Once upon a time when I first came to China 3 years and 3 days ago I stayed in a little apartment with 2 bedrooms and 1 living room; a kitchen and a small toilet/bathroom. There were 4 people living there (me in the living room). 2 and a half months later, just before my visa was to run out and i had to get it extended, I went to the local police station to 'register'. Unfortunately I turned up on a Saturday, and the man who could register would only come to work on Monday.
On the Monday I went back to the police station to register only to be told that I need to register within 24 hours of moving into the apartment, and since I had been there since Saturday, unregistered, I would be punished for breaking the law. This is, of course, absurd -what was I to do? In hindsight the lesson is never try to register on a weekend! My punishment was to sit for 1-2 hours with a friend translating for me, though neither of us had to say or do anything. Instead we watched as the special man wrote out pages and pages of stuff bout what i had done wrong. He literally wrote about 8 pages by hand. Then, for some totally unknown reason declared he had to make another copy of his essay (not sure why the photocopier was not used...) by hand.
I had to 'accept' my punishment and make sure to register within 24 hours of any apartment i ever stay in ever again in China (unless it is a hotel where you register at the hotel). I was even told if i broke the rule again i might not be allowed into the country, so i am sure there was no computer involved (and my essays were just filed in some backroom) so noone would know.
None the less I was sufficiently scared to have NOT registered in any of the 2 places in Beijing or 3 places in Xi'an I have lived since (and the many many other friends' places i have spent a few days in Shanghai and elsewhere). But I decided, last week, in my new place in Beijing to register (because someone put a sign on our front door telling me to!). And since the place i live is fancy and there are other foreigners living there (there are quite literally more than 100 buildings in the complex), it was relatively painless: Ask the office responsible for area D for instructions. They direct me to the office responsible for areas A-E for a note that takes 5 minutes. They direct me to the police station, where 10 minutes later I was registered.
The main problem was the fact my passport was at the Vietnam embassy. I had hurried off to show may face as soon as the sign appeared on the door with a photocopy of my passport; only to have to ask the question "If i come back in 2 days to register properly will I be fined/punished?" Deja Vu anyone? Anyway the police woman almost laughed at me, like she really gave a monkey and when i returned 2 days later, all was good :)
And now I am back in Xi'an again; in 8 days time I will be on holiday in Vietnam. Such is life. And the highlight of the last couple of weeks? coming to the office today and being able to see the mountains 10 miles away (for the 4th time in a year). Actually the highlight was me running 15km (once) and 12 km (once) as part of my preparation to run (and hopefully complete without stopping and within 2 hours) the Beijing half marathon in a month's time.
The worst part of the week was hearing of the death of Anita Roddick. 1 of the few people that comes to my mind as a real role model who really made a lasting difference in the World and kept to her values as well as spreading those values across the World. But, having amassed a fortune of 100+ million pounds, what a shame she will not be alive to spend it on all the good causes she has helped over the years.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Saturday, September 01, 2007
A very Chinese experience continued
After the last day of the trip, I feel like I need to add to the previous list:
-A hop-on, hop-off bus strip around Chong Qing which included a stop at a 'museum', but which is actually a shop selling kitchen knifes and where you get a 20 minute 'demo' and then buy the knifes. Actually the demo was quite good and it seems the price was not too bad since 80% of all the Plan staff made a purchase -I hope our tour guide will be happy with the commission she must have got!
-A visit to a few Communist History sites (actually they were mostly prisons where the Communist revolutionary martyrs were locked up/died during the civil war with the KMT) which all my colleagues had read about extensively at school. I accepted the fact that it is sad that people died in a civil war, but was not so sure the sites were really that big a deal, since there was no historical significance to the prisons what-so-ever: no famous communists were there, no defining moment of the civil war took place, no barbaric acts etc. Never mind, it was still somewhat interesting to read all the propoganda.
-A view of a place where the Yangtze River meets another river and you can see the 2 colours of the river mixing. The Chinese think this is interesting; the Westerners tend to think more which of the colours indicates which river is most polluted...
-A group photo. This is obligatory, even at a simple half day conference there are group photos. Everyone says 'Qiezi' (sounds somewhat like cheese when you pronounce it and hence has the same effect of making people smile) and holds their 2 fingers up in a 'V' for Victory (the same fingers as swearing but with your palm away from you). This happens across East Asia.
-A fantastic hotpot (i.e. fondu where you boil your own food) in Chongqing. The spicier it is the more ice-cold beer needed to deal with it :)
-A hop-on, hop-off bus strip around Chong Qing which included a stop at a 'museum', but which is actually a shop selling kitchen knifes and where you get a 20 minute 'demo' and then buy the knifes. Actually the demo was quite good and it seems the price was not too bad since 80% of all the Plan staff made a purchase -I hope our tour guide will be happy with the commission she must have got!
-A visit to a few Communist History sites (actually they were mostly prisons where the Communist revolutionary martyrs were locked up/died during the civil war with the KMT) which all my colleagues had read about extensively at school. I accepted the fact that it is sad that people died in a civil war, but was not so sure the sites were really that big a deal, since there was no historical significance to the prisons what-so-ever: no famous communists were there, no defining moment of the civil war took place, no barbaric acts etc. Never mind, it was still somewhat interesting to read all the propoganda.
-A view of a place where the Yangtze River meets another river and you can see the 2 colours of the river mixing. The Chinese think this is interesting; the Westerners tend to think more which of the colours indicates which river is most polluted...
-A group photo. This is obligatory, even at a simple half day conference there are group photos. Everyone says 'Qiezi' (sounds somewhat like cheese when you pronounce it and hence has the same effect of making people smile) and holds their 2 fingers up in a 'V' for Victory (the same fingers as swearing but with your palm away from you). This happens across East Asia.
-A fantastic hotpot (i.e. fondu where you boil your own food) in Chongqing. The spicier it is the more ice-cold beer needed to deal with it :)
Thursday, August 30, 2007
A very Chinese experience
Last week 135 of Plan China's 150 staff began our annual retreat. In truly Chinese style it took 23 hours to get to our destination via coaches and trains; though we all had beds the electric fans on the 25 year old trains struggled to beat the 30 degree evening heat. We ended up at a place called Bamboo Sea, 'not that famous' a place according to my colleagues almost none of whom had heard of it before.
Not that that matters, it was far enough into the mountains to have fresh air and a great opportunity for me to be forced to speak more chinese. Unfortunately most of my colleagues from the field offices have rather thick accents. Bamboo Sea was, as the name implies, a forest entirely made of Bamboo (not actually a sea, but a metaphor) which was rather large and took up several mountains.What makes the trip so Chinese?
-the tour guide talking for more than 2 hours on the bus about the local area, then organising a 2 hour karaoke competition on the bus (she did not get the humour when i sang Oasis' Wonderwall whilst looking at her: "I don't believe that anybody// Feels the way I do about you now") and forcing everyone to participate.
-the party 1 evening whereby offices/groups perform 'short' skits which in total lasted over 3 hours. It did look funny, and everyone else was laughing a lot, even though i had barely a clue what anyone was saying. Never the less there was some fruit and munchies...
-the 'sightseeing' which requires being bussed around the area we were in between various bamboo related sights (often involving lots of carvings of famous sayings or legends into the rock that is really nothing to do with bamboo and that are found at every famous place in China).
-the food which was 90% made of bamboo dishes. There are, in my recent experience, at least 30 different dishes you can make from bamboo and many other herbal medicines that can be created from bamboo according to the women trying to sell it to me.
-the incredible amount of photos the chinese people took of bamboo and of themselves in front of bamboo (bamboo is quite common all over china).
-lunch on a boat cruising along the river looking at more bamboo
-how loud (and how fast) chinese people speak on buses
and so on.... Anyway it has been a fun trip and great to get out of the office and enjoy more social time with my colleagues. Especially after reading Only 1 percent of the country’s 560 million city dwellers breathe air considered safe by the EU.
Not that that matters, it was far enough into the mountains to have fresh air and a great opportunity for me to be forced to speak more chinese. Unfortunately most of my colleagues from the field offices have rather thick accents. Bamboo Sea was, as the name implies, a forest entirely made of Bamboo (not actually a sea, but a metaphor) which was rather large and took up several mountains.What makes the trip so Chinese?
-the tour guide talking for more than 2 hours on the bus about the local area, then organising a 2 hour karaoke competition on the bus (she did not get the humour when i sang Oasis' Wonderwall whilst looking at her: "I don't believe that anybody// Feels the way I do about you now") and forcing everyone to participate.
-the party 1 evening whereby offices/groups perform 'short' skits which in total lasted over 3 hours. It did look funny, and everyone else was laughing a lot, even though i had barely a clue what anyone was saying. Never the less there was some fruit and munchies...
-the 'sightseeing' which requires being bussed around the area we were in between various bamboo related sights (often involving lots of carvings of famous sayings or legends into the rock that is really nothing to do with bamboo and that are found at every famous place in China).
-the food which was 90% made of bamboo dishes. There are, in my recent experience, at least 30 different dishes you can make from bamboo and many other herbal medicines that can be created from bamboo according to the women trying to sell it to me.
-the incredible amount of photos the chinese people took of bamboo and of themselves in front of bamboo (bamboo is quite common all over china).
-lunch on a boat cruising along the river looking at more bamboo
-how loud (and how fast) chinese people speak on buses
and so on.... Anyway it has been a fun trip and great to get out of the office and enjoy more social time with my colleagues. Especially after reading Only 1 percent of the country’s 560 million city dwellers breathe air considered safe by the EU.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Banteay Srei amongst the trees
Banteay Srei is undoubtedly the most beautiful of all the temples in Angkor. Many people miss it as it is 25km from the main complex, but the completeness, the intricacies, the colours, the designs and the stories are breathtaking. I walked around it for over an hour doing at least 6 laps and still did not want to leave.
Bayon and lake 2
Bayon, one of the most impressive temples in Angkor has an incredible amount of faces carved into the rocks and some even more incredible carvings of daily life, wars and escapades the rulers got up to at the time. One of the many interesting aspects of Angkor's temples is the various religious influences on them: sometimes Buddhist, sometimes Hindu depending on the year. And of course, depending on which ruler built the temple.
Pretty hut
A family's home in rural Cambodia. Nearby is their 1 pig, a small fire that they cook over and some other huts.
Painting of the killing fields
Evidence of the incredible regime run by Pol Pot wiping out a third of Cambodia's population. A visit to the school that was turned into an interrogation/torture centre coupled with a trip out to where the unlucky inhabitants were clubbed to death is sobering. The children (of which there were hundreds, often only a few years old) somehow ended up being killed as 'children of political enemies' by being held by the legs and swung against trees. How does mankind do such things?
Adam and massive tree in Ta Phrom
Indiana Jones eat your heart out. These are the big mama trees that are taking over thousand year old temples. does put the little old human into perspective
Angkor Wat rising above the forest
Angkor Wat and the many other temples are lying around in a jungle... almost literally. indeed the smaller temples are so rarely visited it is a fantastic experience to be there alone amongst the nature.
Stunning Angkor Wat at first light
Angkor Wat at sunlight; photos do not do it justice... though i did try enough times!
Mirror image of Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat -the greatest of all the temples at Angkor which is now in tiny Cambodia but which used to be the centre of an empire covering most of South East Asia. At sunrise it is incredible.
Immaculate Banteay Srei carvings -closeup 2
Imagine entire temples packed full of carvings like this; built more than a thousand years ago -and the hundreds of temples sited in a 'capital' whose population was 1 million people! And then, they all disappeared and the jungle swallowed up the entire complex. As spectacular as Angkor and surrounding temples are, the area around it is one of the poorest in Cambodia.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
luxury
I missed out on the (presumably) impressive celebrations on the 8th which marked 1 year to go till the Olympics, as I was in a seminar talking about the role of China in Africa. A very interesting topics, since there are all kinds of phrases that are associated with it from 'the new colonialism' to 'south-south co-operation'. There is no doubt why China is dealing with Africa -it is for its own benefit, as every other country deals with Africa. The question is will Africa benefit from China's involvement or not?
Will trading help reduce poverty or flood the market with cheap, subsidised, imported Chinese goods? Will China's endemic corruption make Africa's corruption worse or is this a chance for Chinese companies to turn over a new leaf in a new continent? Will the media and NGOs be successful in forcing China to help Africa; using the 'genocide' Olympics as leverage? How will Chinese people who can barely speak english deal with African people, and will they just live in their own communes eating Chinese food? Since Chinese workers have now started being kidnapped for ransoms, will China have to stray form its policy of 'non-interference'? Will the government controlled Chinese media ever start to accept whatsoever that China's motivations for being in Africa are not really just to help the poor black man that the white man screwed over?
All interesting questions, and all affect the whole poverty reduction agenda. Unfortunately the seminar barely touched on any of these issues, but never mind. Work is going well; organisation-wide retreat coming up soon. should be interesting/exciting/good chance to practise chinese.
I moved apartments a couple of months back into a cheap place of rather low quality; but it keeps out most of the mosquitos and has a few drips of water flowing into the sink and into the hole that is both a toilet and a shower. It is good enough for temporary stays. The reason I moved was that I am expecting to spend more time in Beijing, hence the greater expenditure of rent in Beijing instead.
A big bed in a big room with my own bathroom; a living room with 3 sofas, big screen TV, dining table, kitchen with oven, a study and a little bed+bath-room for a maid (we do not have a maid, so it is used for storage) amongst all the other fancy things i am not used to having; like bookshelves, plants and air conditioning. I honestly feel guilty living there (though i do conserve electricity), compared to the people that Plan is actually helping. But never mind, it lets me live close to work in Beijing, gives me space to study chinese in quiet and provides a green park between the 58 buildings of the complex to go for a run in the mornings.
Unfortunately this week i am in Xi'an. But never mind. Spurs won, and that is all that matters!
Will trading help reduce poverty or flood the market with cheap, subsidised, imported Chinese goods? Will China's endemic corruption make Africa's corruption worse or is this a chance for Chinese companies to turn over a new leaf in a new continent? Will the media and NGOs be successful in forcing China to help Africa; using the 'genocide' Olympics as leverage? How will Chinese people who can barely speak english deal with African people, and will they just live in their own communes eating Chinese food? Since Chinese workers have now started being kidnapped for ransoms, will China have to stray form its policy of 'non-interference'? Will the government controlled Chinese media ever start to accept whatsoever that China's motivations for being in Africa are not really just to help the poor black man that the white man screwed over?
All interesting questions, and all affect the whole poverty reduction agenda. Unfortunately the seminar barely touched on any of these issues, but never mind. Work is going well; organisation-wide retreat coming up soon. should be interesting/exciting/good chance to practise chinese.
I moved apartments a couple of months back into a cheap place of rather low quality; but it keeps out most of the mosquitos and has a few drips of water flowing into the sink and into the hole that is both a toilet and a shower. It is good enough for temporary stays. The reason I moved was that I am expecting to spend more time in Beijing, hence the greater expenditure of rent in Beijing instead.
A big bed in a big room with my own bathroom; a living room with 3 sofas, big screen TV, dining table, kitchen with oven, a study and a little bed+bath-room for a maid (we do not have a maid, so it is used for storage) amongst all the other fancy things i am not used to having; like bookshelves, plants and air conditioning. I honestly feel guilty living there (though i do conserve electricity), compared to the people that Plan is actually helping. But never mind, it lets me live close to work in Beijing, gives me space to study chinese in quiet and provides a green park between the 58 buildings of the complex to go for a run in the mornings.
Unfortunately this week i am in Xi'an. But never mind. Spurs won, and that is all that matters!
Monday, August 06, 2007
3 years without...
