New Camera, New Determination

Went into the Sanlitun area (lots of Western shops there, feels familiar - need that familiarity just now until I get settled and explore more) on Friday night, aiming to get a new work phone, and a camera. Since I left, I had promised myself that I'd upgrade my camera body, and plumped in the end for the D7000. It's quite a machine, and I am going to have fun using it for the foreseeable future!

What a trouble I had trying to buy the camera though, my word! There is a system here, where you have to go to a cashier to make payment for your goods (seems to be mainly big ticket items). So my card wasn't accepted...it wasn't rejected per se, but the payment didn't go through. I phoned my bank, and they told me that there was nothing wrong with my card, and there were sufficient funds in my account...
In the end, we separated the amount into smaller chunks, and made 3 or 4 transactions. It was a long winded way, and I was getting quite frustrated, but it all went fine.

After the retail therapy trauma, I decided on some junk food and beer to cheer me up. I tried an Aussie bar with a massive crap selection of beer, but it was happy hour, so it seems churlish to complain...Worse. Burger. Ever! So greasy!

Anyway, as it happens, there were two girls playing darts, and we got chatting, and now I can say that I've made some friends in Beijing! Penny and Becca, from South Africa and Canada respectively. Cool :)