READ THE SIGNS, OR PAY THE PRICE
+ TIANANMEN SQUARE, BEIJING

About mid-day through my trip, I set off for Tiananmen Square to have a look around Mao central. Backpack, camera and wallet, all I needed. I walked over from my hostel, Leo Hostel 2 in the hutong, after grabbing a quick breakfast of steamed buns. On my way out of the youth hostel, I ignored the big yellow sign above the checkin desk. That would be my biggest mistake that day. Tiananmen Square had no shortage of tourists, and few without the iconic backpack and digital camera. As I walked up to one of the magnificent statues, I was approached by a girl and her boyfriend who looked about the same age as me. She said, “Hey, pretty cool statues, huh?” I was a little surprised to have someone talking to me, but decided maybe it was my chance to make some new friends in China. After chatting a little, she invited me to go for a walk with her friend around the streets of Beijing. She explained that her friend was visiting for his first time in Beijing, they were both students, and that he was from Shanghai and she grew up in Beijing. He told me he likes playing computer games and reading manga. They honestly seemed cool, it was a believable act.

After maybe an hour of walking around, the girl stopped and bent over in a sort of exhausted manner. She had been explaining a lot of Beijing to us, in English, and actually did a nice job showing me some things I’d never thought to look at. In that sense, what was coming was almost earned, but not by so much. She invited us for tea, which I accepted without second thought. I didn’t realize that path we took led us directly in front of this teahouse. I was led up the stairs, the boy behind me, maybe to keep me from turning back. We got to a room where the door slid open and before us, a table set with teacups, teapots, and little cups of nuts. Beside the table stood a beautiful Chinese woman in a pretty dress. She spoke with a cute voice and poured our tea while we sat around and watched. It was interesting, she had a different technique for pouring every tea. Before the ceremony began, she showed us a menu with some writing scrawled across it. I wish I could have read the small print, it probably said something like this, “Thanks for coming to our tea house, please empty your wallet before leaving.”

After about thirty minutes, we leaned back, fairly satisfied and ready for the bill. She proceeded to show off some tea products we could buy. My new, “friends” insisted I buy something, but after asking the cost, and learning a single container of Oolong was running about $150+USD, I knew it was a bad idea. I also had a sinking feeling that I knew what was coming. The bill arrived and the two looked a little startled, but just handed it to me. For about thirty minutes of tea pouring, the bill from what I can remember was close to $800-$1,000USD. My heart sank, I heard the door lock behind me and knew this was it. My money was actually back in my locker along with my credit card(which lifted my spirits a little), and I only carried about $100 on me that day. This did not please the pretty lady in the dress, as she shouted, “pay now!” I tried not to lose my temper, but still had a go at them, accusing the kids of misleading me and showing me no prices. The woman had something behind her back and she drew closer to me. The two kids said, “Just give her what you’ve got.” I opened my wallet and dumped what I had out(luckily small bills so it looked like a lot), shouted, “take it and let me outta here!” They unlocked the door and brushed me down the stairs.

Out on the street, the two kids walked up to me and said, “Hey, that was a fun time, how about some dinner?” I lifted my fists and chased them down the street(only for a minute, to get rid of them), I realized only too late that my youth hostel was just around the block. I stormed back and reported the incident. They didn’t flinch, just turned and pointed to the yellow sign I ignored on my way out that morning. “Don’t trust ANY students, especially if they invite you to tea or an art gallery.”

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