Dubai: Beyond Incredible!

When we first realized this world trip might become a reality, my top destination was Dubai. This in turn influenced our decision to fly Emirates, the national airline, and our entire itinerary. Given my high expectations, there was a danger that I’d be disappointed with what we found. Well, there was no need to worry. While India claims to be ‘incredible’, Dubai is ‘beyond incredible’. As I said to an Australian lady on our initial tour of the city, “Even though I’m sitting here looking at these developments, I still can’t believe what I’m seeing!”

Although we had been planning to come here for years, I didn’t do a very good job of planning our accommodation. Since Wotif doesn’t operate in Dubai, and I didn’t really know where to stay, I put off organizing a hotel until the very last minute. In fact, we arrived at the airport not knowing whether we had a place to stay, or not. But thanks to the efforts of my good friend and SFU colleague Warren Gill, and his former student Robert Booth, and his assistant Sharon Andrews at Emaar, we soon found ourselves in an Admiral’s room at the Dhou Plaza, a new five star hotel in Bar Dubai.

It was a very impressive yet comfortable hotel, with numerous restaurants and lounges, and a wonderful rooftop pool and spa with a sauna and steam bath. I used the steam for a brief time in the hope that it might make it seem cooler outside. Fortunately the rate we paid was less than the rack rate of over 2000 aed (about $650). As both Warren and Robert cautioned me, hotels are expensive in Dubai.

Not only are they expensive, but they can be incredibly deluxe. There are numerous 4 and 5 star hotels, the latter always having bidets in the bathroom. I found the Dubai hotels to be amongst the most extravagant in the world. But it’s not surprising. Dubai has to be the most ‘over the top’ place in the world. It is Monte Carlo and Las Vegas, without the gambling. It is also Los Angeles (in terms of its car culture); New York, Paris or London (in terms of its sophistication); while at the same time part of the Middle East. I think it’s even more international than Singapore and Hong Kong, although it doesn’t yet have the vibrancy of either of these places.

But then, it shouldn’t be surprising that it is so international. 80% of the residents are ex-pats from around the world, living here permanently, or on contracts. While they can never become citizens, they get to enjoy the opportunity to purchase freehold property, and live in a tax free environment, with almost 365 days of sunshine every year. When they go to the grocery store, they can buy virtually anything they want from anywhere in the world. Sally’s poolside hamburger came with small jars of French Dijon mustard, English made ketchup, German mayonnaise, and Southern US tabasco sauce.

There were also a few other surprises. I didn’t realize that Dubai is built around a creek, which serves as part of its port system. Old wooden barges or dhous transport a wide variety of goods to the Dubai and elsewhere in the Middle East. The goods are left on the dock, without being locked up, since anyone caught stealing faces very severe penalties. (Dubai is a very safe and crime fee city.) Visitors can take an afternoon cruise, as we did or a dinner cruise along the creek. They can also travel across it for a 1 d coin (about 30 cents). This is a great way to travel between the old souks or markets that are located around the city.Another surprise was the age of the place. Most of the people visiting Dubai are significantly older than most of the buildings! An excellent display in the Dubai Museum gives a good overview of the rapid growth of the place. Indeed, most of what one sees on the skyline was built since the mid 80’s, and the amount of development currently underway is unprecedented. In fact, it is claimed that between one half and two thirds of all the tower cranes in the world are currently in Dubai! And the rest seem to be in Beijing and Shanghai! While the city is very new, and quite artificial, it is a great place to visit.

Although Sally was somewhat apprehensive about coming here, once she found that it has the second largest Marks & Spencers in the world, grocery stores selling her favourite cereal, and virtually every other major shop in the world selling goods at duty free prices, she realized it was not going to be very difficult enjoying herself. And it goes without saying, but with its spotless crime free streets, inexpensive taxis, air conditioned malls, and impressive buildings, it was a change from India!

Incredible India: Some Final Observations

Before going to sleep on our last night in the Ashoka Hotel, where we were given exactly the same room that we were given 10 days earlier (a coincidence, I’m sure; their computer system can’t be that sophisticated!), Sally and I discussed our feelings about our 11 days in India. On one hand, it had seemed much longer than 11 days. On the other, there were places that we regretted not getting to see. Initially, when we planned this world trip, we thought we would have sufficient time to travel to the south to see Bangalore and Goa. We still want to go there. We would also like to go further north into the hills, which had been part of an earlier itinerary.

There is no doubt that while we were still disturbed by the poverty, filth and stench of many of the places we visited, we did start to see another side of India during our final days. We really enjoyed Jaisalmer and would recommend it to others, although not in May. I would also recommend Chandigarh to anyone in the design and development world, since it has managed to keep true to Le Corbusier’s original vision, (even if a lot of the buildings and concrete work need attention). We would recommend that visitors try to get to know local residents to get a better glimpse of the true character of the people. There is no doubt that we got a very different impression of the country from the kind and generous people we met on our final train trips. But if India wants to attract more tourists, the government should more closely monitor its Travel Industry. It is simply wrong to allow a private company to get away with using a name that’s almost identical to the government’s own tourism department. Similarly, there is a need to clarify the relationship between the government offices and the private companies that operate out of them. I still don’t understand how Exotic Adventures can operate out of an office with the India Government Tourism’s name on the door. Is the government really getting half of the payment, as one Tour operator suggested to me?

There need to be improvements to the government owned train system. The trains are filthy and the stations are most uncomfortable. Moreover, we weren’t allowed us to reschedule our full fare tickets without having to again pay the full amount, with just a promise that we would be reimbursed! However, we did appreciate the food service on the Chandigarh trip, and a request to fill out a service quality questionnaire! If only they had asked about the condition of the trains and stations!

Delhi Airport needs a lot of improvement. It’s the worst airport we have seen. For example, the business lounge is small, privately operated, with few amenities. There is only one computer, and you can’t use your laptop without going through a complicated payment system. By the time you have figured it out, the plane is leaving. While this may seem like a small thing, I think it is symbolic of the country’s backward attitudes.

On the other hand, our eleven days have convinced us there are thousands of wonderful sites to see, and millions of wonderful people to meet in India. I appreciated the comments of one anonymous visitor to our website who wrote in response to our India postings to say how disappointed she (it sounded like a she) was that we hadn’t had a great experience in India. She had been here 4 times and constantly dreamed of returning.

Well, that’s not us. At least not yet; but we do plan on coming back to visit Bangalore, Goa and some of the southern coastal communities. However, next time, we’ll find another Tour Agency to book our travels. And we will try to not have anything to do with the government, the train system, or Exotic Adventures, if we can help it. Although, in one respect, the latter was true to its name: we certainly had an adventure!

Chandigarh: an experiment in Urban Planning

Our day in Chandigarh began with a wonderful gourmet breakfast, and the morning papers which were full of accounts of the previous day’s troubles. I won’t go into the cause of the disturbance, other than to say it was something that would never happen in Vancouver. We then met our driver for the day, only to discover that once again, the Tour Agency had screwed up, and this driver was being provided by the hotel at our cost. In the end, we set off anyway, and started with a tour of an Architectural Museum that was created solely to tell the story of Chandrigarh. I couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be if at some time in the future, there is a similar place to tell the story of UniverCity!

Chandigarh is considered one of the most important urban planning experiments of the 20^th Century. It was planned by the famous French architect and planner Le Corbusier as a new Capital City for the region, and a place to house thousands of refugees who had been uprooted from West Punjab following India’s independence from England. Although Le Corbusier developed plans for numerous planned cities, this is the only one that was ever implemented. I was surprised to learn that in fact, Le Corbusier was not the original planner selected for the town. Rather, the initial planning was started by an American firm led by Albert Mayer and Matthew Nowicki that had been personally selected by Nehru, the first Prime Minister. However, Nowicki was tragically killed in a plane crash, and the firm didn’t want to continue.

