The Beijing Tea Party

"Tea?! Did you say tea?! Demian, get out of there right now! You have to get out!"

"Stu, what? What are you talking about? I'm just sitting having tea."

"Just get out! Now!"

Tarantino rewind. I'm in Beijing now. I have a lot of catching up to do with regards to this blog, including most of our southern travels in Vietnam, the journey to Beijing, some midnight debauchery on the Great Wall, a football (soccer) game, and lots and lots of food poisoning. But first, there was the Beijing Tea Party.

I'm staying with one of my best friends from college who lives in a cool little expat neighborhood right down the street from Worker's Stadium (home of the not-so-legendary Guo An Football Club, of which I am now a fan). He works at a nonprofit here and although he was able to take a few days from work to show me around the Great Wall and Xi'An, he returned to work on Wednesday leaving me to explore the city on my own.

Yesterday was a sick day for most of the morning. I rolled around in my intermittent intestinal misery and sipped Gatorade and ginger ale until my energy began to return. At around 2:30, I decided to go for a run to Tiananmen Square, about 4.5 miles away.

The smog had cleared but the sun was beating down at between 4 and 5 kajillion degrees, leaving me dizzy, dehydrated, and slightly delirious by the time I reached the Square. But I had made it, and I took some time to walk around the outskirts of what I later learned was the Forbidden City across from the Square.

It was here where I met Cah'Li (best guess on the spelling, but it sounded like "Colleen" without the "n"). Cah'Li was a friendly, near middle-aged traveler from a town just north of Xi'An. She was in Beijing for five days, seeing a few sights before she headed back home to work. We walked for a while, she practiced her English and asked questions about America. I asked questions about her home and Beijing. It was refreshing to meet someone who was completely friendly but not trying to sell me anything.

Then she suggested that we stop for a cup of tea.

She led me to a small cafe on a side street near the subway station and we sat down in a private room. I ordered an orange juice and a water and she ordered a pot of tea and some snacks. We kept talking. I guzzled down the juice and had a few polite sips of tea here and there. About ten minutes pass before I decide to call my friend, Stu, to get directions on the subway back to his apartment.

"Hey, what's going on? How was the run?"

"Good, I'm heading back in a few minutes. Just finishing up some tea with a new friend I made."

"Tea?! Did you say tea?! Demian, get out of there right now! You have to get out!"

So here's what I didn't know. Apparently a common scam around the Tiananmen area is to invite a tourist in for some tea and then charge them exorbitant prices for it. Usually it's about $100 for a pot of tea. Sometimes it can be a couple thousand. If the person resists, there are often large thugs who implement a more physical form of persuasion.

I didn't know any of this. All Stu told me was that it was a scam and I needed to get out. I hung up the phone and all of a sudden the room looked and felt very different. Cah'Li wasn't speaking, just looking at me and smiling. I calmly explained that something had happened to my friend and I needed to leave. Cah'Li called for the check.

Sure enough. 600 RNB (about $100). This included a $50 pot of tea and a $20 room charge. Then the yelling started.

I explained that I was not going to pay anything close to this and that I didn't even have that much on me (I had about 100 RNB with me). They insisted that I use a credit card or get my friend to bring money. We argued back and forth for a few minutes. I shook my head and handed them what I owed for the water and juice, which was about 70 RNB.

"I'm keeping this last 25 for a cab ride home. That is all that you're getting."

"You not going to pay?! You American man make woman pay?!"

"Sorry, but yes. That's what's happening."

Cah'Li and the waitress began shouting with each other in Chinese and I rose from my chair. "I'm leaving," I said, and made my way to the door. The waitress moved to block it and I was forced to lower my shoulder and shove my way through, running for the front door and into the street. I ran the couple of blocks to the subway station and disappeared into the crowds.

China has been an adventure so far. It's an entirely different world from southeast Asia, an almost polar opposite culture, and it's all very very strange but completely fascinating. I'm glad that I was able to make it up here and see a completely different face of Asia, and I'm incredibly happy to be able to spend some time with my friend and see the world he has lived in for two years. The journey continues.