On to Beijing

On Thursday we bid farewell to Chengdu and traveled on to Beijing. As usual with travel, the days are long – mostly spent waiting. Although a bit late, our flight was smooth and uneventful; and as is usual the luggage arrived at the turnstile before we did.
Yesterday, we visited the Silk Market in Beijing. Having been there before we knew what to expect — and knew how to keep walking even though many vendors are following you down the aisle trying to sell their goods. When we did find what we were looking for, the negotiations were intense and great fun. At the end I’m sure both sides felt they had gotten a good deal. I left clutching my goods and very happy.
Last evening we had dinner at the Kerry Center Hotel in Beijing. Last year the World MBA Fair was held at the Kerry Center, and at that time we met Michael Shin – the host at the restaurant. For the few days we stayed Michael made sure we had plenty of coffee and a western newspaper each day. Michael had recently arrived in Beijing from Australia – having graduated from school with a degree in restaurant management. We talked about the MBA degree and I convinced Michael to attend the fair.
What a wonderful surprise when in late August I opened an email with the subject “Greetings” and began with “I’m not too sure if you will remember me but I am Michael Shin from the Kerry Centre Hotel Beijing.
We met at that MBA expo.” Michael is now the Assistant Director of the main restaurant at the Kerry Center. He invited us to visit for dinner and was delighted to show us the results of 8 months of fabulous upgrades to not only the restaurant, but to the entire hotel. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and a wonderful evening with a wonderful young man.