...going to a cinema, since cinemas are so expensive in China (around 10 USD), they only have around 20 foreign films a year (due to government regulations) and fake DVDs are so cheap.
But, in Bangkokg, in one of the best cinemas in town, it is only a few dollars and they show loads of movies, so I popped in on saturday to watch Die Hard 4 (a great 'return to the cinema after 3 years' choice).
Now the Thais love their King -and it really is not possible to understate the word 'love'. In fact, though 95% of Thais are Buddhist I think the king fulfills a god-like role. Yellow is his colour so Thais often wear yellow t-shirts (especially on Monday, when the subway is full of yellow). On many tall buildings there are massive (covering 20 or more storeys/floors) posters of their dear king. Along the roads there are posters and temples to the king. He is everywhere. I have no problem with this, and was quite willing to stand up during the 3 minute 'infomerical' about the kind that was showed just before the movie started. It was quite surprising though, when after an advert about shampoo, the whole movie theatre gets up and bows their head and then the king comes on!
...going to a live sporting event, since there are not many world famous teams in China. However, on sunday 1 world famous team, Barcelona, was in town so i went to buy the cheapest ticket (18 Euros; most expensive was 180 Euros!) to watch them beat Beijing 3-0. The game was surprisingly good and open. Barcelona were in another league altogether, especially in individual skill, but Beijing did get better towards the end.
There were 30,000 fans, though the stadium is very different to British ones: no roofs, jsut 1 tier of seating and an athletics track means the atmosphere is not as good. Though it did heat up when some Americans (supporting Beijing) had a scuffle with some Chinese (supporting Barcelona). Of course there was plenty of fake t-shirts and posters outside the stadium, but the Chinese still have some way to go to prepare for the Olympics -for example, there was so few snack stalls that they ran out at half-time and were only twice the price of normal shop prices! Wembley can give them some advice on extortionate pricing I am sure!
But, in Bangkokg, in one of the best cinemas in town, it is only a few dollars and they show loads of movies, so I popped in on saturday to watch Die Hard 4 (a great 'return to the cinema after 3 years' choice).
Now the Thais love their King -and it really is not possible to understate the word 'love'. In fact, though 95% of Thais are Buddhist I think the king fulfills a god-like role. Yellow is his colour so Thais often wear yellow t-shirts (especially on Monday, when the subway is full of yellow). On many tall buildings there are massive (covering 20 or more storeys/floors) posters of their dear king. Along the roads there are posters and temples to the king. He is everywhere. I have no problem with this, and was quite willing to stand up during the 3 minute 'infomerical' about the kind that was showed just before the movie started. It was quite surprising though, when after an advert about shampoo, the whole movie theatre gets up and bows their head and then the king comes on!
...going to a live sporting event, since there are not many world famous teams in China. However, on sunday 1 world famous team, Barcelona, was in town so i went to buy the cheapest ticket (18 Euros; most expensive was 180 Euros!) to watch them beat Beijing 3-0. The game was surprisingly good and open. Barcelona were in another league altogether, especially in individual skill, but Beijing did get better towards the end.
There were 30,000 fans, though the stadium is very different to British ones: no roofs, jsut 1 tier of seating and an athletics track means the atmosphere is not as good. Though it did heat up when some Americans (supporting Beijing) had a scuffle with some Chinese (supporting Barcelona). Of course there was plenty of fake t-shirts and posters outside the stadium, but the Chinese still have some way to go to prepare for the Olympics -for example, there was so few snack stalls that they ran out at half-time and were only twice the price of normal shop prices! Wembley can give them some advice on extortionate pricing I am sure!
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Motos
A city of 2 million people, and probably more than a million Motos (Motobikes), Phnom Penh gets my award for the most dangerous traffic of all the cities I have been to. It is hard to describe in words; but suffice to say there are about 4 times more Motos than cars and if ever proof is needed of how dangerous it is, surely the fact that at least 1/3rd of drivers wear helmets is it. Spot a helmet elsewhere (especially China) and you deserve an award!
For a capital city it really is a bit disappointing: barely a building over 6 stories tall and an airport that is probably smaller than Wembley Stadium, but as towns go it is a fantastic place full of character and pleasant architecture, a lack of slums (considering the poverty of Cambodia), tremendous food, nice sunsets and very warm people.
Despite this, despite the great guest houses that extend into a pretty lake (and provide rooms for only 3 dollars), despite the fun that can be had when travelling with a girl whose hair is braided and attracts all kinds of attention.... despite all these and more, the endearing memory of Phnom Penh is still of the [... how can one describe this...] despicable atrocities that took place during the late 70s when the Khmer Rouge killed 1/4 of the population (the civil war lasted a shockingly long 30 years in total). These atrocities are remembered in the museum at a school which was turned into an interrogation and torture centre for almost 20,000 'enemies of the state'.
I've been to Nazi concentration camps, I've read about the Rwandan genocide, I've seen movies like Blood Diamond and I can deal with the evil that is in all of us. But it is very, very hard to accept the fact that adults can pick up babies by their legs and kill them by smashing their heads against trees. It is extremely hard to understand how 6 year old children can be accused of being political enemies and need to be tortured and killed. I asked a friend what she would do if told to kill a child or be killed herself -no answer of course; it is awful when these kinds of situations are created whereby everyone down the chain of command is ensuring those beneath them are committing these kinds of acts in order to stay alive themselves.
The best part of the (sparse) museum [though best is not the right word] is the small section about those who were the torturers and killers. Is the excuse of 'If i didn't kill the innocent child/adult i would have died myself' an excuse anyone can actually believe in themselves?
On a lighter note, whilst visiting the projects that Plan supports in Cambodia it is impossible not to see how much aid other countries are pouring into Cambodia to try to help them recover from what the country went through (note that the Americans also did their best to destroy the country whilst the Viet Cong were hiding there during the Vietnam war) and it is evidently working. Though how effective it is when so many charities are all trying to help the same village with different techniques is questionable. I saw a school with 3 different wells, built by 3 different organisations. I suppose the school needed 3 wells, but why 3 different kinds of well?
No wonder the whole country still harks back to the incredible glory days of 9th-12th centuries when the Angkor empire ruled much of South East Asia and build such incredible temples and housed cities of a million or more people (London, at the time, was apparently about 40,000 people). Even now, no one is quite sure how such a population was sustained (water, food, sanitation, order etc). At least the future can only continue to get better for poor Cambodia; even if their current government is as corrupt as most of the others in developing countries. Interestingly this week the UN organised war crimes tribunal finally started to actually do something about convicting those in charge of the awful regime 30 years ago. A bit late though, since most of those leaders are already dead of natural causes!
For a capital city it really is a bit disappointing: barely a building over 6 stories tall and an airport that is probably smaller than Wembley Stadium, but as towns go it is a fantastic place full of character and pleasant architecture, a lack of slums (considering the poverty of Cambodia), tremendous food, nice sunsets and very warm people.
Despite this, despite the great guest houses that extend into a pretty lake (and provide rooms for only 3 dollars), despite the fun that can be had when travelling with a girl whose hair is braided and attracts all kinds of attention.... despite all these and more, the endearing memory of Phnom Penh is still of the [... how can one describe this...] despicable atrocities that took place during the late 70s when the Khmer Rouge killed 1/4 of the population (the civil war lasted a shockingly long 30 years in total). These atrocities are remembered in the museum at a school which was turned into an interrogation and torture centre for almost 20,000 'enemies of the state'.
I've been to Nazi concentration camps, I've read about the Rwandan genocide, I've seen movies like Blood Diamond and I can deal with the evil that is in all of us. But it is very, very hard to accept the fact that adults can pick up babies by their legs and kill them by smashing their heads against trees. It is extremely hard to understand how 6 year old children can be accused of being political enemies and need to be tortured and killed. I asked a friend what she would do if told to kill a child or be killed herself -no answer of course; it is awful when these kinds of situations are created whereby everyone down the chain of command is ensuring those beneath them are committing these kinds of acts in order to stay alive themselves.
The best part of the (sparse) museum [though best is not the right word] is the small section about those who were the torturers and killers. Is the excuse of 'If i didn't kill the innocent child/adult i would have died myself' an excuse anyone can actually believe in themselves?
On a lighter note, whilst visiting the projects that Plan supports in Cambodia it is impossible not to see how much aid other countries are pouring into Cambodia to try to help them recover from what the country went through (note that the Americans also did their best to destroy the country whilst the Viet Cong were hiding there during the Vietnam war) and it is evidently working. Though how effective it is when so many charities are all trying to help the same village with different techniques is questionable. I saw a school with 3 different wells, built by 3 different organisations. I suppose the school needed 3 wells, but why 3 different kinds of well?
No wonder the whole country still harks back to the incredible glory days of 9th-12th centuries when the Angkor empire ruled much of South East Asia and build such incredible temples and housed cities of a million or more people (London, at the time, was apparently about 40,000 people). Even now, no one is quite sure how such a population was sustained (water, food, sanitation, order etc). At least the future can only continue to get better for poor Cambodia; even if their current government is as corrupt as most of the others in developing countries. Interestingly this week the UN organised war crimes tribunal finally started to actually do something about convicting those in charge of the awful regime 30 years ago. A bit late though, since most of those leaders are already dead of natural causes!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Impressed
After a week in discussions about how business can contribute to Earth's and Society's sustainable development (which i basically what i am doing in my work), which was complete with plenty of Thai food, a swimming pool and fresh air, I am now in Siam Reap, Cambodia. Siam Reap is the town next to Angkor Wat and other nearby temples, one of the most impressive sites open to tourists anywhere in the World.
The temples, of which there are more than 30, though only about 15 major ones, are all 1,000 years old and many are of a simply incredible size.... literally the size of modern day palaces; all made of rocks, all done by hand, all intricately carved, almost all done solely for religion. They are impressive; though many of them are in some what of a state.
The highlight so far: Walking around in the jungle and coming across a 'lost temple' appearing out of the ground, walls and statues are intermingled with hundred year old trees! Granted, the temple are not lost, and 2 minutes later a tour group or some other backpackers will invade the pace, but it is unusual and makes one feel 'at one' with nature to some extent. It is great that many temples were not restored and so feel so natural. Of course, if it was in China, all the temples would be rebuilt with cranes and painted in bright blue (or whatever c0lour they were originally) in preparation for the Olympics! Plus of course, there would be pictures of the famous people who have visited and the awful destruction that other countries did of the original site (note for readers: much of China's historical and cultural heritage was destroyed by the commnist party during the 'cultural revolution').
The other great thng is how not so over-toursity the area is, much aganst what i expected. There are bery few beggars, few few locals harrassing tourists to sell them t-shirts or water really; bearng in mind this is the most famous tourist site in South East Asia. And, maybe this is just caue it is the 'low season', there are surprisingly few tourists -still lots of course, but the number is certainly acceptable. Another plus is that the entrance fee is only 20 USD a day -a bargain really!
On Monday Plan's local staff will show me around the poor villages and the work Plan is doing here. It should be very interesting, and a great way to get to know a country. I cannot wait!
The temples, of which there are more than 30, though only about 15 major ones, are all 1,000 years old and many are of a simply incredible size.... literally the size of modern day palaces; all made of rocks, all done by hand, all intricately carved, almost all done solely for religion. They are impressive; though many of them are in some what of a state.
The highlight so far: Walking around in the jungle and coming across a 'lost temple' appearing out of the ground, walls and statues are intermingled with hundred year old trees! Granted, the temple are not lost, and 2 minutes later a tour group or some other backpackers will invade the pace, but it is unusual and makes one feel 'at one' with nature to some extent. It is great that many temples were not restored and so feel so natural. Of course, if it was in China, all the temples would be rebuilt with cranes and painted in bright blue (or whatever c0lour they were originally) in preparation for the Olympics! Plus of course, there would be pictures of the famous people who have visited and the awful destruction that other countries did of the original site (note for readers: much of China's historical and cultural heritage was destroyed by the commnist party during the 'cultural revolution').
The other great thng is how not so over-toursity the area is, much aganst what i expected. There are bery few beggars, few few locals harrassing tourists to sell them t-shirts or water really; bearng in mind this is the most famous tourist site in South East Asia. And, maybe this is just caue it is the 'low season', there are surprisingly few tourists -still lots of course, but the number is certainly acceptable. Another plus is that the entrance fee is only 20 USD a day -a bargain really!
On Monday Plan's local staff will show me around the poor villages and the work Plan is doing here. It should be very interesting, and a great way to get to know a country. I cannot wait!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Xi'an
It is the middle of July. Wow. Almost 1 year of being at Plan and in Xi'an. My contract has been renewed for another year, though I may soon move back to Beijing, rather than just traveling there every other week. As with most things it is only when you contemplate change that you realise just what things are like now -i say this in regard to Xi'an. A city that at first sight is polluted and grey, boring and dangerous (never try to cross at a pedestrian crossing in xi'an; keep going to a road junction where the traffic lights afford slightly more protection) is in many aspects wonderfully chinese where the middle class is taking over and where on saturdays shopping streets are crowded, buses are packed and personal cars clog streets.
A city that is cheap enough for it's millions of inhabitants living of a few pounds a day (average taxi driver's take home salary here is 100 pounds a month) to drive consumerism; yet one that is trying price itself out of these people's range. The accommodation that these people live in is disappearing (though not as rapidly as East China), the number of places where farmers can drive up in their 3 wheeled carts piled high with vegetables to sell is declining, and the number of bars on the (only) bar street that actually have people in them is increasing (though not as fast as the number of clubs opening). I may be exaggerating a little -but observing this is what makes Xi'an an interesting place to live. It might not change as much as Beijing, it might not have anything actually happening (politically, culturally, business etc) in comparison but it does have an atmosphere, hidden in the old villages that have been absorbed into the massive city.
These villages are surviving and they are just like any other village that could be in the middle of nowhere: market streets, evil dogs, hundreds of kids, litter and all. It means that the culture these people that grew up there have lives on, though in different forms. Going to the South gate is a bizarre example of how old people are forced to socialise, play instruments and dance in modern times where land is at such a premium. Of course, just like British culture (and one could even say, values) have changed so much in the last century China's are too. Whether it will actually be quicker or not, I am not sure. It might still be dependent on older generations dying, middle generations forgetting their past and younger generations only knowing consumerism -which all takes time.
A friend of mine is running a soup-kitchen in town, which operates 3 days a week and has over 50 people coming each time -mostly regulars. Going there reminds me what real charity is like (Plan is a multi-million dollar development organisations and though in no means ineffective, is operating on a totally different level) -and that though it is not sustainable, it is still required. Several of the regulars there are now volunteers themselves and it is clear how much they get out of being offered a chance to help themselves and others, even if that is just by cleaning tables and handing out soup and baozi. This weekend I will running a couple of workshops at the AIESEC conference and one is going to focus a great deal on the linkage between entrepreneurship and empowerment (along with micro-finance, an incredibly hot topic nowadays). This is a topic i am increasingly getting interested in.
In other news, camping/hiking is still my favourite past-time (apart from when i get my hands on a new series of 24!), the sun has actually come out recently and there has also been a few showers, i am off to thailand/cambodia next weekend and i am feeling more chinese after downgrading my living situation :) I can highly recommend Little Children movie-wise and facebook for a place to upload embarrassing photos of people!
p.s. not the most exciting last 3 weeks, but pretty busy. The main highlight was watching the torture my colleagues went through listening to my presentation (in chinese) about my 'resource mobilisation' plan for the next 12 months!
