The weekend...I never knew how wonderful those 2 words could be until I started working full time. My days as a student are over for the time being, and entering the work force is not only exciting/ quite "adult" feeling...it is also tiring. Therefore, when the weekend arrives, I am ready to relax and make the most of my weekend.
Saturday was quite an interesting day, filled with searching for a China Construction Bank to open an account in and a train ticketing booth for Ashley. As we searched the day near Jing'an area (West Beijing Road), we decided to take a break and pause to get some afternoon lunch/snacks. We stopped off in a touristy area first, and were not able to find anything we wanted to eat (among the fast food chinese restaurants). We then, continued to cross the street into the "Eats Street" that Ashley knew about, and got a Mango/Orange smoothie for a $1 and some soup dumplings that tasted a tad funky (so we didn't finish them). We then continued our adventures at the fabric market to get re-fitted for the clothes we had made last weekend.
Let me just paint a picture for you on what this fabric market is like. It is a 3 story building, that once you step inside....you literally NEVER want to leave. You get dropped off several miles away from the popular area of XinTianDi, in an area I am almost positive no Westerners live in (Ashley would be the only person who could live in this area that I know....she loves China that much). The taxi cab stops at a busy corner underneath a highway, and you step out into a bustling area of street food/ street jewlery vendors/ and you see manikins of tailored suits/ dresses/ cashmere coats. You step past the flaps that look like you're entering a meat packaging factory into a world of endless fabric. Each floor has stalls about 8 feet by 5 feet. The stalls specialize in a fabric or type of clothing, ranging from linen, cashmere, silk, prints, fur, cotton, etc. Ashley and I made it to the 2nd floor to the "trench coat" stall where I had a coat made, that was not ready for pick up (since I had come on Sat and my ticket said it would be ready on Sunday). We then went to the linen stall where I had a work dress made, and she had a jumper made. We each stepped behind a hoisted piece of fabric in the corner that you could clearly look over (if you wanted) to change into our outfits. Both of our pieces were too big, and had to be taken in significantly. I got refitted and so did Ashley. We then wandered around the three floors, I of course tried on several fur vests of rabbit, fox, (and probably dog) that felt incredible!! After spending at least an hour and half in the market, we decided to wander in the alley road beside the fabric market.
We had no idea what we were getting into when we decided to go on this adventure. we walked down a dirt alley lined with dog grooming shops/ open restaurants/ seafood stalls/ foot reflexology booths/ nail stalls/ and many many others. We then got to Fuxing Road, which was bustling with tons of restaurants, and decided that we wanted to eat 牛肉拉面 for dinner. However, being the indecisive girls we are, wanted to check out the rest of the road before we decided. Walking along the road you are bombarded by motorcycles/ couples/ cars/ and the average busyness of any Chinese road. As we got to the end of the road, we ended up taking a wrong turn (or 3), and stepped into what appeared to be an old Chinese neighborhood (and clearly no Westerners had ventured in here in the past....I would say decade). We wandered through the dirt road staring into the open doors of each house that was piled high with bowls/ mattresses/ chairs/ newspapers/ and other odds and ends, lighted only by a fluorescent bulb of some sort dangling from the ceiling. It was like stepping back in time. The dirt road was scattered with garbage/ rubbage/ and dogs picked at the bones while avoiding the bikes and motorcycles that made their way through. One of the most memorable moments in our lost adventure was walking down a wide dirt road with fabric stores and street food with large round tables outside with men drinking/ smoking/ eating with their shirts above their bellies. I saw cages of pigeons/ chickens/ and perhaps a quail in there. I told Ashley, "Look at all those birds," and as I looked up I saw a man take a butcher's knife and chop the head off what looked to be the size of a Candian Goose!! I SCREAMED outloud in anguish/ astonishment, and the woman standing next to the bird killer laughed so hard, I thought she was going to pee her pants. Oh the things you'll see in China...if you get lost on a dirt road.
As it began to get dark, Ashley and I felt the urge to somehow get back to Fuxing road to eat in what now looked like a lavish restaurant (compared to our dirt road adventure of street food) serving 牛肉拉面. We somehow made it back, and went into the white tile restaurant that only served 3 things. (PS You know a place is good if they only have 3 things on the menu....just for future reference) We ordered our dishes, and watched mesmerized at the man making our noodles. Maybe I should explain what we ordered. So niu rou la mian is literally noodles in this amazing broth with parsley and a little bit of beef. The noodles are made literally in front of you, fresh by a man kneeding dough on a metal counter/ stretching the dough/ making the noodles only with his fingers by banging the dough on the metal and flipping it around, and then placing it in boiling water. You will never go back to ramen noodles or anything instant once you eat this, and it's only 5 元 (less than a $1) too! The restaurant was run by only men, meaning that the tables/ floors were dirty, but we didn't mind. The table beside us,4 men..the place only had men in it, watched us eat the entire time, but we didn't mind. Krista, when you come to China, I promise to take you here !!!
Other than that, my weekend was quite fun, and full of adventure.
More to come later about the amazing taxi cab driver hole in the wall restaurant down my road.
再见！！
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