One bored and lonely Sunday afternoon shortly after moving to China, I hopped on my (not so) sweet bike and rode the seven miles from my place to check out Ikea. My map was dated and I ended up getting very lost. Once you leave the city center of Beijing, you quickly enter rural factory areas where construction workers live and work. I was totally lost on a dirt road when I stopped to ask a man using a hammer to break ice on the ground where I could find Ikea. I hadn't bothered to learn the Chinese name for Ikea knowing that I would never get lost so I had to play charades. "You know, the big building that sells furniture? Household stuff?" No, he said, but as I turned away, he called after me, "Are you talking about the foreign place that sells food and coffee?" Yes!
(the Ikea restaurant)
Ikea Beijing was nothing like the ones I've been to in the States. The actual products and design were the same, but there had to have been thousands of people in there. Second of all, it seemed a lot more like a hangout place than an actual store. The restaurant was also a main event. It was massive and absolutely packed. I drank Glögg, a Swedish mulled wine, and ordered what I always order, Swedish meatballs. I definitely think a lot of people go there just to eat and then make there way over to the couches and beds to relax.
Friends and family sat around and talked, played games, and took naps.
I didn't buy anything. Partly because I rode my bike and couldn't but also because the line was insane. I recommend going on a weekday. That's when I went back to buy a couch and a soup strainer and a bunch of other things that I don't need. Ikea gets me every time on that last lower level as I'm leaving and shoving everything I see in my yellow bag and telling myself this is such a good deal.
-mk