A city that is cheap enough for it's millions of inhabitants living of a few pounds a day (average taxi driver's take home salary here is 100 pounds a month) to drive consumerism; yet one that is trying price itself out of these people's range. The accommodation that these people live in is disappearing (though not as rapidly as East China), the number of places where farmers can drive up in their 3 wheeled carts piled high with vegetables to sell is declining, and the number of bars on the (only) bar street that actually have people in them is increasing (though not as fast as the number of clubs opening). I may be exaggerating a little -but observing this is what makes Xi'an an interesting place to live. It might not change as much as Beijing, it might not have anything actually happening (politically, culturally, business etc) in comparison but it does have an atmosphere, hidden in the old villages that have been absorbed into the massive city.
These villages are surviving and they are just like any other village that could be in the middle of nowhere: market streets, evil dogs, hundreds of kids, litter and all. It means that the culture these people that grew up there have lives on, though in different forms. Going to the South gate is a bizarre example of how old people are forced to socialise, play instruments and dance in modern times where land is at such a premium. Of course, just like British culture (and one could even say, values) have changed so much in the last century China's are too. Whether it will actually be quicker or not, I am not sure. It might still be dependent on older generations dying, middle generations forgetting their past and younger generations only knowing consumerism -which all takes time.
A friend of mine is running a soup-kitchen in town, which operates 3 days a week and has over 50 people coming each time -mostly regulars. Going there reminds me what real charity is like (Plan is a multi-million dollar development organisations and though in no means ineffective, is operating on a totally different level) -and that though it is not sustainable, it is still required. Several of the regulars there are now volunteers themselves and it is clear how much they get out of being offered a chance to help themselves and others, even if that is just by cleaning tables and handing out soup and baozi. This weekend I will running a couple of workshops at the AIESEC conference and one is going to focus a great deal on the linkage between entrepreneurship and empowerment (along with micro-finance, an incredibly hot topic nowadays). This is a topic i am increasingly getting interested in.
In other news, camping/hiking is still my favourite past-time (apart from when i get my hands on a new series of 24!), the sun has actually come out recently and there has also been a few showers, i am off to thailand/cambodia next weekend and i am feeling more chinese after downgrading my living situation :) I can highly recommend Little Children movie-wise and facebook for a place to upload embarrassing photos of people!
p.s. not the most exciting last 3 weeks, but pretty busy. The main highlight was watching the torture my colleagues went through listening to my presentation (in chinese) about my 'resource mobilisation' plan for the next 12 months!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Chinese culture
Many things in China are fascinating to watch as they change: economy, environment, internal politics, international affairs etc. As China becomes more important and develops all of these are changing, but possibly the most fascinating of all it to see how China's culture changes, or at least deals with, all these other changes.
As you may know the Chinese are rather proud of their 5,000 year old culture entailing all kinds of elements: from education to ethics or religion (in a sense) to guanxi (relationships) and of course language! The best thing about having a tutor is the chance to discuss and often argue about all these kinds of topics and really get to understand different views on China.
Today we argued about whether Chinese culture is fundamentally changing -she denies it; though i did manage to convince her that at least there will be some impact on culture from all these changes and that it will be interesting to see what happens. What is most interesting is that she recognises the changes to everyone's lives due to economic changes and does not think it is due to cultural changes; though i disagree. However, we both agreed that irrelevant of the cause, there will be impacts.
A few examples include that the massive internal migration that leads to parents separating from each other, and/or from their kids and/or their grandparents which is a massive change for China and impacts on education and the role of the family unit. Another might be the increasing number of divorces -brought on according to my tutor not because of people leaving others to find something better (which it is in the West apparently), but just because of economic change, jobs and communication issues; so what will happen to the single parents kids and the grand parents; and how does the 1 child policy affect this (you can normally work it out to have 1 child per marriage).
Finally consider the impact of the drive to emulate Western culture and values, closely aligned with the drive for (Western) economic growth and quality of life leading to people becoming fatter, but becoming more obsessed with being thing; going clubbing and dating more; living with partners before marriage and so on. In theory a strong traditional Chinese culture can help China develop and avoid some of the problems of the West, like 'anti-social' or 'disrepectful' youth for example. But then it may make things worse; since it is relatively common for men to visit other women on business trips, which are becoming more and more frequent nowadays!
As you may know the Chinese are rather proud of their 5,000 year old culture entailing all kinds of elements: from education to ethics or religion (in a sense) to guanxi (relationships) and of course language! The best thing about having a tutor is the chance to discuss and often argue about all these kinds of topics and really get to understand different views on China.
Today we argued about whether Chinese culture is fundamentally changing -she denies it; though i did manage to convince her that at least there will be some impact on culture from all these changes and that it will be interesting to see what happens. What is most interesting is that she recognises the changes to everyone's lives due to economic changes and does not think it is due to cultural changes; though i disagree. However, we both agreed that irrelevant of the cause, there will be impacts.
A few examples include that the massive internal migration that leads to parents separating from each other, and/or from their kids and/or their grandparents which is a massive change for China and impacts on education and the role of the family unit. Another might be the increasing number of divorces -brought on according to my tutor not because of people leaving others to find something better (which it is in the West apparently), but just because of economic change, jobs and communication issues; so what will happen to the single parents kids and the grand parents; and how does the 1 child policy affect this (you can normally work it out to have 1 child per marriage).
Finally consider the impact of the drive to emulate Western culture and values, closely aligned with the drive for (Western) economic growth and quality of life leading to people becoming fatter, but becoming more obsessed with being thing; going clubbing and dating more; living with partners before marriage and so on. In theory a strong traditional Chinese culture can help China develop and avoid some of the problems of the West, like 'anti-social' or 'disrepectful' youth for example. But then it may make things worse; since it is relatively common for men to visit other women on business trips, which are becoming more and more frequent nowadays!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
rain
In Hong Kong it was raining, but the rain was coming from my body due the humidity (and not from the sky). Even at night, on the 38th floor with the window open, and without moving, i started to sweat. Yikes, though HK is a great place, i dislike having to sleep with air conditioning on, or carrying around 3 spare shirts... (though the taxis are nice and cold).
In Xi'an there was rain for about 4 hours combined out of the week i was there. Well, it's a start. In Beijing there was also some rain, though it was the day before I arrived there, so that meant the few days I was there were nice and cool. In Shanghai it has been drizzling non-stop. Drizzle is great cause you don't get soaked or drowned in puddles. The only problem is, along with the rain, come the Mosquitos :(
The week in Xi'an was quiet. The 4 days in Beijing a bit hectic. The week in Shanghai totally hectic. Just the way I like it. It is not that Xi'an is so bad, or that I struggle to work effectively there (how to set-up and manage corporate partnerships when there are no corporations there?), but that I am just not that busy there... the only things to do are eat, drink, work, study or escape the pollution. Having said that, the cycle to the mountains-climb the mountain-cycle back was fantastic and the ride is much more enjoyable than Beijing; where it takes an hour to get out of the city and another 30 minutes to escape off the highways.
I am staying in a Hostel in Shanghai as it is in a very central location with wireless internet -perfect for in between meeting times (plus there are 3 crazy kittens running all over which adds some life compared to staying in friend's empty apartments during the daytime). You'd think hostels are full of travellers. Not Shanghai's -they are full of opportunity-seekers. People live here whilst job hunting, whilst working (it is cheaper than trying to rent an appartment, if you are happy sharing a room with 5 others and a good way to make friends) and whilst planning their new business venture. Walk into the hostel and not only do you find the 2 computers permanently in use, you find several people with laptops...Typical Shanghai.
In Xi'an there was rain for about 4 hours combined out of the week i was there. Well, it's a start. In Beijing there was also some rain, though it was the day before I arrived there, so that meant the few days I was there were nice and cool. In Shanghai it has been drizzling non-stop. Drizzle is great cause you don't get soaked or drowned in puddles. The only problem is, along with the rain, come the Mosquitos :(
The week in Xi'an was quiet. The 4 days in Beijing a bit hectic. The week in Shanghai totally hectic. Just the way I like it. It is not that Xi'an is so bad, or that I struggle to work effectively there (how to set-up and manage corporate partnerships when there are no corporations there?), but that I am just not that busy there... the only things to do are eat, drink, work, study or escape the pollution. Having said that, the cycle to the mountains-climb the mountain-cycle back was fantastic and the ride is much more enjoyable than Beijing; where it takes an hour to get out of the city and another 30 minutes to escape off the highways.
I am staying in a Hostel in Shanghai as it is in a very central location with wireless internet -perfect for in between meeting times (plus there are 3 crazy kittens running all over which adds some life compared to staying in friend's empty apartments during the daytime). You'd think hostels are full of travellers. Not Shanghai's -they are full of opportunity-seekers. People live here whilst job hunting, whilst working (it is cheaper than trying to rent an appartment, if you are happy sharing a room with 5 others and a good way to make friends) and whilst planning their new business venture. Walk into the hostel and not only do you find the 2 computers permanently in use, you find several people with laptops...Typical Shanghai.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
oxygen
Only 1 day left to enjoy clean air, clean rain and 'freshness'. I've got a lot of oxygen on this trip, hopefully enough to last until my next trip back here (or out of China -though to be fair, there are places in China with some oxygen)... although Xi'an is 25 degrees, which is nice.
A lot of my outdoor activity has involved exercising. Well, I say exercising; mostly it has been pleasurable cycling or walking. Some of it has been more challenging (5 mile cross-country, 6 mile road races and a triathlon) though some has been quite relaxing (outdoor hot tub!). There is a reason for so much exercise, other than just a dash for air (which is not that bad, I am totally over-exaggerating a lot of the time; please feel free to still visit!). 1 is that my Dad does this kind of stuff all the time, so I might as well join him. Though he beat me on the 5 mile-er by 4 minutes and the 6 mile-er by 2 minutes, I beat him on the Triathlon by 2 minutes, cause his swimming is useless! The 2nd reason is that my family does have a bit of a liking to chocolate and deserts in general. My mum is a great cook and even when I'm out, I can't not buy desert.
Why? Because China does not have deserts. It is not just that everything comes at once in cheap restaurants (there is a bit more order in posh places), but just that there is no concept really of cakes or similar sweet things (not helped by the lack of ovens). Such a shame. The ice cream is not bad in China (though avoid the weird flavours, e.g. green pea, sweetcorn etc), but the chocolate is awful and the birthday cakes are very very similar to the cream pies that you shove in someone's face for a joke. Despite the exercise, I have most definitely regained my sweet tooth and put on weight. My suitcase has also gained weight: you have no idea how much chocolate is inside it (but no Apple Crumble, sorry Fumi!).
It is a bid sad (and pretty poor writing for me to even try this ending for this post) but you could almost say deserts and chocolate are as important as oxygen for my Mum and sisters especially. That is the real reason they could never come to China for too long!
p.s. For the BLCU/Wudaokou gang, i do have to make a special 'shout' out to the 'Fish Man' by BLCU west gate selling fish shaped waffles filled with chocolate sauce. 1 RMB... buying just 2 is never enough!
A lot of my outdoor activity has involved exercising. Well, I say exercising; mostly it has been pleasurable cycling or walking. Some of it has been more challenging (5 mile cross-country, 6 mile road races and a triathlon) though some has been quite relaxing (outdoor hot tub!). There is a reason for so much exercise, other than just a dash for air (which is not that bad, I am totally over-exaggerating a lot of the time; please feel free to still visit!). 1 is that my Dad does this kind of stuff all the time, so I might as well join him. Though he beat me on the 5 mile-er by 4 minutes and the 6 mile-er by 2 minutes, I beat him on the Triathlon by 2 minutes, cause his swimming is useless! The 2nd reason is that my family does have a bit of a liking to chocolate and deserts in general. My mum is a great cook and even when I'm out, I can't not buy desert.
Why? Because China does not have deserts. It is not just that everything comes at once in cheap restaurants (there is a bit more order in posh places), but just that there is no concept really of cakes or similar sweet things (not helped by the lack of ovens). Such a shame. The ice cream is not bad in China (though avoid the weird flavours, e.g. green pea, sweetcorn etc), but the chocolate is awful and the birthday cakes are very very similar to the cream pies that you shove in someone's face for a joke. Despite the exercise, I have most definitely regained my sweet tooth and put on weight. My suitcase has also gained weight: you have no idea how much chocolate is inside it (but no Apple Crumble, sorry Fumi!).
It is a bid sad (and pretty poor writing for me to even try this ending for this post) but you could almost say deserts and chocolate are as important as oxygen for my Mum and sisters especially. That is the real reason they could never come to China for too long!
p.s. For the BLCU/Wudaokou gang, i do have to make a special 'shout' out to the 'Fish Man' by BLCU west gate selling fish shaped waffles filled with chocolate sauce. 1 RMB... buying just 2 is never enough!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Memories
A long time ago I came to realise, or rather accept, that people come and go. There comes a point where there is little point setting wrong expectations that friendships can be maintained when (normally due to changing circumstances) people end up moving in different circles. Then if a friend does end up in contact again for various reasons, intentionally or otherwise, no-one need feel embarrassed. Each accepts people come and go; and 'catching-up' is still a good thing to do as a one-off.
Though, it does seem due to social networking sites like Facebook, My Space, Linked In etc that everyone any of us have ever come across in our entire lifetime could get back in touch with us. What are we supposed to do with thousands of friends, most of whom were barely friends of friends and whom we cannot remember?
Since the family house is going to be sold soon; I've been packing up my few possessions (there have been many a tidy-up before to reduce what i own to just 1 satchel or 2 apart from clothes) and finding fantastic things: pen pal's letters (i can barely remember what a letter is now!), swimming certificates, pens bought on school trips, photos from primary school, school projects, contact details of people on group trips I took and so on. Weird to think how much has been achieved so far in just 25 years, how many people have come and gone. Nice to keep some memories, though I am not entirely sure.
A lot more still to come, presumably, though the memories of the future might be some what greater since there are so many more emails/photos/videos/documents and other tangible evidence of relationships nowadays. The good news is most of this stuff is virtual -can be taken anywhere easily and cannot be lost thanks to google/yahoo's fantastic online servers :-)
My room is currently a mess; only a few more nights in a bed I've slept in for 22 years pretty much. All that is left is to ask: Does anyone want to volunteer to scan in hundreds of photos going back 25 years, name them and tag them?
Though, it does seem due to social networking sites like Facebook, My Space, Linked In etc that everyone any of us have ever come across in our entire lifetime could get back in touch with us. What are we supposed to do with thousands of friends, most of whom were barely friends of friends and whom we cannot remember?
Since the family house is going to be sold soon; I've been packing up my few possessions (there have been many a tidy-up before to reduce what i own to just 1 satchel or 2 apart from clothes) and finding fantastic things: pen pal's letters (i can barely remember what a letter is now!), swimming certificates, pens bought on school trips, photos from primary school, school projects, contact details of people on group trips I took and so on. Weird to think how much has been achieved so far in just 25 years, how many people have come and gone. Nice to keep some memories, though I am not entirely sure.
A lot more still to come, presumably, though the memories of the future might be some what greater since there are so many more emails/photos/videos/documents and other tangible evidence of relationships nowadays. The good news is most of this stuff is virtual -can be taken anywhere easily and cannot be lost thanks to google/yahoo's fantastic online servers :-)
My room is currently a mess; only a few more nights in a bed I've slept in for 22 years pretty much. All that is left is to ask: Does anyone want to volunteer to scan in hundreds of photos going back 25 years, name them and tag them?
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Wonders...
