Punk is not dead (and other tales from the Beijing subway) - Always Pack a Runcible Spoon

March 20, 2005

Punk is not dead (and other tales from the Beijing subway)

These guys materialised on the Metro platform in front of us tonight. Wearing their jackets emblazoned with references to the Sex Pistols, and their hairdos spiky as weaponry, they caught my eye among the sea of neat-and-prim 'winter casuals' that dominates the subway riding community here.

I have been staring rudely at people on the Beijing Metro more than just this once, as it happens.

This morning I sat opposite a young woman with the most exquisite haircut. Parisian-sharp, it was sleek and sexy and yet demure as a kitten-heel.

ThisisthenewChina.ThisisthenewChina.ThisisthenewChina: I have to keep pinching myself to be able to believe this is China at all.

The Subway Siren's haircut both transformed her fine features and showed them off to perfection: plum-tinted lips, and the dark, eloquent eyes of a movie star. Her face was framed by the grey-hued fur that chased 'round the edge of her hooded pink houndstooth jacket.

I sat in astonishment, just reeling at how cosmopolitan the city feels this time around.

Posted by Tiffany on March 20, 2005 10:06 PM
Category: China

Comments

Thanks so much for this photo!
It's awesome!

Posted by: Theresa on March 21, 2005 04:20 AM

Hi Tiffany,

Thanks for the nice note the other day.

About this post: Yes, I agree with you about the cosmopolitan feel in Beijing nowadays. I have a friend who hopes to move there. Hope she does soon so I can visit often!

You mentioned earlier you and Andrew had 'OneWorld?' tickets for this trip. Did you book through this site or did you find a better option elsewhere? Do your tickets allow you to decide when to move on or are there solid dates for your flights and (one more nosy question) are you able to fly back to a Must-Be-Seen-Again-Place?

Posted by: midcape on March 24, 2005 05:10 AM

Hiya midcape,

We booked our OneWorld tix directly through Qantas, which, for us, turned out to be a very good option. Our itinerary was reasonably complex, and pushed the rules and regs of the ticket class to its absolute limits. Qantas were AMAZING in assisting us.

That said, I have not checked out BnA in its capacity as a RTW ticket agent - so am definitely not disparaging that option.

Dates are left off the ticket - all flights are 'open-dated', which essentially means that you phone or walk into the relevant airline each time you know for certain when you want to depart from A to B, and you 'lock in' the date for that particular sector.

The open-dating system is a godsend for flexibility, but it can present probs on busy sectors or at peak times. RTW tix are 'L class' (super-discount) - and the airlines don't always release a huge number of L-class seats on really popular flights. Best to always lock in the dates ASAP.

Routing is reasonably strict - you cannot backtrack, and you must travel in one continuous direction, either eastwards or westwards. This only applies from continent to continent - eg, you can fly 'backwards' WITHIN the USA or within Europe, but BETWEEN continents you must fly in the one direction. So, leaving Australia and flying to Mexico as our first stop meant that our itinerary is an eastbound one. Also, some airports, like Heathrow, can only be flown in or out of a VERY limited number of times (perhaps 2 times on our ticket?)

Aaaah ... you make me nostalgic for the planning phase now!

Cheers, t

Posted by: Tiffany on March 25, 2005 05:06 PM

Email this page