Those Odd Foreigners At Helens

The past week in Beijing has flown by. My routine has gone something like this. Wake up 7:30. Exit hotel at 8:30 and pay for another night on the way out. Walk 3 minutes to western backpacker bar/restaurant. Order western style breakfast with the music of Jack Johnson in one ear and traditional music from the Tibetan shop across the street in the other ear. Finish breakfast with a cup of coffee, write and/or surf the web until 11 am. Return to hotel for a short pit stop then roam, mostly walk, around the city all afternoon.

Back at the hotel around 5 or so for another pit stop then return to western backpacker bar/restaurant where I sit out front sipping a Tsingtao beer and debate ordering Chinese or western food for dinner. People watch for the rest of the evening.

The establishment I’ve been frequenting is called Helen’s. It’s a typical atmospheric kind of bar restaurant commonly found in the west but an oddity in China unless you’re in an area that caters to foreigners. It’s the only place like it in a sea of Chinese businesses geared for Chinese tourists. What’s funny is that Chinese can’t help but stop and curiously look inside. It’s not uncommon for them to stop and take photos of the odd looking foreigners sipping their beer and eating their pizza. Of course Chinese are more than welcome to come in for food and drink but they appear intimidated by a seemingly exclusive crowd of westerners speaking English, French, Spanish, German, Hebrew, with just a little bit of broken Mandarin.

The other night I saw a Chinese man with his girlfriend. He stopped and seemed to be fixated on Helen's back bar lined with numerous liquor bottles. He wanted so bad to go in. His girlfriend was literally pulling him away. This back and forth thing went on for awhile. He was obviously a go for it guy but she was far too uncomfortable with the prospect. It was quite entertaining seeing who was going to win but in the end the girlfriend got her way as they drifted off down the street.

Often times I avoid the places specifically geared for westerners but at other times it’s nice to order familiar food and easily strike up a conversation in English if I feel like it. The prices are only slightly more than the local places. However, sometimes Helen's can be a little over the top. Last night I left when they started playing the movie soundtrack to Grease. I think it was the couple who started singing along that ran me off.