Wind battered

It's supposedly -8 to -7 deg celsius today. I intended to stay home and just watch TV. But looking out of the window today, I thought, "Look at that glorious sunshine! Doesn't seem that cold. Let's go out!" 

Destination: Foreign Language Book Store at Wangfujing

Objective: Buy Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, F Scott Fitzgerald's The curious case of Benjamin Button and A Dungeons & Dragons book

Mode of transport: Taxi- subway combo

Intended lunch: Hamburger within the golden arches of Mc Donald's at the mall facing the book store. 

As I sat in the cab, I realised that going out may not have been a good idea after all.... 

The wind was blowing hard and I could see traffic lights swaying in the wind and traffic signs fluttering! Metal boards fluttering in the wind!!! While parked behind a red light, a sudden gust of wind rocked the cab I was in. Even the cabbie got a fright. I got my books and headed for lunch. To get to McD's I have to walk just 20metres across but the wind was so strong I could only manage to stagger zig zag like a drunken sailor to get across! At one point I swear I felt my shoes  sliding sideways. 

The biggest challenge was walking down Wangfujing to reach the subway. People were walking backwards to prevent themselves from being pushed forwards onto their faces! It was strange to see so many people walking backwards and gaggles of young women squealing and hanging on to their friends for dear life whenever there was a gust of wind. Er.. to be more accurate, it was a constant gusting! 

The wind was blowing so hard, my glasses got knocked askew. I had a paper bag weighted down with 5 thick books and on the other hand, a bag containing my heavy wallet, phone and ipod. Both bags were being tossed around by the wind despite my best efforts to hang on to them. By the time I reached indoor safety, I felt bruised and battered. But hey, it was pretty fun!