给澳洲人的北京奥运攻略

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Beware, this is Beijing
By John Wright August 08, 2008 12:00am
http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,24147198-36335,00.html

NO matter how many knockbacks you get, there will always be some chump who will come along and make your day.

Here's the picture: Beijing, 2007: Me, walking along the Avenue of Everlasting Peace. A street tout selling pirated DVDs. A moment of weakness.

Days later, back home, I check out the 12 DVDs I've bought (for about $10) and find: four of the plastic packets contain only cardboard;  three of the DVDs are B-grade Chinese movies unrelated to the titles on the packets; three are incomprehensible and have no sub-titles; the remaining two are unplayable.

There's more: At Beijing's famous Silk Market at Xiushui Jie, where you can find great bargains, I'd bought some cheap electronic games – in a hurry, admittedly – and when I tried them at home not one of them worked.

I have to admit there's an irony in being ripped off while you're trying to rip someone else off – in my case, the world copyright system.

But here's a warning – if you're headed to Beijing for the Olympics you are going to be a sitting duck for every double-dealing Chinese sting merchant you come across, unless you're careful.

On a mainstream commercial level, the Chinese have honed their gouging skills to perfection in the Games lead-up, and unless you already have accommodation you might need a second mortgage to afford a room, if you can find one.

OK, that's supply and demand stuff, but the "let's part this tourist from his money" philosophy goes right through the culture and it starts from the moment you arrive at Beijing International Airport.

See the man in the arrivals hall offering you a taxi into the CBD? He's a shark and he's going to rip you off. Badly. See the convenient foreign exchange counter? It's going to add a shamefully high fee to a shamefully poor exchange rate. Get the picture? And you've been in the country for, what, half an hour?

Even savvy travellers get caught, especially when they arrive in a place tired and disorientated. But you're at greater and constant risk if you flirt with any Beijing hawker or merchant who trades outside the mainstream economy, and even with many of the reputable ones who don't. They're sharp. They want your money and they know how to get it.

So here are a few tips to help you survive some rip-offs and also to reduce your costs while you're having fun in this great Chinese city:

Shopping

Chinese paranoia about security and about presenting the best face to the world during the Games may mean you won't find a street tout or hawker anywhere.

If you do, don't buy anything electronic or expect anything else you buy to work or to last long. At the popular Silk Market – a shopping wonderland that is a magnet for most Westerners – avoid cheap DVDs and electronic games and don't buy fake brand watches unless you want one as a novelty. Never pay anything near the asking price. Bargain hard from a low base. Keep your cool, and especially your sense of humour.

Try shopping along Wangfujing Street, two blocks east of Tiananmen Square. The department stores and specialty shops along this pedestrian street probably will have what you're looking for, the merchandise will be good value and of good quality and you won't have the bargaining hassles of the Silk Market.

Eating, drinking

Rule No. 1 – if you're forced on to a budget because of the high cost of your hotel room, do not eat or drink in the hotel. Eating in is already expensive in Beijing's major hotels and my informants tell me it will be about 30 per cent dearer during the Games.

If you want to drink in your room, buy takeaways from the local supermarket; if you want to drink outside your room, avoid your hotel lounge bar and find either a cheap local bar around the corner or spend your money on fun at one of the popular drinking strips such as Sanlitun north, on Sanlitun Lu, north of Gong Ren Ti Yu Chang Bei Lu.

In Beijing, high prices in restaurants don't necessarily mean you'll get good food. For example, if you eat by the waterside at the popular Bei Hai Park, you'll get atmosphere, but you'll pay a lot of money for often terrible meals.

Avoid these tourist spots unless you have a dead palate and money to burn. You'll get closer to the Beijing people and eat better food at the local restaurant around the corner from your hotel.

For lunch, don't go past shopping centre food courts. Some will be modest, but they'll sell good local food at great prices; others, like the basement food court of the Oriental Plaza – to name one of many – are much larger and you might first have to buy, at a cashier's desk, a food card (pre-loaded with a set amount) that you present to the stall-holder. Great system. Delicious.

Street food markets, such as the famous Donghua Men night market off Wangfujing Street, are an interesting dining alternative but there are health issues with some of these places.

Transport

If you want to take a cab into town from Beijing Airport, ignore the touts and take only a metered taxi from the official rank outside the terminal.

The ride to the city centre (26km) was about 90 yuan ($14) including a toll road charge when I last looked, but this may increase during the Games. Generally, metered taxis charge 10 yuan for the first 3km and 2 yuan per kilometre after that. The charge is higher late at night.

The alternative transport downtown from the airport is by bus from the arrivals area. Many hotels have shuttle services.

Communications

Don't make international telephone calls from your hotel room or use its internet services. It will be expensive. Buy an international (IP) phone card, available at newspaper stands and in supermarkets.

You use these cards in public telephones, and you might be able to use them from your hotel room for the cost of a local call.

There are internet cafes all over Beijing and most of them charge about 3 yuan an hour. Wireless networks are accessible at some coffee shops, hotels and restaurants.

Money

To change currency, use banks or your hotel cashier and you will get the official rate. If there's a commission fee involved, look for somewhere else next time. Australian and US dollars are widely accepted, but you will need to have Chinese currency with you at all times.

This is still a predominantly cash economy. You can use credit cards at major restaurants and in large shopping centres. Using foreign ATMs isn't a cheap business anywhere in the world.

If you travel with cash, use your room safe or deposit box to store money you don't need for daily expenses.

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