China offers refreshing perks, change of pace for expat from US
A full-body massage for $12. A three-course meal for $5. A weekly housecleaning for $15.
When I tell friends and family back home in the United States about the services available in Beijing, the reaction is one of surprise and curiosity. It's impressive, they say, that such luxuries would be available at such affordable prices.
A colleague in the China Daily expats' building introduced me to a local resident who cleans homes. I discovered Suhang Blind Massage - a parlor near Workers Stadium that employs blind workers to provide affordable (and quality!) massages - on the popular English-language website TimeOut Beijing. I eat out regularly instead of cooking at home, because the food is just as affordable in simple restaurants as the grocery store and it's prepared significantly better than I'd be able to cook on my own at this point.
