Have you tried the fried scorpion in Wangfujing? It's not too bad.

how long does it normally take to get a train ticket? i've heard anywhere from a week to a day.

how long does it normally take to get a train ticket? i've heard anywhere from a week to a day.

When I went last year it took us a day to get a ticket, and that was on a train that was standing room only.  The year before that it took my fiancee three days to get one back to her hometown from Beijing, so yeah, it can be a pain in the ass to get a train ticket.  Also, Chinese trains are the worst way to travel unless you get a ticket for a sleeper car.

 By the way Jamie if you're still trying to get into the underground city try getting to 62 West Damochang Street, Qianmen.  That entrance was still open to travel awhile back when I went. There's another by the Qianmen carpet factory, but I don't know if it's still open or not.

how long does it normally take to get a train ticket? i've heard anywhere from a week to a day.

I tried a couple of times, and I talked to a bunch of people who did. It can definitely be a pain to get a ticket, you probably need to be sure of what you want to do and then try to book it as soon as they let you - you can either book 14 days or 10 days in advance (i heard different numbers from different people) - but yeah, I tried to book something for the next day and couldn't get a ticket for 5 days, and from what I heard that is about average unless you are willing to spend a lot of time trying alternate routes or just go somewhere different.

Like, you can get a ticket to some quieter place than Beijing and then get another train from that place that goes where you actually want to go. That's what someone I talked to did, and it wound up cheaper anyway, just took longer.

How did you get around when just looking around/hanging out? Just walked everywhere? Did you take any public trans or a rickshaw or anything like that?

I didn't use a rickshaw because I don't trust people who come up to you in the street, and they would always stop right in front of me and say 'hello!' etc, and say stuff like no charge sometimes. I saw plenty of people getting them but nah, I didn't want to probably get ripped off.

I just walked, used the subway and occasionally used a taxi (although less after I figured out the subway). It's all really flat and if you've got a map the city is really simple to navigate.

When I went last year it took us a day to get a ticket, and that was on a train that was standing room only.  The year before that it took my fiancee three days to get one back to her hometown from Beijing, so yeah, it can be a pain in the ass to get a train ticket.  Also, Chinese trains are the worst way to travel unless you get a ticket for a sleeper car.

I was planning on a "hard sleeper" bunk, it's the cheapest way to get across the country... but it's like 30 hours.

I might be going in two summers to further study Mandarin via my school.  Hope I can go. 

This motherfucker is big as hell. Been holdin up but fools got their hustle game down pat, grindin hard. It's like someone's itchin to get their grift on around every corner in the touristy spots. The subway is almost absurd in how crowded the cars get. Booze is cheap though, just pay attention to the ABV% on the baiju you buy cuz that shit can get strooong.

yeah, 70ml of 56% alcohol for £3. it's pretty disgusting though and that's coming from me. the beer is all weak and watery though, and no good really.

after my initial totally falling for it, I didn't really get too many other obvious attempts at scams, just a lot of unofficial taxi offers. i nearly took the first one but realised it wasn't right in time - they try to charge 4x the usual rate.

pretty sure i am going back to china in about 2 years probably. the only thing that is stopping me from doing it sooner is the money. you're traveling out of beijing pretty quickly, right? that's what i should have done. there isn't really that much worth hanging around for in beijing that i could find. you know, i mean for a single traveler who can't speak the language. i liked the city though, it all seemed pretty livable despite what i was told to expect.

I missed my train because last night I got completely fucked up but made some great friends at the local bar hitting on girls and shit
 
also the smell here is no joke and I know what you were talking about with the throat thing. It goes from general smog smell to sewage smell about every couple blocks. Beijing air is basically a really big smoggy fart.

how r the girls

Like anywhere else I guess. I've met quite a few and have exchanged numbers/emails/something called QQ that I haven't figured out yet. If were a bit more morally lax regarding infidelity I could have taken a couple back to my room from bars. I'm a pretty flirty guy and it has helped that I've met some English speaking younger dudes from out of town who've been eager wingmen and brought girls to our table & we'd talk each other up while feeding the girls rounds of cocktails. Outside of bars on my own I've met a couple, most just stare at me and get embarrassed when I catch them and smile at them. One riding the train with me speaks English pretty well, seems to like me a lot, and wants me to visit her hometown on my way back to Beijing.

It's incredibly easy to meet girls in this country as a foreigner.

Also, speaking of boys n girls; when you use a public trough urinal dudes will stare at your dick and it's fucking uncomfortable.

One that kinda surprised me was that there's a lot of fat people in Beijing so you'll see impossibly rail-thin girls and quite a few big girls too.

Crazy shit

In Japan, "QQ" is a sound you make (kyu kyu) that basically means <333 so maybe it's the same in China.

Naw, it's a social networking and chat program. It has long numbers like ICQ

doki doki can be in talk of love in japan  witch it throbbing heart (a sound FX)

Tell us about the exotic foods

i got a schizophrenic friend who is convinced the chinese are going to nuke his house. not america, his house. can you confirm/deny that you have seen a large nuke lying about with the words "steve's house" written on it?