Susan Jackson

Let’s get a little more in depth as to why our deputy manager Bob is the coolest guy I’ve met, maybe ever. First, a little background. According to my intel, Bob used to be an actor, is now a civil servant of some sort, and has a mean karaoke voice. In my experiences, I’d add to that list, “the guy you call if you need anything in Beijing.”

I told you already about him magically whipping out a phone, charger, and extra battery when we first met and I mentioned I didn’t have a cell yet. He also promised to take me to the electronics flea market to purchase one of my own and do the haggling for me. Well, Bob didn’t exactly come through on that one, he came in one better. Instead of doing battle over prices on my behalf, he had his friend, the electronics market landlord, shop with us. The guy didn’t speak a lick of English but Bob explained that with him around, we’d have to get the best price.

For the next 30 minutes, we became the center of attention in the large indoor market. At least six people waited on us and insisted we enjoy free bottles of the Chinese answer to Vitamin Water while we looked over the goods. The Olympic credentials around our necks and that we have Western faces contributed to the hype. It was the equivalent of all those Hollywood celebrities sipping complimentary champagne during private shopping sessions in posh Beverly Hill boutiques. . .except for the whole sweaty electronics market in China part.

When I asked whether or not a particular phone was quad-band and would work in the United States, Bob spoke to the shop manager and translated the following answer in complete seriousness: “Yes. And if you go home and this phone doesn’t work, he will be punished.” Of course, my reaction was surprise and dismissal, but the absurdity of such a thing didn’t register with Bob or the store manager. I don’t know what the punishment would be, but Crysty and I each ended up with a phone, and I have the manager’s business card if discipline is in order.

I should mention that Crysty could purchase the phone only because Bob also took us to a bank for her to exchange money. Using his Bob-ish ways, and a few gestures to our credentials, he managed to get Crysty in front of 139 other people waiting to do their banking. On the way out, we started chatting with two managers of other banks who were there for a meeting. They encouraged us to contact them if we had absolutely any financial needs while in China. Bob later let us know that their respective banks don’t even exchange money (not uncommon, we’ve found) but that they said they’d do it for us.

As we walked to Bob’s car from the bank, he insisted we get a drink from the corner store. Each of us picked out an ice cream pop and had an iced tea thrust into our hands, but the shopkeepers refused our money. Bob had it covered and may or may not be paying for the items in the future. Bob’s house is just around the corner from the store and apparently, the shopkeepers also know that Bob is the man.

Another of Bob’s friends (or cousin, maybe?) can get us tickets to the amusement park next to our venue. I’ll let you know how the fake Epcot ball looks from up close.

For further proof of Bob’s indisputable coolness, check out the post on Bob’s tea shop.

Tags: Beijing, travel

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 12:26 am and is filed under Beijing Olympics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.