Le Corbusier’s plan is legendary, as our many of the buildings that he designed throughout the community. His plan is based on four key functions: living, working, circulation, and care of body and spirit. Most of his buildings incorporate strong geometric forms, and raw, exposed concrete. Sally thought that it looked like Arthur Erickson had been here! Many of the buildings are quite timeless in their designs, and one would never guess they were over 50 years old; unless you look closely at the concrete, (that wasn’t that well done in the first place), since it is disintegrating quite badly. (And Lee Gavel at SFU thinks he has problems keeping Erickson’s structures in good shape!)

As we drove around, our tour was greatly enhanced by the company of two young Swedish girls, (one an architectural student studying in Denmark), who we had met in the Architectural Museum. At the age of 24, Karin was on a pilgrimage to India to see some of the great architecture of the past. Somewhat ironically, in 1969 when I was 21, I made a similar trip to Sweden, which was considered a great centre of design at the time. Admittedly, I was also interested in other Swedish things at that age! So was my traveling mate, Eli Harari, who went on to create SanDisk. He eventually married a wonderful Swedish girl, and they are still together in Saratoga, California.

One of the day’s highlights was standing outside the government employees’ housing that was built as part of the first phase. As we were taking pictures, an older turbaned man came out of the townhouse and said to us (and I’m not making this up) “Hello, I’m a Canadian on holiday in India. Can I help you?” It turned out that he had been a government official for many years in Chandigarh, and although he now lived in Windsor Ontario, he and his family had been allowed to continue to rent the place. He invited us in, gave us a tour of his surprisingly large home, and would have kept us for the entire day, had we not finally excused ourselves. The design of his development was most impressive in terms of its contemporary aesthetic, and the manner in which the deep exterior walls managed to keep it quite cool inside.

While books have been written about Chandigarh and its overall approach to community planning, here are just a few of the highlights for me:

• The city is built up from a series of rectangles, each 1200 by 800 metres, which are fully self sufficient with housing, shops, community and recreational facilities;
• Careful consideration was given to the hierarchy of roads, so that only slow moving traffic goes through a sector; particular attention was given to pedestrians and cyclists;
• Le Corbusier developed both a Statute for the Land, and an Edict to help guide the planning process, and help future residents understand the underlying principles of the community plan;
• The landscaping was considered to be as important as the buildings; the Edict sets out requirements with respect to replacement planting to ensure that the original objectives can be achieved;
• No personal statues shall ever be permitted. These were seen as representative of a by-gone era and not in keeping with the new spirit of art for the city; ‘commemoration of persons shall be confined to suitably placed bronze plaques’!
• ‘The truthfulness of materials’ concrete, bricks, stone must be maintained for present and future buildings;
• Only industrial activities powered by electricity were permitted, so as to avoid polluting the environment;
• A man-made lake was to be considered as a gift from the creators to the residents, and to ensure its tranquility, there would be a perpetual ban on any noises;
• Art was considered an integral part of the community design, and was to be provided throughout the community; and
• Certain areas were designated as worthy of special architectural interest, and a central commercial area was to preserved as a pedestrian only zone.

While some parts of Chandigarh are falling into disrepair and need renovation, there are many new buildings. The overall impression was very different than that which we had seen elsewhere. We were particularly taken with some of the original and newer luxury housing areas, which included the kinds of homes one sees around the west side of Vancouver, including along Southwest Marine Drive. (Although some of it would cause Le Corbusier to turn over in his grave!)

Interestingly, Chandigarh was initially conceived as a city for 150,000 people. This estimate was then increased; however, today the city has exceeded all projections, and it is continuing to grow.

A few final observations. Signs on bus shelters around town encourage residents to grow more trees and to educate their children! The gardens are numerous and impressive, especially the ‘rock garden’ which is built in a most whimsical way with recycled materials, such as broken electrical outlets. The housing, especially the town houses are very well designed, with what we would consider ‘elaborate’ exterior wall construction, However, in the newspaper I saw an ad for a new development on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana Road in nearby Morinda. It features Victorian facades, similar to what one might find in San Francisco or parts of Abbotsford. I just hope Le Corbusier’s edicts will ensure this stuff never creeps into his city. And it is still ‘his’ city!

I am so delighted we were able to rearrange our schedule in order to spend a day here.

Back on the Trains: Jaisalmer to Chandigarh

We awoke the next morning, happy not to be in the middle of the desert. After breakfast in the courtyard in front of our cabin, we were taken on a tour of the nearby small desert village. It was quite fascinating and remarkable. Inside one of the small huts, someone had covered the walls with Christmas decorations and pictures torn from magazines. One of them showed a small house set in an English garden. Obviously, this was their dream; but they were a long way away.

At mid morning we left the camp and went back into the town. Again, it was really too hot to do very much, so we returned to our hotel and stayed in the room taking regular showers in an effort to keep cool. It was about 46 degrees outside. Around one o’clock, we went off for lunch, following which we returned to our favourite internet café to see if there was any more good news! But after a short while, the power went off (a frequent occurrence), and we returned to the hotel, took another shower, and set off for the train station and the 19 hour trip back to Delhi

We were just getting settled into our seats when we were visited by our ‘neighbours’ from the next compartment. They were part of a large group of families and friends from Delhi and Jaipur, who had been in Jaisalmer to visit a temple and experience an overnight camel safari. Most of them spoke very good English and a few were in the Travel and Tourism business. They too had been out in the desert during the storm, but had managed to keep out of the rain. They told us the storm was an extremely rare event for this time of the year.

They were interested in our travels around India and our experiences with Indian Travel Agencies. They looked at our itinerary, told us we had paid much too much, but noted this was not uncommon. Unfortunately, the close relationship between a few tour agencies and the government tourist bureau is well known, and many other tourists have been fooled and ended up in a similar situation to us. They urged us to follow up with our consulate, since then the Indian Government might pay more attention. We promised to do so, and will.

Over the next few hours, one by one, different members of the group came to sit with us. We enjoyed it immensely. Someone had a bottle of Indian whiskey that didn’t take very long to finish off. We were particularly impressed with three of the children who stayed with us for hours. They were so bright, and interesting, and the time passed surprisingly quickly. This group of elegant, well educated people was so different than most of the other people we had met in India. How different our experiences might have been had we met up with them when we first arrived!

At 11 pm, someone got off the train at Jodhpur and returned with large packaged dinners for everyone, including us. Around midnight Sally said goodnight to her new friend, we popped some pills, and went to sleep, with our baggage secured under our beds. It was a much more enjoyable night than that in the third class sleeper, but it still didn’t compare with the Chinese trains where we had a private, secured compartment and much nicer bedding and fixtures.

We arrived in Delhi around 11, and were picked up at the station by our driver, who gave us our train tickets to Chandigarh. He took us to the India Tourism Office/Exotic Adventures travel agency where we told them about our experience in the desert and our concerns about what we had been promised, and what had been delivered. Jehangir Badyari the Sales and Marketing Director, told us that he had arranged for a car and driver to take us to Chandigarh. We told him it wasn’t necessary since we were too frightened to drive in India, and were happy to take the train. Moreover, we already had our tickets. He then promised a full breakdown of the costs, and a refund on four train tickets that we had to purchase on our return the next day. (Of course we didn’t receive either.)

At 4 pm we were taken to another train station to get the train to Chandigarh. Once again, the station was a zoo with thousands of people all over the platforms. This time we were in a ‘club seat’ and were expecting something quite nice. But once again, it was the same dirty grey vinyl seats and awful toilets. However, this trip was also made most pleasant by our ‘neighbours’.

When they heard why we were going to Chandigarh, one of them went onto the internet and provided me with all sorts of useful background information on the original community plans. We talked about life in India, the growing information technology businesses, in which one was employed. (The other was with KPMG). They also told us there had been some religious insurrections in Chandigarh that day and all the businesses and offices in thecity had been closed. That was why they were on the train and they said we were lucky we weren’t driving, since many of the cars on the highway were being stopped and turned back! When the train arrived in Chandigarh, they escorted us out of the station, fending off the taxi drivers and other touts who were after us, until we found our driver.

