. Anyway, the airport was amusing because it was fully, fully back to normal prices, which would have looked ridiculous except that, more often than not, they printed the price in U.S. dollars! The gift shops would probably do no business if their prices were five times than that of the city, but when printed in dollars, it did not look as bad. Anyway, it was a good thing I gave myself time because they boarded very early due to having to drive us all on a bus to the other side of the airport.
The plane stopped over at Dalian (a Chinese port city) on the way and we all exited the plane for an hour even though there was no physical way to leave the seating area. On the way out of the plane, they made me put my palm up to something that looked like a video camera, presumably to take my temperature. Why did they do this? I can only imagine it is because I filled out the health form in correct completion unlike the Japanese, who couldn't read it, so only put in their names. Well, I did manage to sneak WAY ahead in line not realizing that the Long Line was for people staying on the flight, so it wasn't all annoying. So, for that hour, I basically just hung around and looked out the window. I saw several decent looking apartment buildings right next to what looked like a nuclear cooling tower. Then, after watching the planes take off for awhile, three fighter jets took off! Strange place.
The Japanese/Foreign Resident Line is much faster than the Foreigners line which is a given, of course, but it is really a LOT faster, despite that the foreigner line looked SO MUCH shorter. I was happy to be back in the familiar atmosphere of Japan where I could relax and not worry. No one would stop me and try to sell me anything and, in fact, if anyone spoke to me they would probably be trying to help.
So I went up to the money changing booth at Fukuoka Airport... and they couldn't take my Chinese money! What do I do now?! I have way, way too much of it because I did not know stuff would be cheap. I did read the advice in Lonely Planet about keeping your money-changing receipt and so forth (which I did) but I did not take it to heart. And I think my logic (about getting a better rate in the home country) is backwards to boot. At least one person I talked to had no problem changing money in the U.S. so I assumed the rumors were exaggerated. I assumed that since the Japanese don't need a visa to come to China that they are friendlier. Um, not enough to change each other's money! I felt like a whopping idiot. I have a massive stack of Chinese bills that I MIGHT be able to change in Osaka. (It would not seem like such a massive amount, but the biggest bill is an 100 Yuan bill which is about 13 US dollars, so my stack looks even bigger.) Stupid, stupid me. Luckily, I found out later, you can change money at Narita (Tokyo). The exchange rate is horrid.
