down a dark alley
Aug. 12th, 2007 07:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miss_swampThere will be a full report.
I'm not sure when, as J is not feeling too well after long traveling, too much humidity, and airline food that did not agree with him ... but he'll get there
In the meantime, I'll say that if I ever do a tour again it will be aimed at one of my demographics: a GLBTA or Grinnell or liberals under 50 (though then Dad couldn't have gone) or unwealthy foodies or not-whiny-people trip. We wondered how much more it would have cost to hire a private guide/driver. But we did see a LOT, more than we would have on our own, so it was fine.
Friday we had a day to ourselves, which we enjoyed despite not finding any Chinese art (the whole museum was under renovation except a Goya exhibit!). On the way back we were stopped by two students wanting to "practice English" who asked us to go for a drink with them. We thought they meant beer or Coke at the closest bar, but no. They led us through packed walkways, down an alley, past a seated guard (most of them stand on little boxes) and up to a "very traditional" 3rd-floor tea room. "How much?" we asked. "Not much," they said, "This place is for students." So okay. We were served 9 different three-sip cups of tea (we watched and only drank each kind after they did); each one had a very earnestly-relayed story which the students translated. They offered us a chance to buy more tea in very pretty little boxes (everything in China is for sale). Then they handed us a bill for $70!
The next day the guide said it should have been less than half of that, but now we have a story.
I'm not sure when, as J is not feeling too well after long traveling, too much humidity, and airline food that did not agree with him ... but he'll get there
In the meantime, I'll say that if I ever do a tour again it will be aimed at one of my demographics: a GLBTA or Grinnell or liberals under 50 (though then Dad couldn't have gone) or unwealthy foodies or not-whiny-people trip. We wondered how much more it would have cost to hire a private guide/driver. But we did see a LOT, more than we would have on our own, so it was fine.
Friday we had a day to ourselves, which we enjoyed despite not finding any Chinese art (the whole museum was under renovation except a Goya exhibit!). On the way back we were stopped by two students wanting to "practice English" who asked us to go for a drink with them. We thought they meant beer or Coke at the closest bar, but no. They led us through packed walkways, down an alley, past a seated guard (most of them stand on little boxes) and up to a "very traditional" 3rd-floor tea room. "How much?" we asked. "Not much," they said, "This place is for students." So okay. We were served 9 different three-sip cups of tea (we watched and only drank each kind after they did); each one had a very earnestly-relayed story which the students translated. They offered us a chance to buy more tea in very pretty little boxes (everything in China is for sale). Then they handed us a bill for $70!
The next day the guide said it should have been less than half of that, but now we have a story.
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no subject
Date: 2007-08-12 03:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-12 07:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 12:27 am (UTC)I'm glad that stuff didn't suck immensely, though.