Tania in China

Mon, Oct 30: Same old, same old

Now that the time pressure is off at work, we have slowly been puting together what needs to be done in what time frame. We spent the morning in a team-building exercise and then a regional phone meeting, then grab a sandwich at the European deli. I also had to have a piece of cake - my goal is to have tried all of the types of cake they sell before I leave!
In the afternoon I get approval to take next Monday as a vacation day, so I start looking for flights and hotels to visit Beijing. Every hotel associated with every hotel program that I belong to is priced through the roof, so I have to search for a different hotel. I settle for a Novotel - a European chain, where I can get a room on the Executive Floor for around $130 a night. Not cheap, but a lot cheaper than the other hotels I was looking at. The best thing is that this hotel is supposed to be a block away from Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, so it should be convenient for visiting these sites. I still have decided about my visit to the wall - booking a car from the hotel would be easier but more expensive than arranging a ride with a taxi. I don't know.

I eat dinner at the Italian place again (they are getting to know me!), and spend the evening first catching up on my blog, then trying to finish my expense report. I run into a problem right at the beginning and have to send a question off to the US, so I wasn't able to finish it. Darn. I finish out the evening with another episode of The Simpsons, and find it just too comfortable to put my laptop on the luggage rack and move it right next to the bed. I might have to do this at home!

posted by Tania @ 6:14 PM