Since I've been gone...

It's day 5 in Beijing and I have slept a grand total of about 18 hours the whole time I have been here. It's back to the 18hr days, the non-stop meetings and travelling around town, getting in and out of cabs and eating long and laborious meals with random stuffy old government guys.

I actually feel quite lonely. The Beijing skyline feel less cosmopolitan this time round, and more cold and menacing...


Perhaps it is the engagement? But there are many times when I just feel its not fun anymore... I'm just an ant in this giant city, and I am a little over it. Glamourous as it seems on the surface, I am really just an employee that gets to make a shitload of bullshit decisions about something that doesn't even matter.

When I first got this job, I was excited about all the travel and free meals and stuff... but now I really just want this all to be over and go back home to my hubby and kids...

The only good thing is that post-Olypmic Beijing air is fantastic, and there is blue sky every day. Plus the odd/even number plates initiative is still on, which means no traffic.

The aftermath of the Olympics... Tiananmen Square:

I am not living in a hotel this time, I'm staying with Holly the director of Golden Bridges. She's great and her apartment is really cool but there are downsides to not having the bellboy call a cab for you in the mornings. When Holly first asked if I was ok with this, I thought she was dissing me for being a princess and I was like "I can wave my own hand"... but getting a cab on your own in the middle of China World Trade Centre is a fucking nightmare. I have to push and shove with all these people, and Chinese locals have no problem with just pushing in front of you and getting on a cab whilst pretending they didnt see you there...

This is me and Holly outside Ritan Park. We went to a restaurant inside the park called Xiao Wangfu - very nice homestyle Chinese comfort food.


Apart from the occasional good meal, the only solace I have found is in spas and sitting down for a coffee and dessert in a nice hotel...

This is Bohdi Spa. Amy recommended I go there and it was really good. Their packages are not too expensive and the Thai masseurs speak english and plus I love Thai girls :p

Thai massage room where I got a Lemon Foot soak, my feet washed by the hot chickky and a foot massage, then a full Thai Heat Herbal massage:

Treatment room where I got a body scrub, body wrap, head massage, full facial, and really great shower (the water pressure in the shower at Holly's house aint that crash hot):


What I do when I'm really stressed out and I have an hour to spare - The Davidoff Lounge in the Ritz Carlton (my favourite):

The only other plus is I get company branded mooncakes from every supplier/client/dumbcunt I visit (except for the govt guys, cos we have to give presents to them).

These are some from Hill&Knowlton, who have just recently become my best friends. If I lived in Beijing I wouldn't mind working for them, they have become my PR agency of choice :)



Its the weekend now, so I think I'll have a bit more content at the end of it. Juan is arriving on Sunday which mean I will have to share a bathroom with him (ewwwww), but I'm looking forward to a couple of things I bought tickets to - Tan Dun's new orchestral work at that amazing egg-dome construction (I only got one ticket cos they were so expensive so I'll be a total nigel) - and 女人女人 "Woman woman" which is a new SATC-like theatrical play that I got 2 tickets for me and Amy to. Also, the various contemporary art exhibitions around the city.

Art and Music... the only things worth living for...

P.S. Here is a really good article that puts an interesting spin on the whole China-Tibet saga: http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_10359098