On the drive to our hotel, Sally remarked “This place looks normal!” Indeed, the roads were in very good condition; there were painted lane markers, traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, beautiful landscaping, and illuminated shops along the route. And there were no cows on the streets. It looked very much like many of Vancouver’s suburban areas.

We arrived at the Taj Chandigarh hotel looking like we had just spent a couple of nights sleeping on trains and in a desert. I felt like the disheveled character in the old American Express TV ad that wanders out of the ocean into a beautiful hotel, with nothing but his Amex credit card, and is looked after very well. We too were looked after by the immaculately dressed staff and shown to one of the best furnished contemporary rooms we have experienced on our trip. We showered, changed and went down to the restaurant for a most enjoyable dinner, elated by the contrast with our previous evenings Again, we got into a conversation with a local resident at the next table who was there with his family. We learned a bit more about Chandigarh, and how it is generally considered, along with Bangalore and Hyderabad, as India’s most educated and livable cities.

We returned to our room to watch more Indian commercials, music videos and situation comedies. Now we knew that that the people we saw on television really did exist in India. We just hadn’t seen them on the streets of Old Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. It was also nice to experience real bedding again. As I tried to go to sleep, I couldn’t wait to tour the city and see how Le Corbusier’s experimental town had turned out.

Jaisalmer: A Day to Remember!

The next morning, we returned to the dining room for breakfast. The waiter confirmed Sally’s suspicion about the birthday boy. He was in fact an Israeli military man, in Jaisalmer to help train the Indian army.

At 9 am our car arrived and took us into the city where we stopped at a small hotel. The travel agent arrived and told us this would be our base for the day, until we left for our camel safari around 4pm. He said there was no point going any earlier since it would be too hot. He hoped everything was alright, and was about to leave when I asked where our guide was. "Do you want a guide?" "Of course," I said, noting that we had paid Exotic Adventures for a guide for the previous night and today. Ten minutes later, a dapper man in an immaculately pressed white linen shirt, grey wool trousers and shiny black shoes appeared. His name was Murli, and if the diamond studs in his ears were real, he wouldn't have to work for a living. He immediately told us that he was a Brahmin and wore a red spot on his forehead to signify it. He led us into the Fort, and in between saying hello to almost every passer by, told us about life in Jaisalmer and India as a whole. He took us to a few of the beautiful temples and old mansions, known as havelis in the town. They were all carved from golden sandstone, and looked quite magnificent. Although Murli told us he had little schooling, he spoke beautiful English and French. He was a delight to be with.

At noon he left us, and we wandered back through the town searching for our hotel. We thought how ridiculous it would be if we couldn’t find it, since our luggage was there. As we passed the shops, we were tempted to buy things since prices were very low and there were few other tourists in town. Sally wanted a blue skirt, but couldn't find one. A charming merchant offered to make her one in 30 minutes for 200 rupees (about $5.50). She agreed, but then he asked if he could change the design a bit, and have more time, and we decided to move on. Eventually we did find our hotel, although by now the temperature was in the mid 40's, and we were both completely soaked in perspiration.

We decided we should eat something. We had been given the name of one of the better restaurants in town, and set off to find it. (The assumption being we were less likely to get sick in a good restaurant!). We found it, but it was really too hot to enjoy the food. As we were leaving, we saw an Internet sign, and having time to kill before heading off for the desert, we decided to check our email and look for hotels in Dubai and Athens. Sally's first email message brought tears of joy to her eyes. It was from Georgia and read "I got in!" Attached was a letter of congratulations from UBC's School of Medicine. It seemed so surreal getting this wonderful news in a tiny, hot internet cafe in Rajasthan.

We returned to the hotel, packed our bags and got into a waiting car. The driver didn’t speak a word of English, and I suddenly thought how amazing it was that we were traveling with a man we didn’t know into the middle of nowhere with all our baggage, without any real idea of where we were going or what was happening. But we didn’t worry too much since we were still on a high over Georgia’s good news.

After an hour, we arrived at a somewhat rough looking place with some small cabins, huts, and a central lean-to with a few plastic chairs. Sure enough, it was the resort named on our itinerary. We were welcomed by a young man in a colourful shirt who told us that the camels were ready when we were. Did we want to sleep at the resort or in the desert? We looked at each other, and asked to see the rooms. We were shown a small room, with a tiny window and small bathroom. We then asked about the desert camp. Would there be other people? Yes, there was an English couple who had just set off. Were there toilet facilities? Yes, outside the tent. I wanted to know where most people stayed. “Out in the desert, since it’s a different type of experience” said the young man. “You can always sleep in a room.”

“In for a penny, in for a pound” said Sally. “We’ll sleep in the desert.

The camel ride was surprisingly enjoyable. Sally’s guide was a lovely older man from a nearby village and he was accompanied by a young boy, about 11 or 12. We rode for about an hour, and then stopped for a rest near a small village. Nearby was the other couple; the Englishman who we had seen the day before at the Crematorium and his Australian girlfriend. The guide went and got food for the camels, and we set off. After 45 minutes we stopped. “How about here?” he asked. We were flabbergasted. Were we going to stop here? Where were the tents? Where was the camp?

Sure enough, they removed a tent from Sally’s camel, and the old man and boy tried to assemble it. “Do you know how this goes together?” he asked. “I can’t remember. Most people sleep without a tent.” At this point we just looked at each other and laughed. We had paid a lot of money for this safari, and were expecting one of the wonderful tent set-ups like the Moodies had in Africa, or those illustrated in the Taj Hotel brochure. Fortunately, we were still overjoyed that Georgia had got into medical school, so I wasn’t as agitated as I might otherwise have been. After 20 minutes, it became apparent that the tent wasn’t coming together, and the guide said he would go back to his village and get another tent and our dinner.

And so, as the sun started to set, Sally and I sat on the sand with a young boy who couldn’t speak English, and watched our guide head off on a camel. About 15 minutes later, a young boy appeared, carrying a blue bag. He sat down and asked where we were from. “Vancouver”, we said. “Where are you from?” “Khuri, a small nearby village” he responded. I wanted to know where he had learned to speak English so well. “From tourists”, he said. “Do you work with them?” I asked. “Yes” he said. “I sell Pepsis. Do you want one?” “Sure”, I replied, and before I could say another word he opened it. I handed him a 20 rupee note. “ 50” he said. “50 rupees!” I exclaimed. “They are 10 or 15 in town”. “Yes” he said. “But now you are in the desert!”

It was dark when a bright light appeared on the horizon. It was a motorcycle with two men and another tent. They quickly assembled it, and left. By now it was very dark, but we could see some lightening in the distance. “Surely we’re not going to have a storm” I thought. That’s when the wind started to blow. “My God”, I thought, “we’re having a sandstorm!” The next thing we knew, sand was blowing everywhere. We put our backpacks into the tent, but then, with a sudden gust of wind, the tent was lifted into the air, and blew away. “Oh no, our bags are gone”, we thought. But they were still on the blanket. Just the tent was gone.

There was nowhere to take cover and the sand was stinging our skin. We covered our heads to protect ourselves and just sat there looking at the boy. Fortunately, a few minutes later, the guide returned on his camel with our dinner. But the sand was swirling and the thunder and lightening was getting closer. “Don’t worry, they will come and get us in the Jeep” said the guide. “But we’ll have to walk out of the dunes onto firmer ground”. That’s when it started to rain! We couldn’t believe it. It was raining in the desert. Then it started to hail. On the horizon we could hear the Jeep coming, but we were struggling to get through the sand.

Then it really started to downpour. We reached the Jeep and I pushed Sally into the only passenger seat. I was climbing onto the back when she pulled me beside her. The guide and the boy got onto the back, but we couldn’t see a thing. It was raining so hard, the wipers were useless, and the windshield was fogging up. The driver couldn’t find the road, and was swerving all over the place trying to avoid the bushes and small trees. I suddenly thought this can’t really be happening!