(a few of my favourite things not to be found in China)
Supermarkets with great food, easy to find, from all over the World, in all kinds of weird combinations
Food with little marks all over them telling you how much fat, calories, sugar etc in them
Intercity motorways with cars on them
Weddings in Churches
Clear blue skies; birds singing; freshly cut grass; the smell of flowers
Ale, Ale, Ale, wonderful Ale: beer without bubbles but with plenty of taste
Fields full of nothingness; just grass and sometimes some sheep/cows
Country houses made of sturdy, attractive brick, with flower gardens
Pubs with huge portions, lots of sauce, footy on tele and wireless internet
Train stations with electronic ticket machines and online booking facilities
Seat-belts in buses, taxis and cars
Car Parks
Deserts/Puddings, Chocolate, Ice Cream and all 3 mixed together
Footpaths, signposts, maps, stiles, kissing gates and the like
Real, wood fires
Couples in love and friends with new surnames
Discussions about religion
Discussions about politicis
Music: new, old and very old
TV with funny ads, funny shows and funny presenters
Interesting, stimulating newspapers full of debate, analysis, criticisms, humiliations, revelations, endless regurgitations, enticing advertisements......
Old friends together and it is like nothing has changed
Supermarkets with great food, easy to find, from all over the World, in all kinds of weird combinations
Food with little marks all over them telling you how much fat, calories, sugar etc in them
Intercity motorways with cars on them
Weddings in Churches
Clear blue skies; birds singing; freshly cut grass; the smell of flowers
Ale, Ale, Ale, wonderful Ale: beer without bubbles but with plenty of taste
Fields full of nothingness; just grass and sometimes some sheep/cows
Country houses made of sturdy, attractive brick, with flower gardens
Pubs with huge portions, lots of sauce, footy on tele and wireless internet
Train stations with electronic ticket machines and online booking facilities
Seat-belts in buses, taxis and cars
Car Parks
Deserts/Puddings, Chocolate, Ice Cream and all 3 mixed together
Footpaths, signposts, maps, stiles, kissing gates and the like
Real, wood fires
Couples in love and friends with new surnames
Discussions about religion
Discussions about politicis
Music: new, old and very old
TV with funny ads, funny shows and funny presenters
Interesting, stimulating newspapers full of debate, analysis, criticisms, humiliations, revelations, endless regurgitations, enticing advertisements......
Old friends together and it is like nothing has changed
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
home
Sitting outside in the sun eating a pub lunch with fat chips
Sitting inside a pub watching the football, pint in hand
Commuting to London on the tube, paying ridiculous amounts for peak-time tickets
Walking in the woods, with the dog
Eating home-cooked deserts
Cooking a BBQ
Sleeping in a comfortable bed
Lying outside in a garden, in the sun, breathing in fresh air, with birds all around
... a typical trip home
Topped off with a visit to Jongleurs for some live comedy (sorry, but the Chinese are not known for their sense of humour!), a walk around Hampstead (one of the poshest areas in London with expensive houses, trendy cafes etc), a trip to some 'fringe' theatre (intimate theatre with only 80 seats, that is not in the West End) and catching up with friends/family.
London is, and always will be, such a special place full of wonderful drinking establishments, eateries and people from all over the World... I am still recovering from seeing so many non-Asians! It has been a perfect week of walking around, seeing the history, culture and chic-ness of london. Plus meeting all the Plan UK people has been a real pleasure; partly as most of them are all young ladies!
If only London was not so damn expensive...
p.s. i had forgotten what it is like to drive... on the left... in a little car in areas full of posh cars... and had to park between 2 Porsches on a hill. Good job I remembered.
Sitting inside a pub watching the football, pint in hand
Commuting to London on the tube, paying ridiculous amounts for peak-time tickets
Walking in the woods, with the dog
Eating home-cooked deserts
Cooking a BBQ
Sleeping in a comfortable bed
Lying outside in a garden, in the sun, breathing in fresh air, with birds all around
... a typical trip home
Topped off with a visit to Jongleurs for some live comedy (sorry, but the Chinese are not known for their sense of humour!), a walk around Hampstead (one of the poshest areas in London with expensive houses, trendy cafes etc), a trip to some 'fringe' theatre (intimate theatre with only 80 seats, that is not in the West End) and catching up with friends/family.
London is, and always will be, such a special place full of wonderful drinking establishments, eateries and people from all over the World... I am still recovering from seeing so many non-Asians! It has been a perfect week of walking around, seeing the history, culture and chic-ness of london. Plus meeting all the Plan UK people has been a real pleasure; partly as most of them are all young ladies!
If only London was not so damn expensive...
p.s. i had forgotten what it is like to drive... on the left... in a little car in areas full of posh cars... and had to park between 2 Porsches on a hill. Good job I remembered.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
the good and the bad
I have always said that China is a paradox (though i suppose most countries are the same, though China might be more than most). Though most of last week was actually quite unpolluted (1 day i could see 'as far as the eye could see' for the 1st time ever in Xi'an), on friday it started to get bad again, and especially dusty (since all the building near the apartment). Thus, yesterday we went down to the Qin Ling Mountains a couple of hours away for some fresh air.
There are at least 8 panda reserves in these mountains, and we ended up in the worst. The 'zoo' is more like a jail in a war zone: full of concrete and metal bars. There is more money and space devoted to the trees by the paths in the zoo than on the animals in the zoo. It really was that depressing. There was no grass inside any of the cages -even the leopard was stuck in a 3x3m concrete and steel jail cell. It is a crime. And so depressing. Ironically WWF do a lot of work with other panda reserves and zoos in this area; I presume they do not even know that this zoo exists. The highlight of the zoo trip was when a peacock opened its feathers; the lowlight when some kids threw stones at the leopard trying to get it to move.
Thoroughly depressed we almost ran out out of the zoo angry at all things Chinese (not all zoos are this bad in China, honest) and drove West parallel to the mountains, spotted a village by the side of the road and thought that would be a good place to start our camping trip. The driver thought we were a bit weird; the locals in the village thought we were even more so, as we sauntered through heading along a small river in a valley, deep into the mountains. The village was named after a 1,000 year old pagoda nearby which we quickly checked out and discovered that most of the pagoda complex had been destroyed during the cultural revolution (10 year period from 1966 where Mao encouraged everyone to destroy anything of cultural value and defy elders and academics -which is somewhat weird, since China's 5000 year culture is based on the 2 elements of family and education; but hey, that is Mao -the evil dictator)
Thankfully the water, the green, the smells and the exercise made us forget the morning and after a few hours we were exploring villages that consisted of 3 buildings in a 1 mile stretch with the only transport to them being a footpath. It was great (again) to be in places untouched by development. No phone lines and even no electricity at the farthest village we reached to, and the views of the mountains were beautiful.
We camped along the stream and spent a while talking to a local who had 4 sons (20-30), but none of them were married (as no woman wants them, they are so poor) and only 1 was left at home (the others were working in the cities). He only had 2 cows for ploughing but spent ages telling us about the plants that could be eaten and the ones that could be used for medicine. He had lived on the hill for 50 years (though he had been to Xi'an infrequently). It is a joy to still talk to some of those 25-120 million people who are still in relative poverty in China (25m is china's number of extreme poor, 120m is World Bank's definition of poverty) who Plan is focused on helping (though we do not work in the area we were hiking in). Although this guy (in his 70s but still working the fields) is probably in the 120m bracket not the 25m, he lives mostly off what he grows and a few things to trade to buy other food. If anyone is near Xi'an; I highly recommend heading south and then west tot he edge of the mountains, picking a village and go off exploring. We'll be doing it again, that is for sure.
The water was so fresh and clean, as to be drinkable (according to the man, and verified by us); the people were so kind to us strangers it really is the opposite of Chinese cities where people and cars seem to actively barge or crash into other people and cars; where there is trash and pollution everywhere. I guess I'll be talking more about China over the next month in the UK to my Plan colleagues, and of course to friends and family, most of whom I have not seen for 18 months.
There are at least 8 panda reserves in these mountains, and we ended up in the worst. The 'zoo' is more like a jail in a war zone: full of concrete and metal bars. There is more money and space devoted to the trees by the paths in the zoo than on the animals in the zoo. It really was that depressing. There was no grass inside any of the cages -even the leopard was stuck in a 3x3m concrete and steel jail cell. It is a crime. And so depressing. Ironically WWF do a lot of work with other panda reserves and zoos in this area; I presume they do not even know that this zoo exists. The highlight of the zoo trip was when a peacock opened its feathers; the lowlight when some kids threw stones at the leopard trying to get it to move.
Thoroughly depressed we almost ran out out of the zoo angry at all things Chinese (not all zoos are this bad in China, honest) and drove West parallel to the mountains, spotted a village by the side of the road and thought that would be a good place to start our camping trip. The driver thought we were a bit weird; the locals in the village thought we were even more so, as we sauntered through heading along a small river in a valley, deep into the mountains. The village was named after a 1,000 year old pagoda nearby which we quickly checked out and discovered that most of the pagoda complex had been destroyed during the cultural revolution (10 year period from 1966 where Mao encouraged everyone to destroy anything of cultural value and defy elders and academics -which is somewhat weird, since China's 5000 year culture is based on the 2 elements of family and education; but hey, that is Mao -the evil dictator)
Thankfully the water, the green, the smells and the exercise made us forget the morning and after a few hours we were exploring villages that consisted of 3 buildings in a 1 mile stretch with the only transport to them being a footpath. It was great (again) to be in places untouched by development. No phone lines and even no electricity at the farthest village we reached to, and the views of the mountains were beautiful.
We camped along the stream and spent a while talking to a local who had 4 sons (20-30), but none of them were married (as no woman wants them, they are so poor) and only 1 was left at home (the others were working in the cities). He only had 2 cows for ploughing but spent ages telling us about the plants that could be eaten and the ones that could be used for medicine. He had lived on the hill for 50 years (though he had been to Xi'an infrequently). It is a joy to still talk to some of those 25-120 million people who are still in relative poverty in China (25m is china's number of extreme poor, 120m is World Bank's definition of poverty) who Plan is focused on helping (though we do not work in the area we were hiking in). Although this guy (in his 70s but still working the fields) is probably in the 120m bracket not the 25m, he lives mostly off what he grows and a few things to trade to buy other food. If anyone is near Xi'an; I highly recommend heading south and then west tot he edge of the mountains, picking a village and go off exploring. We'll be doing it again, that is for sure.
The water was so fresh and clean, as to be drinkable (according to the man, and verified by us); the people were so kind to us strangers it really is the opposite of Chinese cities where people and cars seem to actively barge or crash into other people and cars; where there is trash and pollution everywhere. I guess I'll be talking more about China over the next month in the UK to my Plan colleagues, and of course to friends and family, most of whom I have not seen for 18 months.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Chai
Chai (拆) is the character for Destroy and last month started appearing on a couple of the buildings on my little alleyway where i live. It is, the ultimate alleyway, with all kinds of shops selling useful and yummy stuff. A real, bustling, street full of people shopping and with a great vegetable market and small restaurants to sit outside of and eat in the summer. However after my 2 weeks out of Xi'an (Beijing -Thailand -Beijing), I returned to find 3 buildings already knocked down and another 10-15 marked. I guess it is only a matter of time until my alley with just a couple of apartment buildings becomes yet another cluster of 20 storey buildings and cars parked everywhere. Such is China.
It will be a shame, I like the cheap food and being so close to 'real China' where migrant workers live and work. I hope those who are losing their homes are being compensated enough (they are usually not). Keep watching to find out how quick the buildings disappear and what will replace them... there could be a miracle and some green space might appear, but it is unlikely!
Last night, leaving a club (the 1st i have been to in Xi'an in 8 months, since I normally stick to restaurants and bars) that was (predictably) pretty crap, me and my friends started chatting to the kids who were selling roses on the street. We gathered they all live together and some guy is looking after them. They say they are surviving ok with money, food etc; but who knows how much they get for doing what they do. They don't live with their parents, anyway.
There is a big problem of children being kidnapped, or being bought from their parents, to work for 'paymasters', and then (sometimes) returned to their parents later. In this case, parents are often so poor (or do not want their kids) that they willingly give up their children (though often without knowing what will actually happen to them). We are not sure how these children are (abused or not etc); but they said their parents are still in their hometown, so it seems likely they were either sold by their parents or kidnapped. Neither is good. So sad, and not just a Developing country problem, but one that is closely related to poverty and gender issues.
It seems that having an (new) Australian flat-mate is going to cost me money and brain cells with the amount of alcohol she consumes and the impact it has on me. Oh dear, perfect preparation for the trip home and plenty of partying at Ian's (Uni flat-mate) wedding in a few weeks!
It will be a shame, I like the cheap food and being so close to 'real China' where migrant workers live and work. I hope those who are losing their homes are being compensated enough (they are usually not). Keep watching to find out how quick the buildings disappear and what will replace them... there could be a miracle and some green space might appear, but it is unlikely!
Last night, leaving a club (the 1st i have been to in Xi'an in 8 months, since I normally stick to restaurants and bars) that was (predictably) pretty crap, me and my friends started chatting to the kids who were selling roses on the street. We gathered they all live together and some guy is looking after them. They say they are surviving ok with money, food etc; but who knows how much they get for doing what they do. They don't live with their parents, anyway.
There is a big problem of children being kidnapped, or being bought from their parents, to work for 'paymasters', and then (sometimes) returned to their parents later. In this case, parents are often so poor (or do not want their kids) that they willingly give up their children (though often without knowing what will actually happen to them). We are not sure how these children are (abused or not etc); but they said their parents are still in their hometown, so it seems likely they were either sold by their parents or kidnapped. Neither is good. So sad, and not just a Developing country problem, but one that is closely related to poverty and gender issues.
It seems that having an (new) Australian flat-mate is going to cost me money and brain cells with the amount of alcohol she consumes and the impact it has on me. Oh dear, perfect preparation for the trip home and plenty of partying at Ian's (Uni flat-mate) wedding in a few weeks!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Work and Fun in Thailand -a tough life
A 4 day trip to Thailand has been great for recharging the batteries. Remembering how beautiful nature is (i seem to need this reminder on a monthly basis due to the urban sprawl and lack of nature in Chinese cities!) I spent a day on a slightly random island which houses a few thousand muslim Thais, who that night just happened to be celebrating the birth of Muhammed.
So what would have been an incredibly boring night on an island with about 2 local shops, no other tourists (although i met 2 friends there) and no alcohol (when all the other islands are full of alcohol, parties, people, music and so on) ended up as a cultural experience as my 2 egyptian friends were able to talk to one of the locals who has studied the Koran in Egypt and thus explain everything to us. Good luck to Fadi who will spend another 3 months on the island (working). Good job he has the satellite thing for internet access otherwise it would be a lonely few months -but hey, at least his Thai will have to improve!
I suppose the island was what i though Indonesia might be like. 1 day maybe i'll find out. The beach though was beautiful -especially since there was no one on it; and i had fun riding a scooter around the island checking out the local's way of life (economy is all fishing). Then the next day, catching 1 of the 2 boats that leave the island each day I headed to a bay/island full of backpackers and cafe/bars that were all wooden shacks and fit in perfectly. It was, as Echo had promised, the 'pretty people beach' since everyone headed over there for rock climbing. I only had a few hours for lunch, so i missed the partying and was not keen to embarrass myself in front of so many climbing experts who were talking in another language all together. But it was still worth going to see the 'pretty people' especially since the other beaches nearby were full of their fair share of 'non-pretty' people. In other words, the overweight 50 somethings who like to sunbathe topless and get so red they glow in the day-time!
Yesterday was a work day at a conference that went well; despite UNICEF over-running and using up some of my presentation time... grr, damn UN people. Never mind, I am sure my presentation was better than theirs! Today was going to be half-pool and half-palace visiting, but the palace just was not as important as the pool-ipod-sun combo which lasted until the sun went down. Who cares about big empty golden buildings anyway?
