First real drink in 2 weeks.

Smirnoff martini does taste a bit different comparing it to a Ketel One. But you know what, it still tastes good.

I, apologetically, left Marlon behind in Tianjin and came to Beijing by myself. The real reason is to see my uncle and his family. It's nice to see him. He is a well read person. He was a Quantity Surveyor for the government for many years before he retired. So, he completely knows the history of my project in Tianjin. I think he is quite impressed and proud of me, especially as a building industry veteran. My uncle, aunt, his eldest son, and 2 of the daughters in law took me to a very nice restaurant. We had some very delicious food. More delicious than what we had in Tianjin. I'm completely stuffed right now. I was too busy eating. Not many pictures of the food.

Another mission of this trip is to get myself a real drink. It's lovely sitting at a hotel bar, icy cold martini and writing my blog on my Blackberry. The place I am staying is pretty nice. It's a little treat to myself for the 2 weeks of hard work. I'm proud of Marlon and me for getting a fair bit of work done in such short time. I deserve a nice hotel room for a night.

2 weeks down, and we don't know how many more to go. I have to say it's probably, under a normal circumstance, easier to be an architect/designer in China than in the States. It's not about what you can't do. It's about what TO DO to make it works. No wonder everyone wants to build in China. Life safety design, fire protection, sanitation, site safety... is another topic.

Speaking of which, I just saw the burnt TVCC/Mandarin Oriental Hotel next to CCTV tower. It's this charred super tall building along the 3rd Ring Road. Sad!