Eventually we made it back to our camp. There was no electricity and it was jet black. All of a sudden, I heard a voice say “Michael Geller” and it turned out to be Jaidee, the owner of the operation. He welcomed us, and offered some tea. We sat there in the dark on the wet and dirty plastic chairs, while someone tried to light a candle. The next thing I knew we’re having a heavy discussion about the attitudes of Indian men towards women, while we were soaking wet and very cold! So we went back to our cabin, put on some dry clothes, found our umbrella, and returned to the lean-to for our cold dinner. And there we sat in the pitch black, other than for a single candle, listening to Jaidee pontificating about Indian women, while he programmed his cell phone to play “Hare Krishna”.

We will never forget this day in Jaisalmer.

Jaisalmer: The Golden City

I first heard about Jaisalmer from Mario Pinto, SFU’s VP Research who was born in Southern India. He said I must see it. Tony Lloyd told me the same thing. Unfortunately, the airport was closed due to its proximity to the Pakistani border, and so we had to take the train. I didn’t think this would be a problem since we had enjoyed out train trips in China.

Well, trains in India are quite different. We got to the station at 11, to board an 11:24 train. Unfortunately, we had changed our schedule, and could only get a 3^rdnd class AC sleeper. class Air Conditioned sleeper, rather than a 2 The train was late, and the platform was so full of bodies there literally was no where to stand, let alone sit. The stench from human waste was unbelievable. Parents were taking their children onto the tracks so they could ‘go to the toilet’. At 12:30 we were told there would be a further half hour delay. Finally we found a place to sit, but I was falling asleep from the heat and the smell.

Finally the train arrived, and we discovered that one difference between 2^nd and 3^rd class is a third row of beds, which meant there was nowhere to put our baggage. After much consternation, Sally climbed onto the top berth, and curled herself around her bags. I took the middle berth, since I was more likely to get up in the middle of the night. Next to us were three large Indian men, who removed their socks and started to have dinner. Across the corridor was an Englishman, who we later learned was heading into the desert to fix an oil rig. One of the Indians next to us was his guide.

The best thing about the toilets was that there were two: a regular style and western style. But gone were the amenities than we have become accustomed to find in the Business Class section of Emirates Airlines. There was no cologne, even though it was badly needed; no hand cream; no soap or toothbrushes; not even any toilet paper.

Sally and I did the only reasonable thing under the circumstances. We popped some sleeping pills and hoped for the best. But before doing so, we followed the locals and locked our luggage to the bed frames.

We pulled into Jaisalmer in the afternoon and immediately fell in love with the place. It was, as described by our guidebook, like a giant sandcastle. The entire town, including a 12^th century Fort, was constructed out of golden sandstone. A driver and local travel agent greeted us at the station, and took us to our hotel, Fort Rajwada, part of the Taj Hotel chain, which looked old, but in fact was built 7 years ago. We spent the afternoon having lunch and a sleep by the pool. At 5, our driver picked us up and took us to various sites around the town

After visiting a centuries old man-made lake, we were taken to an impressive collection of small structures at the top of a hill to watch the sun set. These charming ‘sand castles’ were marred by a large corrugated metal roofed structure in the middle, which seemed totally out of place. We could tell these were not homes, but weren’t quite sure what they were. We came across some foreign tourists and I asked “Where are we?” “The town crematorium” replied a very English voice. And there’s lots of good kindling over there for the next service.

Of course. How stupid could I be? The metal roof structure was the oven. Fortunately, it was not used while we were there.

We returned to the hotel for dinner. There were only a few people in the dining room, but next to us was an Israeli couple, sitting with some formidable looking Indians. No sooner had they sat down, but with great fanfare the lights were dimmed, and the waiters carried over a birthday cake and bottle of champagne. The Israeli was very nonchalant about the whole thing, and I glanced at the cake. It said “Happy Birthday Jacob Klein”. I tried to offer him birthday greetings in Hebrew, but he ignored me.

Sally discouraged me from trying to strike up a conversion. “I think he’s in the secret service” she said. So we left the dining room, and returned to our room where we watched Indian music videos and commercials on TV. They are wonderful, although what we see on TV seems to bear little similarity to what we see on the streets. But then, one might say the same about North American TV.

We wanted to have a good night’s sleep since tomorrow we were off on our camel safari.

I first heard about Jaisalmer from Mario Pinto, SFU’s VP Research who was born in Southern India. He said I must see it. Tony Lloyd told me the same thing. Unfortunately, the airport was closed due to its proximity to the Pakistani border, and so we had to take the train. I didn’t think this would be a problem since we had enjoyed out train trips in China.

Well, trains in India are quite different. We got to the station at 11, to board an 11:24 train. Unfortunately, we had changed our schedule, and could only get a 3^rdnd class AC sleeper. class Air Conditioned sleeper, rather than a 2 The train was late, and the platform was so full of bodies there literally was no where to stand, let alone sit. The stench from human waste was unbelievable. Parents were taking their children onto the tracks so they could ‘go to the toilet’. At 12:30 we were told there would be a further half hour delay. Finally we found a place to sit, but I was falling asleep from the heat and the smell.

Finally the train arrived, and we discovered that one difference between 2^nd and 3^rd class is a third row of beds, which meant there was nowhere to put our baggage. After much consternation, Sally climbed onto the top berth, and curled herself around her bags. I took the middle berth, since I was more likely to get up in the middle of the night. Next to us were three large Indian men, who removed their socks and started to have dinner. Across the corridor was an Englishman, who we later learned was heading into the desert to fix an oil rig. One of the Indians next to us was his guide.

The best thing about the toilets was that there were two: a regular style and western style. But gone were the amenities than we have become accustomed to find in the Business Class section of Emirates Airlines. There was no cologne, even though it was badly needed; no hand cream; no soap or toothbrushes; not even any toilet paper.

Sally and I did the only reasonable thing under the circumstances. We popped some sleeping pills and hoped for the best. But before doing so, we followed the locals and locked our luggage to the bed frames.

We pulled into Jaisalmer in the afternoon and immediately fell in love with the place. It was, as described by our guidebook, like a giant sandcastle. The entire town, including a 12^th century Fort, was constructed out of golden sandstone. A driver and local travel agent greeted us at the station, and took us to our hotel, Fort Rajwada, part of the Taj Hotel chain, which looked old, but in fact was built 7 years ago. We spent the afternoon having lunch and a sleep by the pool. At 5, our driver picked us up and took us to various sites around the town

After visiting a centuries old man-made lake, we were taken to an impressive collection of small structures at the top of a hill to watch the sun set. These charming ‘sand castles’ were marred by a large corrugated metal roofed structure in the middle, which seemed totally out of place. We could tell these were not homes, but weren’t quite sure what they were. We came across some foreign tourists and I asked “Where are we?” “The town crematorium” replied a very English voice. And there’s lots of good kindling over there for the next service.

Of course. How stupid could I be? The metal roof structure was the oven. Fortunately, it was not used while we were there.

We returned to the hotel for dinner. There were only a few people in the dining room, but next to us was an Israeli couple, sitting with some formidable looking Indians. No sooner had they sat down, but with great fanfare the lights were dimmed, and the waiters carried over a birthday cake and bottle of champagne. The Israeli was very nonchalant about the whole thing, and I glanced at the cake. It said “Happy Birthday Jacob Klein”. I tried to offer him birthday greetings in Hebrew, but he ignored me.

Sally discouraged me from trying to strike up a conversion. “I think he’s in the secret service” she said. So we left the dining room, and returned to our room where we watched Indian music videos and commercials on TV. They are wonderful, although what we see on TV seems to bear little similarity to what we see on the streets. But then, one might say the same about North American TV.

We wanted to have a good night’s sleep since tomorrow we were off on our camel safari.

