Hustled

We got to our hotel and took a walk along the Forbidden City. We ran into a group of four young adults: three Chinese women and one Polish guy. We had a nice chat with them along the moat. They were very friendly and their English was surprisingly good. We all walked together and then the girls suggested we should have some tea, so we stopped into a tea house.

We were seated upstairs in a fancy room, and the lady in charge showed us how to sip tea in the style of the ancient emperors. We sat in various positions chatted and laughed, and the lady showed us how to sit facing each other. The decor was quite beautiful, and I guess it was sort of romantic except the girls were ugly as sin. This went on for a couple of hours. It was quite enjoyable and the conversation was very interesting. Eventually we got the bill: US$650!!

Six hundred and fifty dollars for some tea!

Later, both M-Rock and I shook our heads in embarrassment: we are too old to get conned like that!

"The thing is," I told M-Rock, "the girls were so ugly."

"I know," he added, "that's what made it so believable!"

Today we were quite proud of ourselves because we now realize that we were entertained by the only ugly women in Beijing. What an honor!