Thailand is an unusual country, with a very very strong buddhist population yet huge problems in prostitution, trafficking and drugs. They have a vibrant democracy with frequent protests and an open media, yet admire their King like a god and have military coups every 3 years, like clock work. They have wonderful wonderful food but are so thin; 1 huge city but almost no others... The country is so full of foreigners it is crazy: beach-tourists, backpacker-tourists, sex-tourists and more. I am not used to seeing so many white people! Having said I am not used to seeing so much sun. And I am sure I won't be seeing too much sun in the next couple of weeks either -Sand storm season is coming, yay!
So what would have been an incredibly boring night on an island with about 2 local shops, no other tourists (although i met 2 friends there) and no alcohol (when all the other islands are full of alcohol, parties, people, music and so on) ended up as a cultural experience as my 2 egyptian friends were able to talk to one of the locals who has studied the Koran in Egypt and thus explain everything to us. Good luck to Fadi who will spend another 3 months on the island (working). Good job he has the satellite thing for internet access otherwise it would be a lonely few months -but hey, at least his Thai will have to improve!
I suppose the island was what i though Indonesia might be like. 1 day maybe i'll find out. The beach though was beautiful -especially since there was no one on it; and i had fun riding a scooter around the island checking out the local's way of life (economy is all fishing). Then the next day, catching 1 of the 2 boats that leave the island each day I headed to a bay/island full of backpackers and cafe/bars that were all wooden shacks and fit in perfectly. It was, as Echo had promised, the 'pretty people beach' since everyone headed over there for rock climbing. I only had a few hours for lunch, so i missed the partying and was not keen to embarrass myself in front of so many climbing experts who were talking in another language all together. But it was still worth going to see the 'pretty people' especially since the other beaches nearby were full of their fair share of 'non-pretty' people. In other words, the overweight 50 somethings who like to sunbathe topless and get so red they glow in the day-time!
Yesterday was a work day at a conference that went well; despite UNICEF over-running and using up some of my presentation time... grr, damn UN people. Never mind, I am sure my presentation was better than theirs! Today was going to be half-pool and half-palace visiting, but the palace just was not as important as the pool-ipod-sun combo which lasted until the sun went down. Who cares about big empty golden buildings anyway?
Thailand is an unusual country, with a very very strong buddhist population yet huge problems in prostitution, trafficking and drugs. They have a vibrant democracy with frequent protests and an open media, yet admire their King like a god and have military coups every 3 years, like clock work. They have wonderful wonderful food but are so thin; 1 huge city but almost no others... The country is so full of foreigners it is crazy: beach-tourists, backpacker-tourists, sex-tourists and more. I am not used to seeing so many white people! Having said I am not used to seeing so much sun. And I am sure I won't be seeing too much sun in the next couple of weeks either -Sand storm season is coming, yay!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
chinese language
Over the last 10 days I had my first 2 guests stay over in the Xi'an apartment: now more prove of how bad Xi'an is. Actually I do get a bit carried away. Xi'an is not THAT bad. I am just spoiled having lived in such great cities as London, Manchester and Beijing most of my life. Maybe I am just feeling Xi'an is getting better since it has risen above 20 degrees (though still rarely much sun to be seen!).
Work has been busy and my chinese lessons have been really interesting with discussions about China's feudal system and power/control structure, constant invasions, role of religion and confucianism and how this might impact the future. Of course the level of language used was quite basic and a few english words were used here and again; but such intellectual conversations are the only way to stay awake at 7.30 am after 5 hours sleep (we actually went to a Bar 1 night!).
I keep meaning to write more about these conversations, I will 1 day. I also keep meaning to write a bit more about the Chinese language -which I'll summarise incredibly briefly now. Chinese writing system has changed very little over 5,000 years, though the way words are pronounced varies: and there are at least 4 distinct 'languages' which are intelligible from each other. There are few rules. Most words can be nouns as well as verbs; no real fancy tenses to worry about or anything else that french, german and latin (my other experiences with languages) have. Characters are either pictographic or an addition of 2 parts of a character stuck together. Some examples are 'fu' -happiness which is a person, a mouth, a field and clothes (this person is pretty content) or 'hao' -good, which is a woman and a son. Some cool words include the word for pet which has 2 characters. 1 for animal and 1 made up of a dragon underneath a roof. This week I also learn what you get when you combine the character for movement and the character for strength: motivation (i.e. the ability to make someone move).
Just a taster, but you can see that it is a very interesting language to learn, with stories behind most characters and reasons for them being what they are. Unfortunately it is not always easy to work these out unless previously told, and the characters can be spoken in any of 4 tones (which totally alters the meaning).; plus the Chinese often shorten words (e.g. If -Ru Guo, but often just said and written as Ru), speak ridiculously fast in different accents, use lots of idioms ... and so on. Anyway my chinese is slowly getting better. Another couple of years should do it.
Now for some good news: Flights are booked back home for 26th April (staying possibly up to 6 weeks for work and pleasure), I played football tonight in Beijing and in 1 day's time I will be in 35 degree heat on a beach in Thailand.
Work has been busy and my chinese lessons have been really interesting with discussions about China's feudal system and power/control structure, constant invasions, role of religion and confucianism and how this might impact the future. Of course the level of language used was quite basic and a few english words were used here and again; but such intellectual conversations are the only way to stay awake at 7.30 am after 5 hours sleep (we actually went to a Bar 1 night!).
I keep meaning to write more about these conversations, I will 1 day. I also keep meaning to write a bit more about the Chinese language -which I'll summarise incredibly briefly now. Chinese writing system has changed very little over 5,000 years, though the way words are pronounced varies: and there are at least 4 distinct 'languages' which are intelligible from each other. There are few rules. Most words can be nouns as well as verbs; no real fancy tenses to worry about or anything else that french, german and latin (my other experiences with languages) have. Characters are either pictographic or an addition of 2 parts of a character stuck together. Some examples are 'fu' -happiness which is a person, a mouth, a field and clothes (this person is pretty content) or 'hao' -good, which is a woman and a son. Some cool words include the word for pet which has 2 characters. 1 for animal and 1 made up of a dragon underneath a roof. This week I also learn what you get when you combine the character for movement and the character for strength: motivation (i.e. the ability to make someone move).
Just a taster, but you can see that it is a very interesting language to learn, with stories behind most characters and reasons for them being what they are. Unfortunately it is not always easy to work these out unless previously told, and the characters can be spoken in any of 4 tones (which totally alters the meaning).; plus the Chinese often shorten words (e.g. If -Ru Guo, but often just said and written as Ru), speak ridiculously fast in different accents, use lots of idioms ... and so on. Anyway my chinese is slowly getting better. Another couple of years should do it.
Now for some good news: Flights are booked back home for 26th April (staying possibly up to 6 weeks for work and pleasure), I played football tonight in Beijing and in 1 day's time I will be in 35 degree heat on a beach in Thailand.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Western delights
A few busy days later and I am back in Beijing. Let me introduce a typical Beijing trip:
Thursday morning, arrive in Beijing on overnight train. Get to office by 8.30am. Boss takes me out to lunch at the 'First kosher restaurant in Beijing' -not too impressed. Consumption of Western food: Steak sandwich with fries/salad
Thursday evening, head to a trendy bar in a hotel where the British Chamber of Commerce have a monthly networking event to meet new and old people. Grab some Chinese pancake and Peperami equivalent on way to a friend's apartment.
Friday morning, 10am, head to the Bookworm (a western style cafe/restaurant/library) for a 2 hour meeting/coffee. Consumption of Western drink: 2 Mochas.
Friday lunch, still in the Bookworm have 'business related' lunch with a friend before going back to the office to work. Consumption of western food: Steak sandwich with fries/salad
Friday evening, meet a friend for a couple of beers and go to Hot Pot (Every one sits around a pot of boiling water and puts uncooked food in and then eat -yummy and very sociable). End the night in Latinos (Latin Club).
Saturday, go for lunch at GrandMa's Kitchen (American style place). Consumption of western food: Grandma's Skillet (sort of like a fry-up) and Chocolate cake.
Saturday evening, go for dinner at Purple Haze (Thai restaurant). Consumption of non-chinese food: Red Chicken pineapple curry. Consumption of western drink: Long Island Ice Tea.
End the night at Brown's pub for St. Patrick's Day drinking Carlsberg. We get bored and buy 'Monty Python's the holy grail' for 1 pound (expensive, good quality DVD) head back to watch it and eat Ice Cream. Movie dies after an hour. So much for the expensive good quality DVD! Will buy cheap ones next time, that are of same quality.
Sunday, flat mate cooks salad and sandwich style lunch. Dinner is planned at another restaurant. Back to Xi'an on 7pm train tomorrow.
Coming to Beijing is expensive. None of the drinks (including beer) were less than 2 pounds; most up to 3 pounds. Food starting at 3-4 pounds. Yikes. The previous 3 days in Xi'an cost me 6 pounds in total, for 3 dinners and 3 lunches!
Chinese food is great: there is so much choice and variation, but it is certainly nice to eat Western again. But it is not a financially sustainable lifestyle... less time in Beijing (especially with today's awful pollution) in the future I think!
Thursday morning, arrive in Beijing on overnight train. Get to office by 8.30am. Boss takes me out to lunch at the 'First kosher restaurant in Beijing' -not too impressed. Consumption of Western food: Steak sandwich with fries/salad
Thursday evening, head to a trendy bar in a hotel where the British Chamber of Commerce have a monthly networking event to meet new and old people. Grab some Chinese pancake and Peperami equivalent on way to a friend's apartment.
Friday morning, 10am, head to the Bookworm (a western style cafe/restaurant/library) for a 2 hour meeting/coffee. Consumption of Western drink: 2 Mochas.
Friday lunch, still in the Bookworm have 'business related' lunch with a friend before going back to the office to work. Consumption of western food: Steak sandwich with fries/salad
Friday evening, meet a friend for a couple of beers and go to Hot Pot (Every one sits around a pot of boiling water and puts uncooked food in and then eat -yummy and very sociable). End the night in Latinos (Latin Club).
Saturday, go for lunch at GrandMa's Kitchen (American style place). Consumption of western food: Grandma's Skillet (sort of like a fry-up) and Chocolate cake.
Saturday evening, go for dinner at Purple Haze (Thai restaurant). Consumption of non-chinese food: Red Chicken pineapple curry. Consumption of western drink: Long Island Ice Tea.
End the night at Brown's pub for St. Patrick's Day drinking Carlsberg. We get bored and buy 'Monty Python's the holy grail' for 1 pound (expensive, good quality DVD) head back to watch it and eat Ice Cream. Movie dies after an hour. So much for the expensive good quality DVD! Will buy cheap ones next time, that are of same quality.
Sunday, flat mate cooks salad and sandwich style lunch. Dinner is planned at another restaurant. Back to Xi'an on 7pm train tomorrow.
Coming to Beijing is expensive. None of the drinks (including beer) were less than 2 pounds; most up to 3 pounds. Food starting at 3-4 pounds. Yikes. The previous 3 days in Xi'an cost me 6 pounds in total, for 3 dinners and 3 lunches!
Chinese food is great: there is so much choice and variation, but it is certainly nice to eat Western again. But it is not a financially sustainable lifestyle... less time in Beijing (especially with today's awful pollution) in the future I think!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
a weekend in xi'an
Possibly only the 3rd weekend in Xi'an since i moved here in August -I am quite proud of that actually! The reason is that it is still pretty cold, so no point traveling and I decided to clean my apartment for the first time properly, since i moved in (I have only spent about 14 nights here in 2 months) in preparation for the arrival of a flat mate soon.
I also played football at one of the local universities with a bunch of Uighurs (from Xinjiang, in north-west China) which meant i could not understand a word (their language is more like Turkish than Chinese) -but they were pretty good and it was fun. So now i have played football 4 times since the summer -hopefully i can play more often in xi'an if i am ever 'stuck' here again at a weekend. It feels good to run around lots :)
Xinjiang is a place i want to go to more than Tibet. It has been in and out of Chinese rule for 2 millennium and always 'fighting' the invaders, including nowadays. Though there is much less resistance since a) punishment is severe, b) the economic growth and c) more than half the people there are not Uighurs at all. Some argue the Chinese were forcefully moving people there to make it more Han (and certainly none of the government jobs there go to the locals) but the several Han people I have met from Xinjiang all fled there during the famine of the 1960s, since XinJiang is vast and mostly empty full of good-ish land. I suppose it still happens a lot nowadays in Africa -entire families are forced to abandon their homes and flee to somewhere else because of a simple lack of food!
The last 2 weeks were ok, since the Chunjie trip. Despite having to adjust to the cold weather (although over zero), the early starts (still waking up at 6.30 for Chinese lessons) and spending my days in an office work has been ok, I have been back to Beijing (in time for the end of Chinese New Year, which is another occasion for World War to break out) and I only fell asleep in the office for a few minutes on International Women's Day. Not a political statement, on my behalf, just the office was so quiet and dull with all the women getting a half day extra holiday!
I wonder what all our women did on that half day -probably just get extra time to clean the house or prepare dinner, which is kind of ironic isn't it? I also wonder why most countries barely give a damn about such a day. Well, there were some interesting (depressing) statistics in the UK papers, so maybe people do notice. Unfortunately it seems that most people use the occasion to 'thank women for all the hard work they do', rather than actually try to fight to increase the rights and position that women are in. Much easier to thank someone than try to help them :-)
I also played football at one of the local universities with a bunch of Uighurs (from Xinjiang, in north-west China) which meant i could not understand a word (their language is more like Turkish than Chinese) -but they were pretty good and it was fun. So now i have played football 4 times since the summer -hopefully i can play more often in xi'an if i am ever 'stuck' here again at a weekend. It feels good to run around lots :)
Xinjiang is a place i want to go to more than Tibet. It has been in and out of Chinese rule for 2 millennium and always 'fighting' the invaders, including nowadays. Though there is much less resistance since a) punishment is severe, b) the economic growth and c) more than half the people there are not Uighurs at all. Some argue the Chinese were forcefully moving people there to make it more Han (and certainly none of the government jobs there go to the locals) but the several Han people I have met from Xinjiang all fled there during the famine of the 1960s, since XinJiang is vast and mostly empty full of good-ish land. I suppose it still happens a lot nowadays in Africa -entire families are forced to abandon their homes and flee to somewhere else because of a simple lack of food!
The last 2 weeks were ok, since the Chunjie trip. Despite having to adjust to the cold weather (although over zero), the early starts (still waking up at 6.30 for Chinese lessons) and spending my days in an office work has been ok, I have been back to Beijing (in time for the end of Chinese New Year, which is another occasion for World War to break out) and I only fell asleep in the office for a few minutes on International Women's Day. Not a political statement, on my behalf, just the office was so quiet and dull with all the women getting a half day extra holiday!
I wonder what all our women did on that half day -probably just get extra time to clean the house or prepare dinner, which is kind of ironic isn't it? I also wonder why most countries barely give a damn about such a day. Well, there were some interesting (depressing) statistics in the UK papers, so maybe people do notice. Unfortunately it seems that most people use the occasion to 'thank women for all the hard work they do', rather than actually try to fight to increase the rights and position that women are in. Much easier to thank someone than try to help them :-)
Macau photos
Church, Casinos, Fishing Village and the remains (only the front is left) of St Peter's Church
Hong Kong photos
Rice fields in rural Hong Kong, Beach on Lamma Island, Neon advertising signs in Kowloon and an arty picture of Central, Hong Kong Island
Guizhou and Hunan Photos
Bridge in Fenghuang lit up at night, Fenghuang houses by the river, Zhang Jia Jie peaks in the snow, Dad eating dinner with a local family in the countryside
Sichuan photos
Mum and me with the pandas, Pearl Waterfall at Jiu Zhai Gou, Horse Riding in the Tibetan hills and a gorgeous lake in Jiu Zhai Gou
Monday, February 26, 2007
how many people live in your house?