Jaipur: Some Wonderful Sights

While the old town of Jaipur may be pink and parts are in decay, there are some wonderful amber buildings outside the town. One very impressive complex is the Amber Fort, which started construction in the late 16^th century, and served for a number of years as the ancient capital. You can walk to the fort, or take an elephant, but we went up in our car. This time, we had a guide and needed one, since the fort is an incredible maze of structures, with some wonderful viewpoints looking out over settlements more than 1000 years old.

The decoration on many of the palace buildings was quite impressive, especially since the guide insisted that some of the frescoes hadn’t been restored and were over three hundred years old. He also taught Sally how to distinguish the Hindu and Moghul arches, with reference to the design of her hands! As we viewed the Maharajas' apartments, we got a glimpse into the lives of these men and their courts. They enjoyed unfathomable extravagances. Many spaces within their living areas had the ceiling inlaid with mirrors, so that when the room was candle lit at night, it would seem like they were under the stars.

Another impressive sight was the City Palace that was built and expanded by a series of Maharajas. As one wanders through, they can learn even more about the lives of the Maharajahs, including Sawai Madho Singh. This fellow, like some other Rajasthan men, was over 2 metres tall. However, he also weighed 250 kg. and had 108 wives. After hearing all morning about their indulgences, it is not hard to understand why the government removed the Maharajahs' powers after independence. However, some continue to enjoy extraordinary wealth, and get to play polo with Prince Charles. Unfortunately, one very impressive Maharajah died of a heart attack while playing polo. As these photos will hopefully show, they had nice digs.

Near the palace is Jantar Mantar, an observatory which began construction in the 18^th century. It looks like the set of a science fiction movie, and is most impressive in terms of how precisely the various constructed devices could tell the date and time from the sun, hundreds of years ago. Different structures are designed for each sign of the zodiac, and our guide explained how important astrology still is today for many people. For example, before couples are married, the families bring in the astrologer to read the charts of the bride and groom. He measures their compatibility using a complex numerical system. If they are not sufficiently compatible, the marriage will be called off.

Based on what we were told, Sally and I should never have got married!

Jaipur: the Pink City

During the initial planning for UniverCity, I was intrigued with the idea of restricting the allowable materials and colours to create a more coordinated community design. The inspiration came from places like the Greek Isles, where all the buildings are white; and Jerusalem, where every building must incorporate golden Jerusalem stone. Now I can add the old city of Jaipur to the list of places that are remarkable because of their use of consistent colour and materials.

Jaipur owes its name and planning to a great 18^th century warrior-astronomer Maharaja Jai Singh II. In 1727, he laid out the city with its surrounding walls and rectilinear blocks according to principles set down in the Shilpa-Shastra, an ancient Hindu architectural treatise, conceptually similar to Chinese Feng Shui. All the main streets were very wide, with continuous arcades at street level, and dividing the city into neat rectangles. Each rectangle is devoted to a different craft: precious and semi-precious stones; saris and fabrics; shoes and clothing; jewelry, etc.

In 1876, Maharaja Ram Singh had the entire city painted pink, a colour associated with hospitality, to welcome the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). The tradition has been maintained. Today, all the buildings are various shades of pink, except for the occasional non-conforming site. The overall effect is impressive, especially at dusk when the town takes on what our guidebook calls ‘a magical glow’.

I write this having just spent one and a half days in Jaipur. Unfortunately, the buildings in the old city have generally not been well maintained. The public infrastructure is also decaying. We stayed in a ‘Heritage Class’ hotel called Alsisar Haveli that was hidden behind a high wall just off a busy commercial street. Not wanting to be cocooned in our hotel as we were in Agra, on our first night I begged Sally to venture out into the streets to find a restaurant for dinner.

It was like being in hell. The traffic was chaotic and noisy, and there were no safe routes for pedestrians. There was a permeating smell of urine and feces, and cows and the occasional camel blocked our way. Just as we were trying to adjust to all of this, it suddenly got very windy, knocking over bicycles and scooters and hurling sand and debris into the air. At this point I knew it was time to give up, and we returned to the hotel where we ate in the elegant dining room.

Over dinner, we joined up with a German couple who we had met earlier in the day by the pool. They had been hiking in the Himalayas and had now come down to tour some cities. We discussed our first impressions of India. We were both having difficulty enjoying the country, and were feeling guilty about it. While we were impressed with the magnificent structures of yesteryear, it was hard to enjoy Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

I told them that I was particularly upset with the decrepit infrastructure and buildings. I rarely see a completed building, and it is difficult to know whether they are going up or coming down. Sally thought that parts of these cities looked like they had been through a war.

Early the following morning, I did venture out for a walk around the old town. It didn’t last long. I was again overcome by the filth and stench, and the sight of thousands of people sleeping in the streets. The truck drivers who often passed us at high speeds were sleeping on top of their cabs. The tuc-tuc drivers were sleeping in their vehicles. People were huddled in doorways, on pieces of cardboard, or on the bare ground. Dozens of cows were roaming around. I was later told that some have been abandoned by their owners since they can no longer produce milk, but cannot be slaughtered.

Later in the day we went for a walk through the bazaars to see what was being offered for sale, and to enjoy the sights and smells. But after an hour, we had had enough of constantly being barraged by merchants trying to sell us things we didn’t want. Sally was particularly disgusted seeing men defecating in open public toilets along the road.

I suspect some of our dissatisfaction to date has been influenced by our poor experiences with Travel Agents, and a number of other people that we have met. We have often been conned and taken advantage off. The merchants try to overcharge us, and Sally is nearly always given the wrong change. We are also troubled by some of the beggars and hawkers who hang around the tourist sites, and just won’t leave you alone.

There have also been a couple of potentially foolish decisions on my part. Although a number of people told me to visit Jaisalmer, we never really discussed the time of year we would be traveling. It is often unbearably hot, and I’ve arranged for us to go to off to the desert for a camel safari! After that, we have to endure a 17 hour overnight train trip, and a 4 hour train trip to Chandigarh.

But, as Sally discussed with Isabelle and Laura, two lovely French ladies who we met in the pool, to enjoy India, you have to be ‘in the moment’. You need to cast aside many of your habits and values, and take things as they come. After our first 5 days, we do not think we will be back soon. But we are going to try and adopt a more positive attitude to whatever happens, in the hope that it will help us more fully enjoy our remaining time here. Who knows, maybe we’ll become like the charming couple we met at our hotel from California, who return here almost every year. But if things don’t work out, we will soon be heading off to Dubai and the Greek Islands, where we know it will be very different.

Agra to Jaipur, Rajasthan

Forty kilometers west of Agra we came upon the magnificent fortified ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri, today a World Heritage Site. It had been built by Emperor Akbar the Great as the capital of the Mughal Empire during the 16^th Century. Akbar had a wonderful attitude towards religion. He believed in peace for all, and counted Christians and Hindus amongst his many wives.

He built Fatehpur Sikri as a place where people of all religions could come together and live in a ‘perfect city’. He invented a philosophy known as Din-i-llahi (Faith of God) which tried to blend all the religions into one. At the same time, he built separate quarters for each of his wives, decorated in the style of their religion. Unfortunately, the city only lasted as the capital for 14 years and had to be abandoned after his death, since it was built to far from an existing river, and despite the ingenious irrigation proposals by his engineers, it wasn’t possible to meet the water needs of the city. Sort of like Adelaide!

We picked up a guide at the entrance. We weren’t too concerned about his abilities because our guide book cautioned us that the purpose of many buildings was uncertain, hence much of what the guides say is invented!

Like so many of India’s great monuments, it was a most amazing place. Equally amazing were the stories about Emperor Akbar and his court who resided in the city. I was particularly interested in a large area, where the court played a game not unlike chess. However instead of wooden or marble markers, the ‘pieces’ were beautiful maidens, who were moved about the ‘board’ in their colourful saris and musical jewelry.

Our guide was able to show us how the different religions did influence the design of different buildings in the city. The combination of the religions resulted in some very interesting details and spaces. It is a great shame that the city did not survive as the capital. It’s an even greater shame that Akbar’s concept of a single religion, which blended all the other religions didn’t survive either.

