I'm going back to Beijing today.

Jimmy had suggested Starbucks for breakfast instead of the buffet.

He said there was one just opposite the hotel.

When trying to find it, I came by the McDonald's directly opposite and decided to go there instead.

All the usual options like bacon and egg McMuffins, but I figured I'd try the weird looking combo.

It turns out it consisted of a really, really nice little egg and ham pastry and a spicy chicken burger. The coffee was bad, but still, it was worth it for the food.

Yummy ham and egg pastry for breakfast

The flight wasn't until 1.20pm, so I figured I'd do some walking around and see if I could find some other shops and little interesting things in the inner city.

Walked towards the bell tower to see what was beyond it, and lo and behold, there's a Starbucks down, at a plaza down below street level, presumably so that nobody can see it. :-)

Interesting-looking Starbucks

After realizing that there was nothing of interest to the East, I started walking South.

Walked by a Chinese brand shoe and sporting goods store. It's called Anta and apparently it's huge here. Looks rather like Nike. There's also another brand called Li-Ning that looks like it wants to be Adidas.

Storefront for Anta, a Chinese sportswear company

After walking around a bit longer, I happened upon a big plaza (Xing Zheng Yuan Plaza) with a sign for Wal*Mart on it. I'd never been to WalMart, so I decided I should check it out.

Wal*Mart in China? Better check it out!

The stores still weren't open, so I went to a bit of a walk around.

Upstairs in the shopping centre, they had an ice skating rink, according to the building directory sign.

Around the back, it looked like all the centre workers were waiting to be let it.

Then I found a plaza, quite open, with a big TV screen where they were teaching people how to play Othello (a.k.a. Reversi).

Reversi on the big screen

After tiring of watching the guy play Othello so slowly, I went to a walk in a different direction...

... and found the main Wal*Mart entrance, and found it was open!

They had a huge range. It was kind of like a Big W except it was much bigger, and they sold fresh produce as well.

In the food aisle, they even had a special section for MSG. :-)

A little way further, and I found exactly what I was looking for! Chinese-made Gillette blades that are unavailable in Australia.

They cost 6.80 RMB (1.40 AUD) for a 5-pack. I got 10. Each blade lasts at least two days, so

MSG section in Wal*Mart

Score! Chinese Gillette razor blades!

Picked up 10 packs, which should last at least 90 days, for a total of 14 AUD. Not too shabby.

Other sections included a big produce section, a deli which sold live fish, and a whole heap of yummy looking baked goods.

Live fish for sale

I think you really could buy everything there.

Paid for the blades and walked back to get to the hotel.

Finished packing, checked out, and took the airport bus to the airport.

Spoke to a girl from Guanzho briefly, but she wanted to sleep.

We passed a "non stale food market". :-)

Further along the road, there was an overturned tractor being lifted up by a crane. It looked like either a wheel had fallen off or an axle had snapped.

The airport bus stopped at terminal 1, which was only for a few airlines. An American couple started getting off, but I said to them "there are two terminals", since I think they assumed the bus was only stopping there. They got off anyway.

The bus drove to terminal 2.

Got off.

Grabbed the suitcase from the storage area, thanked the driver, and walked towards the check-in counter.

Wallet? Check.

Ticket? Check.

Passport?

Passport?

Passport?

Hmm. Not good.