First few days in Beijing

Here is a recap of my first few days in Beijing.  Overall, it's definitely been exciting.  It's fun to explore an entirely new city, and with Mo and Jon around I normally don't feel entirely lost.  Friday night, the three of us had dinner by a mall with a giant LCD screen ceiling (much like Fremont street in Las Vegas).  

Later, we ended up at a place known as "Chocolate" which is an interesting mix of locals, Russian expats, and Chinese singers that sing Russian techno.  

On Sunday, we ended up getting a foot massage for ~$18 in the spa/gym complex of our building.  The most entertaining part of this was the very beginning.  Apparently you start foot massages by putting your feet in really hot water.  Mo was able to deal with this, but Jon and I couldn't.  I had to keep removing my feet after a few seconds, since it felt like I was being scalded.  Jon, in particular, kept asking the masseuse to add ice.  After several trips of getting cold water and adding it to Jon's bucket, the masseuse looked at Jon as if to say "You really should be okay now.  Right?"  Jon tested the water, and kept motioning, "More ice!"

In food news, I am still looking for the perfect local joint, where I hear you can get a meal for $1-2 dollars.  I have not found it yet, but here is a picture of a Taiwanese style meal in a small shopping mall which was approximately $6 USD:

We did find one place which was both a spa and a seafood buffet.  If it only had Chinese singers performing Russian techno songs, it could be the combination of all the things we did this weekend!  I haven't gone in yet, but I'm very curious.