Tuesday was Nir’s last day in China, so he had to go find some nice souvenirs for his friends and family.  While I was at work, he went to the Silk market and one last time to Tiananmen Square.  He was supposed to come to my office at 5.30 PM so we could go home, pick up his bag and head to the airport.  I was waiting downstairs right in front of my office, but no sign of Nir… 5.45 PM… 6.00 PM… 6.15 PM… still no Nir anywhere in sight.  I really started to get nervous, because I did not know whether I should stay and wait or rather go back to my apartment and wait for him there.  Stupid as we were, we did not have a backup plan.  I told myself that I would go back to my place at 6.30 PM and at 6.28 PM a cab pulled up and Nir was inside.  Gosh was I relieved!!! That really was close.  Nir told me that for some odd reason, all the roads around Tiananmen Square were blocked and it took him 1 ½ hours to get to my office.  After another half an hour in the cab, we finally made it to my apartment and Nir stuffed his souvenirs and gifts into his huge backpack.  Then we were off to the airport…

I really have to say that the procedures for international departures are rather complicated at PEK.  You have to go through customs before you leave, which I find rather strange.  The problem was that neither Nir nor I knew whether he would be able to come out of the restricted customs section again or not.  He was anxious to get his pack checked in so he did not even turn around and we had not even said good-bye.  I decided to stay a little while anyways to see if he comes out again.  After about half an hour he did, but he did not have much time, as the security checks for flights to Israel are extremely strict and time consuming.  When he came out, we only said goodbye and off he went…

I have to say that this extended weekend with Nir was really nice.  It felt good to have company, someone to talk to, visit the sights, share a nice meal and laugh with.  We got along very well and had some pretty intense and interesting conversations.  I learned a lot about Israel and Judaism, which was fascinating and interesting.  He also told me a lot of great stories about his travels through China and his previous backpacking trip through Southeast Asia.  I think the travel bug has bitten me again and now I am figuring out when and how I could fit in an experience like that in my plans for the future.  Nir is a great guy and lots of fun to be around with.  I really hope we stay in contact and may be meet up sooner or later somewhere.

Sorry, no pics this time…

Want to read what happened next?

My China Experience 1

My China Experience 2-11

My China Experience 12-21

My China Experience 21-31