Pilferage at Beijing Airport

Have you ever lose anything valuable in your life? Sooner or later, you would do so either by theft, leaving things unattended or forgetting where you left it. We normally see signs to never leave our valuables unattended. However, what can we do if this theft happened at the airport?

A friend of mine went home two weeks ago. He checked in as business class and his luggage had a lock. When he arrived at his destination, he found the lock broken and some items missing from his luggage. The thieves pilfered his Chinese CDs and brand new mobile phone. He was pretty pissed off as he can’t believe the nerve of the thieves taking something from someone who’s in business class. Did he recover anything? Nope not even a cent. The airport manager did apologize to him though.

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Beijing Olympics.. here I come!

With only 39 days to go till the Olympics, is Beijing really ready for their big coming out party? It’s been a week since I last saw the sun. I’m feeling depressed already as everything is gray and gloomy. I hope they can improve the environment because it’s not gonna be a beautiful Beijing without the blue sky.

Anyway, here are some changes which is in effect during the Olympic and Paralympic period. Most of them are already annoying and a lot of foreigners and businesses are not happy.

What Is This Dish?

For a person traveling in a country where they do not speak the same language, it is difficult to relay what you want to say or do. One major headache especially in China even for me, is ordering dishes in a restaurant. Not all restaurants have English menus and if they do, the translation doesn’t help. If you look at the picture I got from another website on the right, you will know what I mean.

A friend of mine experienced going to a restaurant where they have different prices for English and Chinese menus. He said if you can’t read the characters on their promos, you might miss something cheap.

Beijing Starbucks Tumblers!

Starbucks in Beijing is almost in every corner like in Manila. They are usually overpriced but still steaming with people. I have two cousins who collect Starbucks items as a hobby. One of them collects city mugs while the other collects tumblers. They told me to keep them informed of any new mugs or tumblers or if I visit another city, to buy one if there’s a Starbucks there.

So.. how much does a Starbucks tumbler cost? RMB 95 or US$13.50 or Php617.50. Crazy right? But we each have our own fetishes. My cousin who collects tumblers has more than 40 of it already and she’s always checking the internet for new ones. So when I informed her that there are 6 new tumblers in Beijing, she asked me to buy 5 of them.

Olympic Tickets anyone?

We’re down to 43 days till the start of the 29th Summer Olympiad and what’s the hottest commodity in town? OLYMPIC TICKETS!!!! Everyone wants one and those who have it are selling it for profit. So, which exactly are the most sought after tickets??

– Opening ceremony : They only draw this in Phase 1 and a person can only apply for 1 ticket. Only 91,000 spectators will see the live show directed by Zhang Yi Mou at the Bird’s Nest and Chinese are paying top money to witness it. My friend and his friend both won 1 ticket each with a face value of RMB 800 and are selling it for RMB 30,000 each. I’m not sure if there will be someone who’ll buy it but I’ve heard people who would pay for more than that.

– Athletics Aug. 21 evening games : What’s so special about this event? It’s the 110m hurdles and the favorite Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang is pressured to win the gold medal. The face value of the tickets are RMB 800/400/200. A friend’s friend was able to sell 3 tickets with face value of RMB 800 @ RMB 20,000 each. That’s ridiculously expensive! The same friend who has the opening ceremony tickets is also selling two of them for RMB 10,000 each.