25Feb Fri - Today, I am going to the Dentist to repair a broken tooth. This dentist is trained in Canada and his clients are rich Chinese or American. Tomorrow is a bus tour of the Great Wall and other sites in Beijing. Sunday is a 24 hour train trip to Yanbian. I am told I will share a space on the train with about 100 other people with a small bed to sleep in. There are three levels of beds. On the return trip I will pay about the same as a plane ticket for a private bedroom on the train. The cheapest seats on the Train are standing room only and the most expensive for the rich is a private bed room
I do not know if the Chinese government allows FaceBook or not. I could not use FaceBook at the hotel. The hotel where I am staying in Beijing has internet. Once I get on the train on Sunday I may not have internet for a few days.
I still am amazed that Beijing is so much like any American City with an older downtown, newer outskirts, and suburbs. With interstate-style highways, large shopping malls, nice sidewalks. It is cleaner than expected. China appears to be much richer than India.
The Super 8 motel chain has several hotels throughout China. This is not a hotel where Americans stay. No one at the front counter and none of the staff speak English. The room is small but clean and functional. The cost is about $50 USD per night – a little cheaper than a Super 8 in US. An important note is the toilets are American style and not Asian style as many of the public toilets and toilets on the train.
Dentist in Beijing
Most of Saturday morning was spent on the phone with the Dentist’s office. I had arranged the appointment by email and did not know the location of their office in relation to the location of the hotel where I would be staying. The dentist was about 30 minutes from the Airport but a long way from the hotel. I did call my insurance companies for recommendations of other Dentists in Beijing or Yanji where I would be staying. The final decision was to go to the same dentist. I am glad I made this decision.
Do You Ever Watch The Show The Great Race?
That is how I felt for the two days on the way to the both offices of the Dentist in Beijing. The first day I had to go see the Dentist at his clinic near the airport. From the hotel we walked to the subway station to take a train to the bus station for a ride the airport. At the airport, there are many many taxis but the first two taxis would not take us. They did not know the place where we were going and they wanted a 100 - 200 Yuan ($20 – $30 USD) taxi fee not the 30-40 Yuan that our shorter ride would need.
Finally the third taxi took us but he did not know the Dental clinic place either. The driver had a good heart. He spent a lot time on the phone back to his dispatcher and also asked three other taxis on the way. Finally he asked a man on the street in the area. This man jumped in his car and led the way to the Dental Clinic. We gave this taxi driver a big tip.
On the way back from the Dentist, my tour guided decided to use a Taxi for the entire trip back to the hotel. The price quoted by the Taxi driver was 100 Yuan (~17 USD) however he charged 134 Yuan (~ $6 USD more). Chen was very angry because the Taxi driver was cheating us because I was an American. Everyone thinks: “rich American”.
The first trip to the Dentist was for consultation and x-ray. I needed a crown to fix a broken tooth. The dentist has a new machine that uses a 3-demensional computer rendition to create Crowns.
I highly recommend the United Family Healthcare Hospital Dental Clinic in Beijing and Dr Chung-Ming Tse, DDS. Both clinics were very modern, high tech, very professional, and the crown fit perfectly.
I am 12,000 miles away from the US and 6,000 Kilometers away from Dubai. But it feels very much like I am home except everyone is Chinese. There are police, guards, or military everywhere near the Tiananmen Square and all the Chinese government building. The area where I stayed was very much like staying in an area that would be walking distance to the White House in Washington, DC. However, I do not believe you can find a $50 per night hotel within walking distance of the US Congress.
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