Ambulando

There is a saying about peyote.
They say that, once you find one, you will see all the others around. But not before you have found that first one.
I do not know how much true is this, I firmly believes in magic of the desert, but I never went searching for peyote. When in Real de Catorce, I just had some home made marmelade.

Anyway, I now know the same it could be said for hand rolling tabacco in Beijing.

Two days ago I finished my last pouch of Golden Virginia, so alternative was to stop smoking for a 10 days, or to search of a suitable replacement. No way i was going to smoke normal cigarettes.
I was told I could find tabacco in Salitum, so there I went.
I saw lot of small stand selling cigarettes and suddendly I found one selling also rolling papers. So, where there is smoke, there should be fire as well.
I asked for tabacco. I was presented a very limited choice, and mostly I suspect tabacco for pipes. So I get my hands on the only one having written “roll your own” on the bag, with some other writing in Russian or some of this exotic language. I paid 35 YUAN for it, a bargain in Europe, but still a huge price in China
I went to a bar, I ordered a beer, I opened the bag looking forward a relaxing smoke.
It was dry as hell, it was rough cut as straw, it was apple flavoured!
I managed to roll a cigarette anyway. It was not a bad smoking. Just not sweet as I am used and a little bit too strong due to dryness.

I had my beer, I added some nachos alongside (it was mezcal night, the waitress explained to me, so nachos went half a price), I had my smoke, and so I went for a stroll.

And then the magic happened.
All the cigarettes stands were selling rolling paper and hand rolling tabacco! All of them.
And maybe with a better choice than mine. I had not the heart to look at what was on sell actually.

I came back to the bar, I ordered another couple of beers, I had some more apple flavoured puff.
In the meantime I was listening to a chinese-mexican-spanish duo making interpretation of guitar classics and crossing over with some arabic songs.

Another Sanlitum night.

I have to say I am getting tired of Beijing.
I love the city, I love the people, I love being here, but everything is getting in a routine lately.

As I said, apart for the Summer Palace that I am saving for later, just to say “Oh, I have to visit the Summer Palace yet”, I already covered all the sights or most of them.
So now it is just waiting for my flight out, while getting laid.

Tomorrow I will go and search for Guinness.