Quanzhou is not a place many people have heard off but several hundred years ago (back when China was responsible for more than 40% of World GDP and much of the World's trade along the land/sea silk road) it was famous as one of the biggest ports in the World. There were even 6 Mosques for the Arabic residents/traders. Today there are plenty of temples and 1 mosque left standing; though not much else.
It is now, though 1 of the many ports in China at the forefront of exporting goods to the rest of the World. In fact the area of east and south-east china is full of cities that come to specialise in certain products. 1 city makes something ridiculous like 95% of the world's plastic lighters; another makes shoes; another makes ceramics; another makes stone statues... most of them don't just sell out of China but of course to the huge market inside of China too -and every finished product requires many more people working to create the components too.
After Quanzhou I headed into the mountains to an area now inhabited by the Hakka People, who lost many battles against the Han Chinese a thousand or so years ago and were forced into the mountains. Their language is (as is typical of China) as different to Mandarin Chinese as Italian is to English though their writing is mostly the same. What makes the area attractive to tourists is that the Hakka people built their homes out of mud, straw and so on and in square and circular shapes for protection. Typically the 'Tu Lou" (Earth Buildings) are 3-4 stories with the ground level being for cooking, the next level for storage and the next couple for accommodation. The bottom 2 levels had no windows whatsoever, and there was only 1 entrance into these massive structures (with walls around 2m thick).
Of course many of them are still standing (i saw one almost 900 years old), and what makes the area so interesting is that they are all still inhabited and new buildings are still created in the same style (though with some mod-cons, like taps a long with the well). Visiting the Tu lou (and there are thosuands in the area; most villages are full of them) is a glimpse into a way of life little changed for a thousand years -and still ongoing. The only real changes are that many of the young people migrate to the cities to work, so most of the tu lou are half-empty and motorbikes are the method of transportation of choice.
The people are extremely kind with several families offering me in for tea and feeding me -making it hard to leave politely. Each Tu lou houses several families with the biggest holding 2-300 rooms: around 1,000 inhabitants! Quite a sight -and great if all the families get on well; though i am not sure if i can handle the closeness of these kinds of communities (brought up, as i was, in a house of just 5 people and a couple of pets). Actually the most annoying thing from staying in these tulou was not the lack of toilets inside, the hardness of the beds or the smell from the animals downstairs (though these might be too much if i was staying more than just a night or two!), but the damn cockrells that never shut up and could be heard through the open windows!
It is now, though 1 of the many ports in China at the forefront of exporting goods to the rest of the World. In fact the area of east and south-east china is full of cities that come to specialise in certain products. 1 city makes something ridiculous like 95% of the world's plastic lighters; another makes shoes; another makes ceramics; another makes stone statues... most of them don't just sell out of China but of course to the huge market inside of China too -and every finished product requires many more people working to create the components too.
After Quanzhou I headed into the mountains to an area now inhabited by the Hakka People, who lost many battles against the Han Chinese a thousand or so years ago and were forced into the mountains. Their language is (as is typical of China) as different to Mandarin Chinese as Italian is to English though their writing is mostly the same. What makes the area attractive to tourists is that the Hakka people built their homes out of mud, straw and so on and in square and circular shapes for protection. Typically the 'Tu Lou" (Earth Buildings) are 3-4 stories with the ground level being for cooking, the next level for storage and the next couple for accommodation. The bottom 2 levels had no windows whatsoever, and there was only 1 entrance into these massive structures (with walls around 2m thick).
Of course many of them are still standing (i saw one almost 900 years old), and what makes the area so interesting is that they are all still inhabited and new buildings are still created in the same style (though with some mod-cons, like taps a long with the well). Visiting the Tu lou (and there are thosuands in the area; most villages are full of them) is a glimpse into a way of life little changed for a thousand years -and still ongoing. The only real changes are that many of the young people migrate to the cities to work, so most of the tu lou are half-empty and motorbikes are the method of transportation of choice.
The people are extremely kind with several families offering me in for tea and feeding me -making it hard to leave politely. Each Tu lou houses several families with the biggest holding 2-300 rooms: around 1,000 inhabitants! Quite a sight -and great if all the families get on well; though i am not sure if i can handle the closeness of these kinds of communities (brought up, as i was, in a house of just 5 people and a couple of pets). Actually the most annoying thing from staying in these tulou was not the lack of toilets inside, the hardness of the beds or the smell from the animals downstairs (though these might be too much if i was staying more than just a night or two!), but the damn cockrells that never shut up and could be heard through the open windows!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
legacies of colonialism
A great deal of China was actually colonised by the western powers. During the 19th century after the Brits and a few others forced China into giving us Hong Kong, over the next 60 years many Foreign powers actually ended up with whole tracts of land in the most important trading cities. This meant these 'foreign concessions' were just like bits of Europe in China: old brick buildings, real sewers, street lights and so on.
Although owning a few bits of a few cities was not enough for japan, who invaded about half of China for its raw materials before and during world war 2 (The Allied powers were giving China weapons and so on to help them defeat the Japanese, but the Japanese only really left because they lost to the USA in WW2).
Anyway, I am now in one of those cities (Xiamen) that had a bunch of foreigners living there a while ago. In fact the foreigners set up home on a little island nearby, because the city itself was too 'dirty'! Thus in the period before and after 1900 over a thousand western style villas were built: grand mansions with columns, balconies, turrets, domes and so on. Some are more 'Mediterranean', others more 'American' depending on who the owners were.
Now the traffic-less island is a wonderful place with many tiny, winding alleys between grand mansions (there were 13 consulates amongst other residences) and not-so-grand-but-not-so-bad chinese buildings. There are beautiful trees everywhere that are 1-200 years old although many of the buildings are now falling into disrepair as the chinese owners have no need for 20 room mansion! They use 4 rooms and leave the rest in a mess, unfortunately (it is possible to have a look in some actually homes, due to some enterprising locals).
Weirdly 1 now houses a museum of art made from fish bones -surprisingly good (photos up later hopefully). Most of the pianos that the foreigners took there seem to be housed in the museums on the island, though in the past you would hear the pianos being played everywhere it seems. It is a wonderful place to relax with some great beaches and parks, fresh sea food and, despite the tens of thousands of tourists each day (compared to the 5,000 or so residents!), still quite quiet off the main streets.
It is definitely much 'better' than either Macau, Qingdao or Shanghai which also have great foreign concessions. Here so much has been left and not knocked down, not filled in with horrible cheap buildings, not destroyed by traffic noise and fumes and not turned into bars! highly recommended. A shame all us foreigners left during the war (taking all the nice stuff with us i presume), because now the houses are kind of bare :-(
Although owning a few bits of a few cities was not enough for japan, who invaded about half of China for its raw materials before and during world war 2 (The Allied powers were giving China weapons and so on to help them defeat the Japanese, but the Japanese only really left because they lost to the USA in WW2).
Anyway, I am now in one of those cities (Xiamen) that had a bunch of foreigners living there a while ago. In fact the foreigners set up home on a little island nearby, because the city itself was too 'dirty'! Thus in the period before and after 1900 over a thousand western style villas were built: grand mansions with columns, balconies, turrets, domes and so on. Some are more 'Mediterranean', others more 'American' depending on who the owners were.
Now the traffic-less island is a wonderful place with many tiny, winding alleys between grand mansions (there were 13 consulates amongst other residences) and not-so-grand-but-not-so-bad chinese buildings. There are beautiful trees everywhere that are 1-200 years old although many of the buildings are now falling into disrepair as the chinese owners have no need for 20 room mansion! They use 4 rooms and leave the rest in a mess, unfortunately (it is possible to have a look in some actually homes, due to some enterprising locals).
Weirdly 1 now houses a museum of art made from fish bones -surprisingly good (photos up later hopefully). Most of the pianos that the foreigners took there seem to be housed in the museums on the island, though in the past you would hear the pianos being played everywhere it seems. It is a wonderful place to relax with some great beaches and parks, fresh sea food and, despite the tens of thousands of tourists each day (compared to the 5,000 or so residents!), still quite quiet off the main streets.
It is definitely much 'better' than either Macau, Qingdao or Shanghai which also have great foreign concessions. Here so much has been left and not knocked down, not filled in with horrible cheap buildings, not destroyed by traffic noise and fumes and not turned into bars! highly recommended. A shame all us foreigners left during the war (taking all the nice stuff with us i presume), because now the houses are kind of bare :-(
tea
Not the best of starts to a holiday when it all the travel agencies take the day off for chinese new year's eve; and hence had no tours available -so i left Nanchang quickly for Wu Yi Mountain to meet 2 Japanese Girls and spend New Year's Eve letting off fireworks in the street and drinking beer on a bridge (in the drizzling rain).
Then followed 2 days of fantastic hiking -some times following hundreds of people up steps, sometimes alone on paths that were not just fun but also difficult -cut out of the rock in crazy ways (if there were no handrails, it would be almost impossible) and sometimes trying to follow footpaths that do not exist. Chinese people tend to only go to an attraction, then back to the bus (and then onto the next one). Hence, though a map hints at paths between 'sites' they actually do not exist really... just lots and lots of paths used by the farmers during the harvest to 'harvest' (or whatever you do to tea when it is ready to sell!).
Anyway, after carefully leaving my GPS behind in the hotel the one time when i could actually use it, I wondered off finding a house (and some maybe crazy guy in it) hours from the nearest road and 4 hours later i managed to crawl down an embankment on a main road to hitch a ride on a motorbike back to town (the driver complained i was too heavy for his bike!). It was, though, a great trip.
Many of the real signposted paths were also pretty and full of waterfalls/ I splashed out 5 pounds to drink some supposedly amazing tea (supposedly, i can't really tell the difference) but thought 'what the hell' -bringing on another bouth of hundreds of people staring at the white person drinking tea. To be honest I was looking very confused, trying to understand the lecture the tea woman was giving me about the history of the tea and traditions of pouring, drinking etc... not understand a word.
For some reason, though I am in south-east coastal China (which has been growing fast in the last 20 years), everyone is more suprised to see a foreigner than in the back waters. Or, maybe the parents are just much more vocal about telling their kids about the 'laowai', whilst the teenagers are braver in shouting 'hello'. I do try to reply hello back.. but after hundreds of times in 5 days my mind is saying other things, much less polite (though i do keep my mouth shut, just).
Then followed 2 days of fantastic hiking -some times following hundreds of people up steps, sometimes alone on paths that were not just fun but also difficult -cut out of the rock in crazy ways (if there were no handrails, it would be almost impossible) and sometimes trying to follow footpaths that do not exist. Chinese people tend to only go to an attraction, then back to the bus (and then onto the next one). Hence, though a map hints at paths between 'sites' they actually do not exist really... just lots and lots of paths used by the farmers during the harvest to 'harvest' (or whatever you do to tea when it is ready to sell!).
Anyway, after carefully leaving my GPS behind in the hotel the one time when i could actually use it, I wondered off finding a house (and some maybe crazy guy in it) hours from the nearest road and 4 hours later i managed to crawl down an embankment on a main road to hitch a ride on a motorbike back to town (the driver complained i was too heavy for his bike!). It was, though, a great trip.
Many of the real signposted paths were also pretty and full of waterfalls/ I splashed out 5 pounds to drink some supposedly amazing tea (supposedly, i can't really tell the difference) but thought 'what the hell' -bringing on another bouth of hundreds of people staring at the white person drinking tea. To be honest I was looking very confused, trying to understand the lecture the tea woman was giving me about the history of the tea and traditions of pouring, drinking etc... not understand a word.
For some reason, though I am in south-east coastal China (which has been growing fast in the last 20 years), everyone is more suprised to see a foreigner than in the back waters. Or, maybe the parents are just much more vocal about telling their kids about the 'laowai', whilst the teenagers are braver in shouting 'hello'. I do try to reply hello back.. but after hundreds of times in 5 days my mind is saying other things, much less polite (though i do keep my mouth shut, just).
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Chinese New Year
Train Tickets just delivered by agent... 3 hours before train leaves...with a note "if anyone asks, tell them you queued for a looong time to get the ticket from the return's office". Whatever, he got his commission and i got my ticket for a 23 hour journey down south-east to coastal (and hopefully warmer) China. Hopefully it will rain -although i can barely remember what rain is like!
On Sunday, it is Chinese New Year. Now it's time to leave on holiday!
On Sunday, it is Chinese New Year. Now it's time to leave on holiday!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Pigs, Taxi Drivers and more
Today was a wonderful day: shorts and t-shirts weather (well, whilst playing football anyway!) and it was about 15 degrees in the sun: evidence of global warming maybe -the lake where we go ice skating froze 1 week later this year than last year and unfroze another week early. I am talking about Beijing of course; Xi'an never has beautiful days -just a few 'nice' days.
Xi'an only had 1 real period of rain in 2006; it had 4 in 2005 according to my chinese teacher here -and currently Shaanxi province is in the middle of a serious drought forcing the government to bring in drinking water for many places in the countryside. It means that I feel like a girl using 'moisturizing lotion' and the pollution will probably be awful in the spring with more violent dust storms than usual. Beijing won't be much better (though it has more 'induced rain' -through putting chemicals into the clouds), so it is a good thing that the Olympics are only 16 months away -another few years and even the Chinese government might not be able to stop the dust!
On that note, I heard that half of the new subway lines in Beijing won't be finished in time for the Olympics -proof that there are still some things beyond the means of the all-powerful Chinese government in Beijing. Actually, there are many things beyond their means (corruption, controlling the faraway provinces, enforcing the law....), but I am surprised at this. A real shame, because the traffic continues to get worse. A presentation by GM recently mentioned that the growth in automobiles in the last 5 years has been twice as much as their most ambitious prediction (the GM speaker had a big smile on his face -any environmentalists less so!)
More excitement in Beijing comes from the taxi drivers who have now started learning English (all of them will be tested before the Olympics) and english words are translated into phonetics based on chinese characters. This is hilarious and really hard to understand: I am trying to remember some examples; but imagine someone trying to pronounce Bowel but saying it: Bo-Ah-Le or Bo-Way-Le. Poor guys. I think all foreigners should help them during journeys.
In 1 week's time it is Chinese New Year (so start preparing your hong bao now -red envelopes with money in to give to those younger than you) -so on monday i am going to call our 'train ticket' guy who promises train tickets no matter what... to see if he can live up to his word. This year tickets went on sale a whole month before new year (rather than the usual 4 days!) and still for at least the first 10 days of that period people were lining up at 7am; 90 minutes before the ticket office opens!
Next year is the year of the pig- a year that is supposed to be very lucky (this was the year everyone was getting pregnant so next year they can give birth), so there will be lots more chinese people being born -which means lots more boys than girls as usual.
In case you didn't know 123 boys are born for every 100 girls on average: and in some parts it is more than 150-100. Predictions are that more than 20m males will never be able to get married (unless China gets into divorces and remarriages in a really big way) -now that is going to be a lot of frustrated men (whose mothers will be screaming at them until they die for not having children) which will be yet another social issue for the government, along with the increasing trade in wife-trafficking (a national and international problem throughout SE Asia because of China). It is funny how when there are so many people in a country, that even tiny little inbalances involve millions of people: HIV/AIDS, unemployment, job-hunting graduates, migrant workers... even if it only affects a tiny proportion, it still affects so many people!
Xi'an only had 1 real period of rain in 2006; it had 4 in 2005 according to my chinese teacher here -and currently Shaanxi province is in the middle of a serious drought forcing the government to bring in drinking water for many places in the countryside. It means that I feel like a girl using 'moisturizing lotion' and the pollution will probably be awful in the spring with more violent dust storms than usual. Beijing won't be much better (though it has more 'induced rain' -through putting chemicals into the clouds), so it is a good thing that the Olympics are only 16 months away -another few years and even the Chinese government might not be able to stop the dust!
