Our first experience in Beijing was not a positive one. We were on the way to see Tian man square. It was frozen outside; it was below 7. When we were near the square, Allan was approached by two Chinese girls. The girls told him that the square was closed and we were wasting our time going there. After a short conversation and introductions that soon got forgotten as most unrepeated names are, the girls told us that there was a nearby tea shop that we could all go to and talk. They seem interesting enough so we acquiesced since we had nothing else planned for the evening.
We took off with the girls as they lead the way to the tea shop. We arrived at the place and it was small but very cozy. The girls childish jokes and idol conversation made 30 minutes pass like 5 minutes. Their English seem like it was limited to knock knock jokes that increased the wrinkles on our faces. But their innocence and uncultivated ideas about Westerners kept us wanting to explain more about our origins and our perceived ambiguity. Although dry and childlike, they said just enough to keep us interested in the conversation all the while we failed to ask for the menu and simply indulged in the tea the elegant and graceful server in front of us presented.
The night went on and it was time to pay and leave. When the server brought the bill, we thought it was a joke. It was 700 yuan per person for tasting 10 types of Chinese tea. Chinese money is shit and thus you might think this is not much but when converted, it’s about $140. We then asked to see the menu (what we should have done at the beginning) and each tea was 50 yuan. And the girls failed to tell us the prices before ordering the tea.
The conversation became less interesting because we felt swindled. No tea in the world is worth $140. We argued this point and the bill was less for Allan and Mischa since I had paid already before I left for the bathroom.
When we got back to Salitun Youth Hostel where we stayed, I passed a paper on the wall that read,
beware of tea shop scams. There have been incidents of Chinese girls taking foreigners to tea shops and the foreigners being charged alot of money. It’s a scam; the girls scam foreigners and share the money.
Unfortunately, we had been had.
{ 4 comments }
Whoa! So sorry to hear this! I guess the Chinese women have learned that men are often easily "distracted" shall we say by pretty girls. I do hope they were pretty, at least! LOL How much did you end up paying? Did the girls who tried to scam you end up paying for their own tea?
I've had a few similar negative experiences on the road. Being a naturally over friendly person it has taken me a while to resist all but the most certain of invites when visiting a new country. 'Tis sad really, to think over caution could deny you of a new fantastic experience.
Indeed men are easily distracted, especially by women. They were average looking girls but being men of language, we were taken by their childlike innocence and their teaching of Chinese tradition. I ended up paying $140 and they paid a portion of their bill as well but when working in a scam like that, they still made a substantial amount from our ignorance.
But all of life is experience and those who do not learn from their experiences become stale and get thrown out by life itself. Hope that makes as much sense to you as it does to me lol. B)
Indeed men are easily distracted, especially by women. They were average looking girls but being men of language, we were taken by their childlike innocence and their teaching of Chinese tradition. I ended up paying $140 and they paid a portion of their bill as well but when working in a scam like that, they still made a substantial amount from our ignorance.
But all of life is experience and those who do not learn from their experiences become stale and get thrown out by life itself. Hope that makes as much sense to you as it does to me lol. B)
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