About 95 km from Jaipur, our driver turned off the road, and down some very rough roads, through rural villages and wheat fields. Eventually we stopped in Abhaneri, a very remote village to see one of Rajasthan’s most awe inspiring step-wells. I still don’t fully understand the purpose of these wells, but this one was built by King Chand who ruled the area in the 9th century. Unfortunately, there was no guide to explain what this was all about; just a very rough looking guy, and a very old man who kept talking to us in Hindi, and taking our money as I violated the no photography signs.

This structure had about 11 visible levels of zigzagging steps. It was an incredible geometric sight, about 20 m deep. At the bottom was a small amount of stagnant water covered in algae, which wasn’t surprising since it hadn't rained for months, and doesn’t start raining here until late June. The temperature was in the mid forties while we were there.

As you can see from the photos, it was a remarkable place. While we felt a bit vulnerable wandering around, since our driver took off and left us, and there was no one around who could speak a word of English, it was a most memorable experience, and one of the most interesting old structures I have ever seen.

After looking around at this well, and an adjacent ruin of a temple, our driver did return, and we told him we were ready to go directly to our hotel in Jaipur, where we could go for a swim in a proper pool. And so we did.

Delhi and Agra

Day One
On our first day in Delhi, we went down to the government’s Tourism Office in Connaught Place to try and book another tour. We were told there were no package tours at this time of year, but a very charming man proposed a private 10 day trip. It was only when we made the payment that we discovered that once again, we were not dealing with the government, but with yet another private Travel Agency. This time it was Exotic Adventures, and I now fear they may not be much better than the first company we were dealing with.

However, we are booked into the Ashoka Hotel for the night, and have an itinerary taking us to Agra, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, (where we’re also going on a camel safari), then back to Delhi and up to Chandigarh, the planned city designed by Le Corbusier. We’ll be driving part of the way, and taking four train trips (two overnight), since someone told us that a bad train trip in India is still better than a good car trip. We’ll see.

We spent the balance of our first day being toured around various sites in the city. Some of the old monuments are most impressive, with very intricate carvings. There is a huge contrast between Old and New Delhi; with the latter having some very impressive streets and public places, while the former is just awful. After a day of sightseeing, we decided this is not a very pleasant city, and we look forward to leaving and seeing other parts of the country.

Day two.
Early this morning we met up with Sanjay, our new driver in his Toyota Innova SUV and set off for Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located. As we drove out of the city, it was disturbing to look out of the window since the view was so distressing. Tens of thousands of people were huddled under corrugated metal structures along the road, amongst piles of rubble and garbage. Roaming cows and water buffalo wandered between pedestrians, cyclists, and motor scooters. Then there were the tuk-tuks, the three wheeled motorized taxis with canvas convertible roofs permanently up in the 40 degree plus temperatures. Many of the tuk-tuks looked like they had spent the last few years in Iraq. Then there were the buses. While many are powered by CNG, most look like they too have spent time doing duty in war torn zones. Passengers were hanging onto the outside, and some were even on the roof.

There were lots of trucks. I liked how many of them had been decorated by their owners. There were also lots of cars; predominantly locally made Ambassadors and others that we don’t see in Canada. Almost all of them bore scars from trying to weave in and out of the congested traffic.

In addition to the rubbish and debris along the roads, there were piles of bricks everywhere, presumably stockpiled for future projects. Most of the buildings seemed to be either under construction, or being torn down, or falling down. As strange as it may sound, few seemed to be complete.

The scene outside the car windows was all the more disturbing because of two unbelievably extravagant functions at our hotel last night. The first was a wedding. We learned about it when he heard music and what sounded like a procession outside our window. We looked out and saw a golden carriage being drawn by two white horses, surrounded by joyfully dressed musicians and dancers. Later, hundreds of beautifully dressed men, women and children were partying just down the corridor from our room, while the bride and groom sat at the head table. In an adjoining ballroom, there was a ‘ring ceremony’ or what we call an engagement party. Another beautifully dressed bride and groom to be sat up on a stage, while well-wishers mingled below. We were told these were both arranged marriages, rather than ‘love marriages’. Apparently 85% of marriages in India are still arranged. Sally didn't think either of the brides looked particularly happy.

As we got out of the city, the scenery changed and the corrugated buildings were replaced by farmers’ fields. The tuk-tuks and trucks were often crammed with perilously balanced farm workers. Along the road were thatch roofed ‘huts’ that looked like they were built out of mud. In fact, we were told it was cow dung, being stock-piled to be used as fuel. Some of these structures seemed to have intricate designs impressed on the outside. At the border, I was greeted by another animal: a monkey that jumped onto the car window, and his owner who wanted payment for this photo.

Agra

We reached Agra in the early afternoon, after stopping off at a couple of very interesting sites including a step well and the first white marble temple. Despite being home to one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, Agra is a very, very ugly place. Fortunately, entering our hotel, The Taj View was like finding an oasis. We were presented with cold cloths and lime sodas upon arrival, and there was a lovely view from the lobby through the restaurant to an outdoor pool. True to the hotel’s name, our room had a full frontal view of the Taj Mahal. I turned on the TV, and amazingly, CNN was doing a story about the Taj Mahal needing a mud bath to bring back its original colour. As you can see, I needed to cool down!

Taj MahalWe set off with Sanjay and a guide to see the Taj Mahal around 4:30. It was quite a ritual getting there since cars are no longer allowed to drive up in an effort to prevent a further yellowing of the marble. We took a tuc-tuc, and then had to go through very strict security. Our guide was a bit strange, and seemed to be in too much of a hurry. We subsequently learned he was eager to take us to a marble carving studio and store, where he hoped we might buy a table so he could earn a substantial commission. But we were in no rush to leave. Sally has waited most of her life to see the Taj Mahal, and we lingered until the sun started to set and we were asked to leave the grounds.

As we wandered around, I came across this door which had been painted the wrong colour of white. I found it very disturbing. I told Sally it should either be toned down, to match the marble, or painted a charcoal colour, to match the inlay. Sally told me to relax, I was no longer at work!

It was particularly interesting to watch all the other tourists, mainly Indians, posing for photos in front of their national monument. A few of them also wanted to have their photos taken with us! I will always remember one family of about 12 people, including a beautiful little girl who, as she was leaving asked me “And what is your good name, sir?”

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to experience one of those golden sunsets you see in the pictures, nor could we see the Taj Mahal at night since this is now only allowed at full moon for ‘security reasons’. But it was wonderful to be there, and walk around the site.

While we said we didn’t want to visit the marble studio, it was in fact quite interesting. A row of scruffy young boys sat in front of grinding wheels, shaping tiny fragments of coloured marble which was inlaid in very intricate patterns into marble bases. It’s the same technique that has been used in Agra for centuries, ever since the Taj was built. Despite some very impressive salesmanship, and the turning on and off of lights to help us appreciate the translucence of the marble, we didn’t buy a thing.

That night, we decide to cocoon ourselves in the hotel. We just couldn’t face going out into the streets again.

Incredible India

Incredib!e India is the logo mark for the country’s tourism bureau. It is very apt. This really is an incredible place, and we have had an incredible time trying to arrange our travels around it.

Our trip to India was my birthday present to Sally. She has always wanted to come here, and see the Taj Mahal. While I had heard wonderful accounts from many of our Indian friends, and others including Richard and Carol Henriquez and the Seeligs, I had reservations. I was particularly concerned about being exposed to the infamous levels of poverty and human suffering. I was also not looking forward to walking along streets covered in urine and excrement.

At the same time, I have always been fascinated by old Indian architecture and the photos of wonderful pink stone buildings with ornate carvings. And more recently, I have been intrigued by accounts of the country’s growing financial significance, as described by Thomas Friedman in ‘The World is Flat’ and daily articles in the business pages.