On that note, I heard that half of the new subway lines in Beijing won't be finished in time for the Olympics -proof that there are still some things beyond the means of the all-powerful Chinese government in Beijing. Actually, there are many things beyond their means (corruption, controlling the faraway provinces, enforcing the law....), but I am surprised at this. A real shame, because the traffic continues to get worse. A presentation by GM recently mentioned that the growth in automobiles in the last 5 years has been twice as much as their most ambitious prediction (the GM speaker had a big smile on his face -any environmentalists less so!)
More excitement in Beijing comes from the taxi drivers who have now started learning English (all of them will be tested before the Olympics) and english words are translated into phonetics based on chinese characters. This is hilarious and really hard to understand: I am trying to remember some examples; but imagine someone trying to pronounce Bowel but saying it: Bo-Ah-Le or Bo-Way-Le. Poor guys. I think all foreigners should help them during journeys.
In 1 week's time it is Chinese New Year (so start preparing your hong bao now -red envelopes with money in to give to those younger than you) -so on monday i am going to call our 'train ticket' guy who promises train tickets no matter what... to see if he can live up to his word. This year tickets went on sale a whole month before new year (rather than the usual 4 days!) and still for at least the first 10 days of that period people were lining up at 7am; 90 minutes before the ticket office opens!
Next year is the year of the pig- a year that is supposed to be very lucky (this was the year everyone was getting pregnant so next year they can give birth), so there will be lots more chinese people being born -which means lots more boys than girls as usual.
In case you didn't know 123 boys are born for every 100 girls on average: and in some parts it is more than 150-100. Predictions are that more than 20m males will never be able to get married (unless China gets into divorces and remarriages in a really big way) -now that is going to be a lot of frustrated men (whose mothers will be screaming at them until they die for not having children) which will be yet another social issue for the government, along with the increasing trade in wife-trafficking (a national and international problem throughout SE Asia because of China). It is funny how when there are so many people in a country, that even tiny little inbalances involve millions of people: HIV/AIDS, unemployment, job-hunting graduates, migrant workers... even if it only affects a tiny proportion, it still affects so many people!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Singing
Tonight was the FESCO party -FESCO is the government run organisation that every foreign owned company must use to pay its taxes and staff. It was a typical-ish chinese party with the mask-switching guy, the singers and party games, plus of course a tombola. Always fun, as long as the awful music they play is not too loud, especially as one of only about 5 foreigners there out of 300.
Since I came to China i have had to go to ktv a few times, and voluntarily gone a few times too -a south-east and east Asia thing, karaoke is hugely popular and high-tech. It helps being quite cheap and being open 24 hrs including free buffet/drink (not normally alcohol though this is normally what us foreigners need to get us to sing!). Once you realise how bad half the chinese men are and that everyone expects foreigners to be bad, then it's not too bad -and quite good fun (also comfortable to sleep in).
Well there is a link between karaoke and the FESCO party -since at the FESCO party, a woman by the name of Yun En Feng was singing; she is the most famous singer in the province of Shaanxi, celebrating her 70th tomorrow and apparently famous throughout China in the 80s. She sings the kind of music that us foreigners listen to and at first say: hmm, different; then -ah, so it's a cultural thing; then -ok, that's enough with the screeching already.
However at the FESCO party, there was a slight difference, since I (with 2 days notice) was nominated by Plan's HR Manager to sing with this lady in a love song duet (me first verse, her second verse then a final verse together). And as you ALL know singing is probably the one thing i am worst at. Let alone singing in Chinese (i had the words in advance) and in a song which involves screeching (i.e. high pitches -that does not suit my growl!). After making a total fool out of myself on stage in front of 300 people (with 50 Plan colleagues cheering me on, making things worse) I then managed to ..... if you can guess... slip on/break the stairs (obviously designed for flimsy chinese girls not meant for big white men) and fall on my ass (whilst holding the flowers i was given during the love song). However there were no injuries physically and no more pride to lose -and the flowers survived.
Anyway the kids in the audience loved it; my colleagues admire me for my guts (and not for my singing, so hopefully i won't get asked to do anything like that again for their sake) and I can say i sang with one of the most famous singers in china (once-upon-a-time) -and get 4 of her CDs as a gift (yay!)
Otherwise things are ticking along ok; since i moved into a new apartment, committed to a new year resolution of writing at least 4 chinese (very short) essays a week before class, and go back to an AIESEC conference tomorrow as an Alumni (am delivering training and making an interesting announcement and launching something even more interesting -hardly an inactive alumni!)
Since I came to China i have had to go to ktv a few times, and voluntarily gone a few times too -a south-east and east Asia thing, karaoke is hugely popular and high-tech. It helps being quite cheap and being open 24 hrs including free buffet/drink (not normally alcohol though this is normally what us foreigners need to get us to sing!). Once you realise how bad half the chinese men are and that everyone expects foreigners to be bad, then it's not too bad -and quite good fun (also comfortable to sleep in).
Well there is a link between karaoke and the FESCO party -since at the FESCO party, a woman by the name of Yun En Feng was singing; she is the most famous singer in the province of Shaanxi, celebrating her 70th tomorrow and apparently famous throughout China in the 80s. She sings the kind of music that us foreigners listen to and at first say: hmm, different; then -ah, so it's a cultural thing; then -ok, that's enough with the screeching already.
However at the FESCO party, there was a slight difference, since I (with 2 days notice) was nominated by Plan's HR Manager to sing with this lady in a love song duet (me first verse, her second verse then a final verse together). And as you ALL know singing is probably the one thing i am worst at. Let alone singing in Chinese (i had the words in advance) and in a song which involves screeching (i.e. high pitches -that does not suit my growl!). After making a total fool out of myself on stage in front of 300 people (with 50 Plan colleagues cheering me on, making things worse) I then managed to ..... if you can guess... slip on/break the stairs (obviously designed for flimsy chinese girls not meant for big white men) and fall on my ass (whilst holding the flowers i was given during the love song). However there were no injuries physically and no more pride to lose -and the flowers survived.
Anyway the kids in the audience loved it; my colleagues admire me for my guts (and not for my singing, so hopefully i won't get asked to do anything like that again for their sake) and I can say i sang with one of the most famous singers in china (once-upon-a-time) -and get 4 of her CDs as a gift (yay!)
Otherwise things are ticking along ok; since i moved into a new apartment, committed to a new year resolution of writing at least 4 chinese (very short) essays a week before class, and go back to an AIESEC conference tomorrow as an Alumni (am delivering training and making an interesting announcement and launching something even more interesting -hardly an inactive alumni!)
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
the best alley in beijing
3 weeks after arriving in China I went looking for some bar where there was supposed to be a meeting called BINGOs -Beijing International NGOs. Arriving 30 minutes late after really struggling to find the place, I was told it was not on that night. I eventually went to another BINGO meeting a few months later, and never again after that (i believe it stopped meeting) -but i did go back to the bar again: Pass-by-bar has been legendary for ages it seems... stuck in a very old and decrepid hutong (traditional beijing alley) and actually in 3/4 of a Si He Yuan (4 sided courtyard building, which is a very traditional beijing house from a long time ago -many of which were knocked down but are now being preserved/restored).
The toilets are outside; since no houses in the area have any toilets: they share communcal ones, though they have been done up to be rather posh in the last 3 years. Since that day I used to often return to the bar, since it is actually more like a cafe/bookshop, where one relaxes read books, eats good food and has a cheapish drink in a wonderfully comfortable, relaxing environment. Well since then most of Beijing is now covered in bar/cafe/lounges -most are nice, but Pass by bar alwyas stood out.
Especially compared to the lake 1 km away, that is pretty at night and day, winter and summer..but with tens of similar places, just more 'barsy' and more 'tacky' (though 1 or 2 nice places). Thus Pass-by-bar, hidden in an alley was a great retreat -plus there was a cheap muslim style restaurant nearby too!
8 months ago, a few more tasteful places had cropped up on the street.. now the road is redone, there are loads more tasteful places; a few boutique shops and more people. but the alley (xiang) keeps its style with old buildings tastefully decorated as a wonderful place to go and mix with others eating, reading, sipping and 'surfing'. Plus its possible to pop off and check out the untouched 'hutongs'.
Long live (in its current state) South 'something' Old Alley!
Please make sure future developments keep its wonderful atmosphere, and in the summer the alley is not crowded with taxis, drunk people, loud music, neon etc!
p.s. blood diamond is a film everyone must watch. Although it is a gruesome and moving film that is simply horrible to believe, it is all based on truth. Sad how human beings can use other human beings so mercilessly
The toilets are outside; since no houses in the area have any toilets: they share communcal ones, though they have been done up to be rather posh in the last 3 years. Since that day I used to often return to the bar, since it is actually more like a cafe/bookshop, where one relaxes read books, eats good food and has a cheapish drink in a wonderfully comfortable, relaxing environment. Well since then most of Beijing is now covered in bar/cafe/lounges -most are nice, but Pass by bar alwyas stood out.
Especially compared to the lake 1 km away, that is pretty at night and day, winter and summer..but with tens of similar places, just more 'barsy' and more 'tacky' (though 1 or 2 nice places). Thus Pass-by-bar, hidden in an alley was a great retreat -plus there was a cheap muslim style restaurant nearby too!
8 months ago, a few more tasteful places had cropped up on the street.. now the road is redone, there are loads more tasteful places; a few boutique shops and more people. but the alley (xiang) keeps its style with old buildings tastefully decorated as a wonderful place to go and mix with others eating, reading, sipping and 'surfing'. Plus its possible to pop off and check out the untouched 'hutongs'.
Long live (in its current state) South 'something' Old Alley!
Please make sure future developments keep its wonderful atmosphere, and in the summer the alley is not crowded with taxis, drunk people, loud music, neon etc!
p.s. blood diamond is a film everyone must watch. Although it is a gruesome and moving film that is simply horrible to believe, it is all based on truth. Sad how human beings can use other human beings so mercilessly
Saturday, January 20, 2007
China's ambitions and great movies
When I was in the USA I was discussing with a friend about how empires come and go.. and most often empire's (or anyone in a powerful position) do not want to actually go! Hence, the inevitability of some kind of 'war' between the US and China... cold or otherwise. There is simply no reason to expect the US to want to allow China to be the dominant player in the World; why would they want to?
The question then is will China want to be ambitious -and this I feel is the interesting question. Hopefully in the future, sometime, the Chinese leadership will realise it is in their best interests (in the World's best interests) to settle for 2nd place. But, if the recent missile they fired against a weather satellite in space is much to go by, it seems like they are planning on being a Super Power... and recent history doesn't seem to promise a bright future if there are 2 superpowers, separated by ideologies or otherwise (China is not a communist country, but that is probably not relevant).
On a unrelated front, I just watched 'hard candy' a disturbing movie about a young girl and a pedophile. I really don't want to say any more about the plot -its best to watch it for yourself; if you can stand watching it (especially if you are a guy) and my emotions were really flying around about what is ethical or not for the girl to do in the movie... i definitely recommend it -and then you will understand what i mean better. In the end I suppose it depends on whether you think people can change, and whether they deserve a chance to change or not (and what harm they might do if you give them that chance).
It is a great movie, because it is interesting; it raises interesting questions and perspectives and it is gripping to watch.. like all my favourite movies :)
The question then is will China want to be ambitious -and this I feel is the interesting question. Hopefully in the future, sometime, the Chinese leadership will realise it is in their best interests (in the World's best interests) to settle for 2nd place. But, if the recent missile they fired against a weather satellite in space is much to go by, it seems like they are planning on being a Super Power... and recent history doesn't seem to promise a bright future if there are 2 superpowers, separated by ideologies or otherwise (China is not a communist country, but that is probably not relevant).
On a unrelated front, I just watched 'hard candy' a disturbing movie about a young girl and a pedophile. I really don't want to say any more about the plot -its best to watch it for yourself; if you can stand watching it (especially if you are a guy) and my emotions were really flying around about what is ethical or not for the girl to do in the movie... i definitely recommend it -and then you will understand what i mean better. In the end I suppose it depends on whether you think people can change, and whether they deserve a chance to change or not (and what harm they might do if you give them that chance).
It is a great movie, because it is interesting; it raises interesting questions and perspectives and it is gripping to watch.. like all my favourite movies :)
Sunday, January 14, 2007
it's cold in north China!
The recent holiday down South mostly involved either grotty white-tiled towns where you really don't want to stay very long or really cool old villages with all the buildings made out of wood, or stone. Currently I am North of Shaanxi.. which means in the middle from left-right and at the top, from top-bottom. So, very close to Mongolia -which is where Plan works. The villages here are very poor since they are so far from the sea (no trade), have very little water and desertification makes it hard to grow many crops.
What this area does have is plenty of mud, sand and the like -including coal. Thus there are some wealthy people (who own the coal mines, and drive in Audis), but not very many! There are, though, lots and lots of bricks.. If only bricks were something that could be exported! It means that the buildings look quite nice, though all the same colour! Normally the landscape might be quite dull, except in the winter when it's minus 5 in the daytime, and minus 20 at night... hence though it only snows once all winter, the snow stays for months (and it stays white, unlike polluted Beijing snow that turns black quickly!).
So everything is quite pretty. Toursit-wise, there is some Great Wall to see (though mostly it is just lying in ruins, or covered in mud -several feet of mud, from looking at some bits that are being 'restored'/dug-out). The capital of this county (Yulin, population of a few million i suppose) is a strange place. The old town is inside some old city walls (mostly collapsed, but parts restored); 2 streets inside the old town have changed: 1 is full of neon and shops; the other is full of pagodas every 400 metres and nicely styled chinese buildings (also shops). Everything else is run-down brick places. Then there is the newer parts outside the city wall with fancy new streetlights, paved communal areas, hotels (no idea who uses them though) and a couple of tall office buildings. Plus a 1,000 year old pagoda.
What is cool about the pagoda is that it has 4 windows on each level. Look out of 3 of them and you see brown, brick buildings, ruined city wall and some motorbikes/horse-cart traders. Look out of the 4th and you see the neon, the hotels, the restored city wall, the Audis and buses racing by. You get the idea -quite a contrast. Everything in China is a contrast! I have endless photos of going to places where fancy apartment buildings are being built on the right. In the middle is the remains of something -and on the left is the Chinese equivalent of a slum.
Except in China, there are no really bad slums compared to other countries (thanks to the government limiting migration to some extent; since you can only claim 'benefits' in the city you are registered with -which leads to massive problems for the 200million migrant workers who cannot get healthcare, send their children to normal schools etc for free). Just run down houses, litter everywhere (the resident's fault of course) and awful sanitation conditions (shared toilet blocks).
Tomorrow i'm being shown around some of the villages we are working in (we don't work in the towns) including the projects we are doing, and I will spend the night in a yao dong, which is cave house -where people here live. Should be interesting (I have seen one before, but not stayed in one).
The good news is that, despite staying in a hotel alone, I did NOT get a call on the room phone from a prostitute (yet)... and the guy next to me in the internet cafe stopped smoking. Having said that no-one in the internet cafe is actually on the internet. Every person (guarenteed -and there are more than 400 people in this one) is playing games (and maybe using QQ -like MSN Messenger). They should change the name of these places!
There is an ongoing debate about how much of a threat China is to the World (economically). Some argue a big threat: endless cheap labour, great infrastructure, endless supplies of cheap coal, huge investment and technology transfer from foreign companies etc.. Others say the threat is over-rated: too many internal social issues, environmental issues, endemic corruption (related to the autocratic political system), lack of innovation, dominance of inefficient state owned companies etc.
