Arriving in Beijing airport I was conscious that I needed to push to make the mandatory pre-tour briefing at the tour company's HQ in Beijing.
Knowing full well it was a rip-off, I allowed myself to be whisked away by the aggressive taxi driver who was targeting suckers ^H^H^H.... er... westerners. He pushed my bag and me to the front of the line for the elevator, knocking elderly Chinese people out of the way all the while in the process. Once in the elevator he proceeded to fondle my arm hair and the 5 o'clock shadow on my face, giving me the thumbs up on my ability to grow hair. "good job". He went to diddle my arm hair a 2nd time and I stopped him. "That's enough, we're good."
This trip was already getting bizarre.
I made the briefing with a few minutes to spare. The briefing was informative and entertaining. The primary purpose seemed to be to review a list of do's and don'ts... Mostly don'ts.
DON'T bring your phone,
DON'T bring your laptop,
DON'T bring magazines
DON'T wear clothing with American Flags on them
DO bring your iPod.
DO bring your camera (unless it's is a GPS camera)
etc.
I introduced myself to most of the other people on our bus. Seemed like a great group. I was relieved that none of the people with the exceptionally stupid questions at the briefing would be on our bus.
STUPID Questioner: "Is a phone actually a phone if I don't use it to make calls?"
A: "It's still a phone, don't bring it"
SQ: "Can I bring an iPod touch?"
A: "Is it a phone?"
SQ: "No"
A: "Then, as previously stated, yes you can bring your iPods"
As we left the briefing the skies suddenly opened up and drenched us. Taxis were hard to come by. After drying out back at the hotel several of us met for an amazing duck dinner at Da Dong. Most everyone call it an early night.
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