Throughout our trip, we have generally enjoyed organizing our travels one or two days in advance. This way, if we like a place we can stay longer, and if we don’t we can leave. We have also preferred booking hotels, planes and trains ourselves, rather than leaving it to an agent. We have avoided packaged tours, preferring less organized travel. As a result, I was on the verge of booking a couple of nights in the Ashoka Hotel, when I started to have second thoughts.

My cautiousness was in part due to warnings from other travelers, and the rising temperatures in Delhi as reported by BBC World News. We therefore decided to approach some travel agencies to see if we could join a packaged tour. I emailed companies that I found on the Internet, as well as the Seeligs’ travel agent, and the government’s own tourism department. We received a few responses, but the best came from the government’s Incredib!e India Travel. . I went onto their website which was very well presented, with tours all over the country, and other information about the government’s Tourism Department. They put together an 11 day tour of Delhi, Rajasthan, Chandagarh (the model town designed by Le Corbusier) and two places up in the Himalayas where it would be cooler. We were given two quotes, depending on the standard of accommodation. They seemed reasonable, and we chose one based on the higher standard of accommodation. Before leaving Hong Kong, we wrote back saying we were interested, and wanted to proceed.

Upon arriving in Kuala Lampur, we went to the lounge and checked the email. There was no response. We decided to try and phone the agent on Skype and got through right away. He chuckled at our last minute planning but assured us he could arrange everything. At Sally’s urging, I sought clarification on his relationship with the government. “We are the government” he replied, and this gave us some comfort. He arranged to have a driver at the airport, and proposed a 4 star hotel for the first two nights near Connaught Place, which Sally had determined was the best area to be in. I printed off the itinerary, including the hotels and other details. Prior to leaving KL, we received another email confirming that the hotels were all booked, a car would be waiting, and I should make arrangements to pay them in US cash on arrival. My antennae went up. For some reason, I started to think about the art students in Beijing!

Upon arrival at Delhi Airport, (which will never win ‘airport of the year’), we found a large Incredib!e India Tourism office. I noticed that their website was .org; but I was sure I was dealing with .com. I showed a lady behind the desk our proposal. “That’s nothing to do with us”, she said. “That’s someone pretending to be us.”

What to do? I decided to go outside and discuss the situation with the person who was here to greet us. Sure enough, a good looking young man was standing amidst the hundreds of other greeters holding up a card with our name. His sign read “Voyageur Travel”. “You’re not from the government tourism office, are you?” I asked. He didn’t reply.

Eventually he sheepishly confirmed that he was not with Tourism India, but thought it best that I speak by cell phone with his boss. “Good Evening Mr. Geller. Welcome to India” said the smooth voice at the other end of the line. I repeated my accusation. “I never said we were the government’s tourism department” he said. “I said we work with the government.” I told him that he knew that wasn’t the case, and I would not be leaving with his driver. At this point he urged me to let him drive us into the city, and stay at the hotel for one night, since it was paid for. I would reimburse them for the cost and that would be the end of our relationship. Given the chaos, the heat, and a desire to do the honourable thing, I agreed.

We got into a tiny Ambassador, the Indian car that has been manufactured since the 50’s without any body style change, and set off for the city. We immediately disliked the driver, a somewhat rough and crude individual. He told us how much he was looking forward to driving us around his incredible country for the next 10 days! We knew we had made the right decision not to proceed with this company, although we weren’t quite sure what would happen next.

The drive in seemed like a mélange of so many other rides we had taken. It was a bit of Hanoi, Beijing and Vientiane, Again there were cars, scooters, bicycles, and pedestrians going in different directions. But what really surprised me were the animals. Cows and water buffalo were everywhere. And I mean everywhere; wandering along the streets, through the traffic, along the sidewalks. And then I saw a CAMEL!

The Connaught Hotel is one of the best hotels in London. The same does not hold true for Delhi’s version. Although classified as 4 star, it was filthy and most unattractive. The only thing that was impressive was the mustachioed doorman in full military regalia. The caps on the bottles of soda water in the old fridge were rusting. None of our electrical converters would fit their outlets. There was an awful smell in the room. This was not a good start to Incredib!e India.

Back Home in Hong Kong.

It's amazing how quickly one can adapt to a place. After 10 days in China, we arrived back in Hong Kong and felt quite at home. This time we decided to stay in a very different neighbourhood on Hong Kong Island. North Point is a less touristy area than Nathan Road in Kowloon, but the Harbour Place Hotel, where we booked, offered a lot of amenities including the subway, the cross island tram, and a grocery store right outside the door. Like most major hotels in Hong Kong, it also offered almost non-stop buffets of Chinese and international food.

During our final days, we were determined to do a bit more sightseeing. On Friday we took a 1 hr ferry ride to Cheung Chau, one of the outlying islands. The central waterfront comprised a very charming, albeit somewhat run-down fishing village, where we had a good seafood lunch beside the fishing boats. (One day, we predict it will be a fashionable tourist destination and place to live, since automobiles are restricted in the village centre, and the air is definitely cleaner.) We took a fast ferry back to HK in half the time.

That evening, we met up with a special friend from my CMHC days who now lives in Shanghai, and just happened to be in Hong Kong. He has spent the past 5 years working on a variety of real estate projects in the middle-east and around Asia for Li Ka Shing's son Richard. He talked about the challenges and opportunities living and working in China. One key difference, he thought, was the attitude towards older people. At 64, he worried that it might be difficult to get work in Toronto in the real estate community, whereas in Asia he is highly respected for his experience and expertise, with lots of opportunity.

Leaving his hotel in Causeway Bay at midnight, we couldn't get over the amount of life and activity on the streets. Sally also remarked on how clean the area was, with a complete absence of graffiti.

While the streets are clean, the air isn’t. One of the problems with Hong Kong at this time of year is a continuous haze that blankets the city. The tourist literature refers to it as ‘mist’ but I’m not sure. It should improve by July 1, when HK celebrates the 10th anniversary of its handover to China. A lot of special activities are planned, and if you can arrange flights, I think it would be a wonderful time to be here.

Unfortunately, we'll be in Eastern Europe around that time. But we will definitely watch the celebrations on TV. Given the quality of the light show that takes place every evening in Victoria Harbour, I am sure the July 1 celebrations will be awesome. Just as Beijing is undertaking a major works program in advance of the Olympics, Hong Kong has a massive infrastructure program underway. It includes two new links to the mainland and a major new waterfront walkway system, which should dramatically improve access to the water.

On our final day we set off to another island to visit Tai O where some of the descendents of the original settlers lived in homes built on stilts over the water. It was very interesting, and unlike anywhere else we had ever been. That evening, we took the tram ride up to The Peak, the most popular HK tourist destination. As the lights were setting over the city the view was spectacular. We had dinner at the ‘Peak Lookout’ a charming stone building adorned with fairy lights. It was very beautiful, and the only thing that marred the experience was the thought that we had to get up very early the next morning to go to India!

But it’s still better than having to get up early to go to work!

Xi'an: Drink Together Historic City Water

We came to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors since I fell asleep during Dennis Low's theatrical production of the same name at The Centre in Vancouver. For some reason, we had been led to believe that Xi'an was a charming historic walled town. But as soon as we arrived at the train station, we realized we were in a very large city; albeit one with a well preserved wall around a small portion of the centre. It also had some interesting English signs. My favourite: drink together historic city water. I knew what they were trying to say.

We stayed just outside the wall at the Xi'an Garden Hotel that had been recommended by the couple we met in Macau. It turned out to be a wonderful choice. The hotel was designed in the 'Tang style', with a number of low rise buildings surrounding a well landscaped pond and garden. It was located in a redeveloping area next to an amazing public plaza and fountain. It was also close to Tang Paradise, Xi'an's newest theme park, celebrating the Tang Dynasty. More about it later.

We were shown to our room, only to learn that it didn't have internet, so they moved us to another room. We then went down for breakfast. I'm ashamed to admit it, but we were delighted to see lots of Caucasians in the hotel. We were able to join up with a small group and set off after breakfast to see the terracotta warriors.