I say -look at the young people. If all their spare time is spent on computer games.. there is your answer....
What this area does have is plenty of mud, sand and the like -including coal. Thus there are some wealthy people (who own the coal mines, and drive in Audis), but not very many! There are, though, lots and lots of bricks.. If only bricks were something that could be exported! It means that the buildings look quite nice, though all the same colour! Normally the landscape might be quite dull, except in the winter when it's minus 5 in the daytime, and minus 20 at night... hence though it only snows once all winter, the snow stays for months (and it stays white, unlike polluted Beijing snow that turns black quickly!).
So everything is quite pretty. Toursit-wise, there is some Great Wall to see (though mostly it is just lying in ruins, or covered in mud -several feet of mud, from looking at some bits that are being 'restored'/dug-out). The capital of this county (Yulin, population of a few million i suppose) is a strange place. The old town is inside some old city walls (mostly collapsed, but parts restored); 2 streets inside the old town have changed: 1 is full of neon and shops; the other is full of pagodas every 400 metres and nicely styled chinese buildings (also shops). Everything else is run-down brick places. Then there is the newer parts outside the city wall with fancy new streetlights, paved communal areas, hotels (no idea who uses them though) and a couple of tall office buildings. Plus a 1,000 year old pagoda.
What is cool about the pagoda is that it has 4 windows on each level. Look out of 3 of them and you see brown, brick buildings, ruined city wall and some motorbikes/horse-cart traders. Look out of the 4th and you see the neon, the hotels, the restored city wall, the Audis and buses racing by. You get the idea -quite a contrast. Everything in China is a contrast! I have endless photos of going to places where fancy apartment buildings are being built on the right. In the middle is the remains of something -and on the left is the Chinese equivalent of a slum.
Except in China, there are no really bad slums compared to other countries (thanks to the government limiting migration to some extent; since you can only claim 'benefits' in the city you are registered with -which leads to massive problems for the 200million migrant workers who cannot get healthcare, send their children to normal schools etc for free). Just run down houses, litter everywhere (the resident's fault of course) and awful sanitation conditions (shared toilet blocks).
Tomorrow i'm being shown around some of the villages we are working in (we don't work in the towns) including the projects we are doing, and I will spend the night in a yao dong, which is cave house -where people here live. Should be interesting (I have seen one before, but not stayed in one).
The good news is that, despite staying in a hotel alone, I did NOT get a call on the room phone from a prostitute (yet)... and the guy next to me in the internet cafe stopped smoking. Having said that no-one in the internet cafe is actually on the internet. Every person (guarenteed -and there are more than 400 people in this one) is playing games (and maybe using QQ -like MSN Messenger). They should change the name of these places!
There is an ongoing debate about how much of a threat China is to the World (economically). Some argue a big threat: endless cheap labour, great infrastructure, endless supplies of cheap coal, huge investment and technology transfer from foreign companies etc.. Others say the threat is over-rated: too many internal social issues, environmental issues, endemic corruption (related to the autocratic political system), lack of innovation, dominance of inefficient state owned companies etc.
I say -look at the young people. If all their spare time is spent on computer games.. there is your answer....
Thursday, January 11, 2007
dog and snow
After a visit to the largest waterfall in China (and the much better scenic site down the road that no-one goes through) and a trek through fields (can't beat the look on villager's faces when a white boy just wanders down from the top of a mountain -seemingly from nowhere); I left a town with more dog restaurants than cars (pretty dogs smiling all over the windows; no tourists in sight) met with my dad in the capital of one of China's poorest provinces.
After a meal outside on the street the weather just got colder and colder, but the villages got prettier and prettier (as did the comfort and length of the bus and train journeys). My dad managed the 2 hour bus journeys sitting on 6 inch tall wooden stalls fine, although did not try any of the local rice-spirit, for some reason!
It was pleasant to stay in local villagers' houses, go for treks, boat rides, hike through snow storms and ride bikes on the ice. But it was even better trying out my new camera and taking pictures of the beautiful river-side towns and talking to the chinese students we came across at new year's eve and in the awful 'hotel' on top of the mountain.
There was nothing too special about the trip, but it was nice and off-the beaten track.. good exercise (though its easy to order and eat way too much when your dad is paying!) and the occasional nice hotel. I got lots of practise talking Chinese -which has now got much better and i can even talk about micro-finance, achieving balanced development and government policies :)
There are a few things that are typical of China: losing a bank card and waiting for 20 minutes at the window as the bank guy signed, stamped, printed, stamped, chopped and printed documents; whilst also writing everything into a computer; trying to find anywhere in southern china that is warm (no where south of china has heating, and in the villages people sit round a bucket with heated coal in it) and settling for KFC; wondering around Beijing ('s only) international airport and not being able to buy any English language newspaper (even the government's one; though there are a few novels available upstairs in the empty shop) .
After a meal outside on the street the weather just got colder and colder, but the villages got prettier and prettier (as did the comfort and length of the bus and train journeys). My dad managed the 2 hour bus journeys sitting on 6 inch tall wooden stalls fine, although did not try any of the local rice-spirit, for some reason!
It was pleasant to stay in local villagers' houses, go for treks, boat rides, hike through snow storms and ride bikes on the ice. But it was even better trying out my new camera and taking pictures of the beautiful river-side towns and talking to the chinese students we came across at new year's eve and in the awful 'hotel' on top of the mountain.
There was nothing too special about the trip, but it was nice and off-the beaten track.. good exercise (though its easy to order and eat way too much when your dad is paying!) and the occasional nice hotel. I got lots of practise talking Chinese -which has now got much better and i can even talk about micro-finance, achieving balanced development and government policies :)
There are a few things that are typical of China: losing a bank card and waiting for 20 minutes at the window as the bank guy signed, stamped, printed, stamped, chopped and printed documents; whilst also writing everything into a computer; trying to find anywhere in southern china that is warm (no where south of china has heating, and in the villages people sit round a bucket with heated coal in it) and settling for KFC; wondering around Beijing ('s only) international airport and not being able to buy any English language newspaper (even the government's one; though there are a few novels available upstairs in the empty shop) .
Friday, December 22, 2006
2006 is ending
The last 2 weeks in Xi'an had been particularly polluted so the intervening weekend was spent watching 24 -fantastic stuff, even if it takes 20 hours to watch! There was also 3 days of presentations about Plan China's 5 year program plans: lots of complicated diagrams and technical words which i did not understand; but i could at least read half of the powerpoints -and if certain presenters spoke slower, maybe i could listen to more too (we had some english translation fortunately).
The excitement came from buying my birthday present; eating a 3 course italian meal; all-you-can-eat sushi and planning for the winter holiday. So I now write from an internet cafe in Anshun. A town that has sprung up in the last 10 years and is Chinese in every way (many small, run down shops, plus some fancy buildings, lakes and pagodas for example) -except for the fact that a lot of the people walking the streets (i.e. those that cannot afford cars) are ethnic minorities with different languages, clothing and customs to the Han Chinese.
The next 2 weeks will allow me and my Dad to see some more of these villages (rather than big towns), get some fresh air, see some nice scenery and backpack (only hard beds and bumpy minibuses from now on) across 2 of China's poorest provinces (though we won't have time to really get off the beaten path). Not sure how much of Christmas or New Year we will encounter -but it's not such a bad thing to escape the tacky music and lights that the big cities in China have thrown up everywhere!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. Here's wishing to a year where more people start to actually do something about climate change, water, energy and related issues (rather than just caring), and one where politicians stop killing their own people in unsuccessful personal vetures and get back to less-selfish free trade, poverty reduction and equality. wishful thinking -but that's what i would have wished had candles and birthday cakes existed in Xi'an :)
The excitement came from buying my birthday present; eating a 3 course italian meal; all-you-can-eat sushi and planning for the winter holiday. So I now write from an internet cafe in Anshun. A town that has sprung up in the last 10 years and is Chinese in every way (many small, run down shops, plus some fancy buildings, lakes and pagodas for example) -except for the fact that a lot of the people walking the streets (i.e. those that cannot afford cars) are ethnic minorities with different languages, clothing and customs to the Han Chinese.
The next 2 weeks will allow me and my Dad to see some more of these villages (rather than big towns), get some fresh air, see some nice scenery and backpack (only hard beds and bumpy minibuses from now on) across 2 of China's poorest provinces (though we won't have time to really get off the beaten path). Not sure how much of Christmas or New Year we will encounter -but it's not such a bad thing to escape the tacky music and lights that the big cities in China have thrown up everywhere!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. Here's wishing to a year where more people start to actually do something about climate change, water, energy and related issues (rather than just caring), and one where politicians stop killing their own people in unsuccessful personal vetures and get back to less-selfish free trade, poverty reduction and equality. wishful thinking -but that's what i would have wished had candles and birthday cakes existed in Xi'an :)
Saturday, December 09, 2006
party update
Another beautiful blue sky followed a night where I actually saw stars (though in the middle of the week there were some grey days); and today was somewhat of a party. The best thing was seeing some of my friends who i look forward to seeing more on more frequent trips to Beijing and then a likely relocation back here sometime next year (still with Plan). However a close second was going to my favourite, cheap, chinese restaurant.
Despite the 'girls' struggling to find it (everyone else could!), the food was great: most of my favourites: Jiang Bao Ji Ding (Chicken and nuts in an addictive sauce), La zi Tu Dou Si (Friend strips of potato piled high with some spices), Ze Ran Yang Rou (Lamb fried in a layer of breadcrumbs or something), Jing Jiang Rou Si (Sliced beef served in tofu pancakes with spring onion and saunce), Yu Xiang Qie Zi (Typical Chinese Eggplant/Aubergine dish) and a couple of other dishes that people ordered including Chinese vegetables, Fried Beef and Sweet and Sour Pork. All this (3 servings of each dishes and rice of course) and a few bottles of beer each for about 45 USD in total for 16 people.
Most of the food is typical Beijing, and i definitely miss it. I have ordered it in Xi'an but it is often cooked differently, or does not exist. The only problem with my wonderful restaurant is it does not serve any Broccoli (a good vegetable option in China). If anyone happens to be in Guomao (the central business district) and is looking for a cheap, tasty restaurant, then this is (literally) the only option... plus in the winter its normally empty... however, I advise you not to go to the toilet.... The restaurant is just south of Jian Wai SOHO on the canal, and can be recognised by the red lanterns outside it.
A very pleasant day; although the ice skating was not as good as last year. Climate change has led to a warmer winter than usual, meaning Hou Hai (an ourdoor lake) was not frozen enough to go ice skating/chairing/cycling; which is cheaper, larger and much more fun.. oh well something to look forward to on my return in January! And of course, the fantastic hot chocolate in 'No Name' Bar.
Despite the 'girls' struggling to find it (everyone else could!), the food was great: most of my favourites: Jiang Bao Ji Ding (Chicken and nuts in an addictive sauce), La zi Tu Dou Si (Friend strips of potato piled high with some spices), Ze Ran Yang Rou (Lamb fried in a layer of breadcrumbs or something), Jing Jiang Rou Si (Sliced beef served in tofu pancakes with spring onion and saunce), Yu Xiang Qie Zi (Typical Chinese Eggplant/Aubergine dish) and a couple of other dishes that people ordered including Chinese vegetables, Fried Beef and Sweet and Sour Pork. All this (3 servings of each dishes and rice of course) and a few bottles of beer each for about 45 USD in total for 16 people.
Most of the food is typical Beijing, and i definitely miss it. I have ordered it in Xi'an but it is often cooked differently, or does not exist. The only problem with my wonderful restaurant is it does not serve any Broccoli (a good vegetable option in China). If anyone happens to be in Guomao (the central business district) and is looking for a cheap, tasty restaurant, then this is (literally) the only option... plus in the winter its normally empty... however, I advise you not to go to the toilet.... The restaurant is just south of Jian Wai SOHO on the canal, and can be recognised by the red lanterns outside it.
A very pleasant day; although the ice skating was not as good as last year. Climate change has led to a warmer winter than usual, meaning Hou Hai (an ourdoor lake) was not frozen enough to go ice skating/chairing/cycling; which is cheaper, larger and much more fun.. oh well something to look forward to on my return in January! And of course, the fantastic hot chocolate in 'No Name' Bar.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
3 years in china?
Another trip to Beijing, and another Birthday coming up. Having a third birthday in China feels like I have been here 3 years, though it is only a few months more than 2. None-the-less it is a nice feeling to have friends in Beijing.. who are not leaving every few months (most people in China seem to, either foreigners or local chinese!). It is also exciting that in a few days Ian's wedding invite will arrive -already looking forward to a trip home for it in May!
The last few couple of weeks in Xi'an were not too exciting -the highlight was buying wardrobes and moving my clothes out of my suitcases (3 months after moving in and 1 month after getting a bed!); finding a new type of yummy dish (shao guo -noodles and stuff boiled in a clay pot); ongoing chinese lessons and then putting all my winter clothes at the very top of my new wardrobe! Beijing has been most exciting since I did Chinese Kung fu for the first time (at 7am at minus something degrees) and played football (in the same day) for 2 hours for the first time in more than a year (at 8pm at minus something degrees) -and 2 days later my muscles are still aching!
Beijing is changing. Buildings are supposed to be finished by next summer, to allow a year to settle before the olympics (apparently), meaning that all the buildings that were started a year ago are now rising up. Glassmakers must be making a fortune! Truly the number of skyscrapers (30 storeys or so) in Beijing by 2008 will be ridiculous.. more than New York? Who knows, but much more spectacular and exciting. Everyone will have lots of time to admire them whilst stuck in traffic along any parts of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th ring roads which are now surrounded by apartment towers or office towers. How long till the 6th Ring road (which is fully 30 miles from the centre of Beijing) will be the same? But, damn it, the progress on all 8 or so new subway lines is still so depressingly slow -with almost all of them expected to open in the last 6 months before the olympics starts. Londoners -despite the Tube's problems it exists and it works and it covers most places you ever need to go -stop complaining!!
For those with time on their hands, you can check out my other weblog that I have been posting more to recently: http://responsibleleadership.myaiesec.net. Any comments left on the site are welcomed.
p.s. did anyone realise how much I like using () and -?
The last few couple of weeks in Xi'an were not too exciting -the highlight was buying wardrobes and moving my clothes out of my suitcases (3 months after moving in and 1 month after getting a bed!); finding a new type of yummy dish (shao guo -noodles and stuff boiled in a clay pot); ongoing chinese lessons and then putting all my winter clothes at the very top of my new wardrobe! Beijing has been most exciting since I did Chinese Kung fu for the first time (at 7am at minus something degrees) and played football (in the same day) for 2 hours for the first time in more than a year (at 8pm at minus something degrees) -and 2 days later my muscles are still aching!
Beijing is changing. Buildings are supposed to be finished by next summer, to allow a year to settle before the olympics (apparently), meaning that all the buildings that were started a year ago are now rising up. Glassmakers must be making a fortune! Truly the number of skyscrapers (30 storeys or so) in Beijing by 2008 will be ridiculous.. more than New York? Who knows, but much more spectacular and exciting. Everyone will have lots of time to admire them whilst stuck in traffic along any parts of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th ring roads which are now surrounded by apartment towers or office towers. How long till the 6th Ring road (which is fully 30 miles from the centre of Beijing) will be the same? But, damn it, the progress on all 8 or so new subway lines is still so depressingly slow -with almost all of them expected to open in the last 6 months before the olympics starts. Londoners -despite the Tube's problems it exists and it works and it covers most places you ever need to go -stop complaining!!
For those with time on their hands, you can check out my other weblog that I have been posting more to recently: http://responsibleleadership.myaiesec.net. Any comments left on the site are welcomed.
p.s. did anyone realise how much I like using () and -?
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