Next stop was the Jade Museum where they would teach us how to differentiate real Jade from fake Jade. Really? That's all there is? Hehe.
The guide from the museum first took us to the sculpting and polishing windows where we saw Chinese men manually working on raw Jadeite. Then we entered a room where various sculptures were on display. I was really impressed with the Happy Family Jade Ball, which is a ball with several independent layers that could move around freely, hand-carved out of a single piece of Jade. Now that I think about it, I should've bought even the smallest and cheapest version of it that they're selling for 150 yuan. Aside from what it symbolizes, it looks pretty cool too. Sayang.
Then we entered an enormous room full of Jade jewelries and sculptures. Our guide taught us different ways to know whether a Jade is real or not. One of which is by gently hitting the bangles against each other. Real Jade would produce a sound similar to a chime. Fake Jade would produce a sound similar to clinking glasses.
Bing: "Maya-maya lang bebentahan na din tayo ng mga yan..."
True enough, all the informative talk eventually came down to sales talk. But after what happened yesterday, we already had our guards up against the teeth of the mythical Pixiu. Hehe.
We then headed to the Ming Tombs. Since it wasn't part of our group's itinerary and because we refused to pay 30 yuan for it, we just waited inside the van. Turned out that we made the right choice because the very location of the tombs was closed and according to Hazel...
Hazel: "Nagbayad kami ng 30 yuan para maglakad at mangamoy kabayo."
Had lunch at a huge restaurant filled with tourists of all shapes and sizes. Since 'twas Ninay's birthday, we sang her a birthday song and then shared a chocolate cake after. There was also a bottle of alcohol on our table that we each took a shot of. Having 56% alcohol content, our bodies were instantly warmed up! Ang lakas! Haha.
No trip to Beijing is complete without climbing a part of its most famous tourist spot. The Great Wall has different sections, some more challenging than others. Mary brought us to Badaling section, which is the most visited and therefore most crowded section of the wall. The steps were pretty steep and uneven that made it even more exhausting to climb.
Went to yet another jewelry store called Xiang Huang Di Jewelry Store. The guide from the store was pretty shocked when she learned that we were all Filipinos. According to her, the owner of the store is half-Filipino and Ninay jokingly said that she is actually friends with the owner. The guide then instructed another girl to call the owner to meet his "friends". Haha.
Johnny Lim, who claimed to have lived in Binondo, expressed how happy he was to meet his kababayans and started sharing tidbits of his personal life. He later showed us around his store and led us to a VIP room. In it were expensive jewelry pieces but because we are his, ehem, kababayans, he dropped the prices as low as he could. And his staff's reactions were priceless! Akting na akting! Hehe.
The Jade bracelets originally priced at around 1,000 yuan (Php7,000) were marked down to 100 yuan (Php700). I think everyone, except our little group of skeptics, bought a piece or two. Hehe. There was also a Ruby jewelry set originally priced at 6,000 yuan (Php42,000) that he marked down to 1,000 yuan (Php7,000)! Thank God I'm not a big fan of colored gems! Haha.
Ninay: "Bumibili ng bundok yung tatay niya! Tama ba yun? Hindi tama yun e!"
While the other groups couldn't believe how lucky we were to meet a "kababayan" who owns a jewelry shop, everything just seemed scripted to us. 'Twas just too good to be true, according to Chris. Funny coz there's this one blog saying that Johnny Lim is half-Malaysian and that he gave them big discounts because they were their countrymen! Nyaha. Well, I rest my case.
Our next stop was a room at the Olympic Stadium where we each received a relaxing foot massage. The reflexologist discussed the different pressure points on our feet and how they are associated with our internal organs. She also read the lines on my palm and found out that I am having irregular periods without me saying anything but my age. She mentioned something about it being dangerous to me and my future baby. Then she gave me a prescription for a Chinese herbal medicine that I could use to detoxify. According to her, a month and a half of using it will make my periods regular and that I will no longer experience dysmennorhea. It was difficult to say no especially when it was our health they're talking about. So I ended up swiping Franz's credit card, owing him a total of Php6,362.55 for three boxes. For a medicine that expensive, it better work!
Lastly, we stopped at a roadside to view the Bird's Nest Stadium, home to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, from afar.
Now for some odd news... We were playing Temple Run while waiting for Mary when we got sucked into the game! Waaah! Hehe.
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