November 20 – Beijing
Another interesting story about the Empress Cixi – reputedly when she bathed, she had four maids waiting on her. Their job was to dry her after she washed. They came with a great pile of towels because each towel was to only be used once. One wipe of her body and they were to be disposed of. I hope they were at least recycled and not just burned or something. It’s not hard to see why there was a revolution – that makes even the most corrupt modern politician look normal.
I had dinner at Alan’s parents last night. Their apartment is about 700 square feet and is worth about $2million US. It is one of the largest apartments in the building – there is one this size on each floor and given and they were made available for people with senior government positions. Alan’s parents have lived there since Alan was in high school…apartments are no longer included as part of wages. The price is because of its excellent location – near good hospitals and schools and other important buildings. When I left it was dark. The hallways have only motion detector lighting so you are always walking in a pool of light with darkness behind and in front. The walls and floor are bare concrete and footsteps echo. There is almost no light coming through the windows because they are dirty and there are no yard lights outside. While I was waiting for the elevator I stood still, so all of the lights went off. It was the perfect setting for a horror movie.
Then the elevator came, the lights went on, and I was safely out of the building.