But first was a visit to the Big Goose Pagoda. (Don't ask how it got its name.) Then we were off to a terracotta warrior factory. (I'm not making this up.) Then it was time for lunch, that included one of Sally's favourite's, caramelized potatoes, a local dish. Finally we were off to see the real terracotta warriors.

It was a very impressive presentation with large new structures having been built around the archeological sites. Sitting at a table by the entry to one of the buildings was a small man in dark sunglasses. In front of him was a sign saying 'no pictures please'. It turned out that he was the farmer who discovered the artifacts while digging a well. He often comes by since he can no longer farm his land, and he doesn't have to pay to get in!

We spent the afternoon looking at the various portions of the site, and managed to get back to our hotel without any more tea ceremonies or gift shops. That evening we set off for a walk and made a discovery of our own. About 500 m from the hotel was a large, well equipped tourist centre. We were given some elaborate publications containing all kinds of information about the city and surrounding areas. There was a lot to see, including a water fountain show scheduled for later that evening. It was breathtaking! In some respects I found the performance featuring acres of illuminated fountains, synchronized to classical music, as awe inspiring as the archeological sites. But I would never admit this publicly.

The following morning, we rose early to plan our next few days. We needed to book a flight to India and figure out how best to get back to Hong Kong. We also needed to find out where to rent bicycles for a cycling trip around the city wall; something that had been recommended by our Macau friends.

After two successful train trips in China we were willing to try a third. But when we realized that the train would require two nights on board, the decision was made. We were flying. But I was surprised at the cost of the flights. We had been told it was cheap to fly within China, and yet the flight to Shenzhen, was still $233 US (The flight to Hong Kong was about $450). After some searching, I found a website offering a flight for $169, including a booking fee. But it had to be paid for through Paypal, which meant another 3.5 %. That was fine, but I couldn't get through to the Paypal website. After an hour of trying, I decided this was ridiculous and we should get out and see the city. As we were leaving the hotel, we saw a small travel office in the lobby. Out of interest I went in and asked about flights to Shenzhen. "When do you want to go?" asked the girl behind the desk. "Tomorrow noon," I replied. "$105 cash", she said, and a couple of moments later we had our tickets!

That afternoon we did make it around the wall on bikes. We also found HSBC next door to Maison Mode, an exclusive shopping mall in Xi'an (We also saw one in Beijing). Many of the top international names were there: Mont Blanc, Versace, Burberry's, Gucci, Paul Shark, Hush Puppies (yes, Hush Puppies is a very fashionable clothing line over here!) But there wasn't a customer in the entire complex. We tried to find a directory, and a washroom, but no one spoke English. I saw a nice shirt at Paul Shark’s, but it was 2350 RMB. ($335 US) For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why this project had been built, and for whom it was intended.

Later that afternoon we went to Tang Paradise. I don't know where to start! We arrived at the entry gate but it was closed. However a young girl was selling tickets. "Where do we go in?" Sally gestured. But all the girl did was flash more tickets and repeat the price. We left and eventually found another entrance and some real tickets.

Tang Paradise is a 2 year old theme park. It was built at a cost of over $200 US million. It felt like a cross between an extravagant resort and a partially finished Disneyland.

It included a large theatre where a Vegas style extravaganza plays daily. However, we gave it a pass since the management had given us an orientation package that included an elaborate brochure and a DVD of the production. We also suspected that we wouldn't understand much since we were the only Caucasians in the park.

Dinner was served in a grand banquet hall, and included dishes that a Tang emperor would have been served. But we can't tell you what they were since although each item was identified, the English translation always said "welcome to Tang Paradise". I can tell you about the music, however. It was primarily Andrew Lloyd Weber and Whitney Houston.

What was impressive was the security. Before being allowed to enter the marketplace area, we had to stand before a counter and have our photos taken. Then, when we left, our tickets were swiped and our photos appeared on a monitor. Goodness knows why.

At 8:30, everyone in the park gathered at a large man-made lake for what was billed as the largest and most elaborate water cinema production in the world. And it probably is. It featured animated films projected on screens of water, combined with laser beams, fireworks, and other pyrotechnics. It was quite impressive. After the show, as we left the grounds, we marveled at the magnificent night lighting of the buildings and landscaping. But I couldn't help but think about all the coal fired plants generating the electricity required to keep the place alit.

While i would have liked to have stayed a bit longer in Xi'an and seen some of the sights outside the town, we left the next morning. We were surprised to discover the airport was an hour's drive away. The drive to the airport was like watching a futuristic movie; whole new industrial areas opening up; major new residential complexes with 16 large identical buildings when we might have two. But there were also hundreds of thousands of new trees, some looking quite strange since all the branches had been pruned. En route, I enjoyed some of the bilingual highway signs along the way: don’t drive tiredly; don’t drive drunken; high colisin, keep spacely.

When we arrived at the large modern airport, there were surprisingly few people, and we got through the check-in quickly. As we walked to the gate we congratulated ourselves on having made it. We got to the right airport, on time, and it turned out that the tickets weren't counterfeit!

A final comment on the cost of things. The taxi to the airport took an hour, and the driver had to pay two tolls. Yet the fare was only 100 RMB. Inside the airport, Sally wanted a coffee, and the price...48RMB! It seemed insane.

When we arrived at the departure gates, I was surprised to see a large, busy counter selling… flight insurance. It seemed almost as popular as the lottery ticket vendors we saw lining the roads in Cambodia!

Fortunately we didn't need the insurance. The plane made it to Shenzhen where we immediately found a sign saying “express bus to Hong Kong”. We got the last two seats. At the border we had to get off for Customs, and then got the last two seats on a much larger bus to Hong Kong Island.

We're in Hong Kong for 3 nights, and look forward to being with people who can speak English. But we had an amazing and very worthwhile time in China. We both want to go back, especially to see Beijing after the Olympics. I also want to see if they have fixed up all the awkward English signs.

Beijing: 15 Observations

Before telling you about Beijing, I want to send a special message to my Uncle Ted, who just got out of the hospital in Toronto, and will hopefully be reading this with a glass of Kosher Wine in hand, and my Auntie Alma by his side!

While we enjoyed our time in Beijing, and would like to return one day, it was not a 10. It is just too big, too busy, and it is challenging when you don’t know the language. While there are some similarities between Beijing and major Canadian cities, there are a lot more differences. In no particular order, here are 15 observations about the city:

Taxis are very plentiful. There are more than 60,000 cabs for a population of about 18 million people. If one applied that ratio to Vancouver, there would be 6,000 cabs in our region. I believe there are less than 1,000. But the drivers don’t always take you to where you want to go, since they don’t speak English, many can’t read, and most have trouble with maps. But they are cheap; the drop charge is 10 RMB (about $1.50) and the fare increases slowly. (The drivers are usually incredibly calm and patient, despite the challenges of driving more than 12 hours a day in a very congested city. I just wish they didn’t have to sit in metal cages.

There are a lot of cars. Beijing has a very impressive road system, with a number of ‘ring roads’ around the central core. But when they were constructed, no one could have contemplated the number of cars in the city. There are now over 3 million cars in the city, and dthe number is increasing about 1,000 new cars and 500 used cars every day. That’s an 500,000 additional cars a year, assuming a few are taken off the road!

Not many people speak English. While there is an effort to encourage people to speak some English by the Olympics, a surprisingly small number of people can actually speak ANY English today. Even the staff in the ‘Foreign Language’ Bookstore couldn’t speak English. And the people who write the English signs, can’t speak English.

The people dress quite smartly. I was particularly impressed by the number of people who wear uniforms; school children, shop attendants, restaurant staff, railway attendants, and of course the many soldiers and security guards around town.

Some things are very cheap. We were particularly taken with the cost of eyeglasses. Our guidebook noted they can be purchased for a fraction of the cost in America. We purchased some very nice frames with progressive lenses for less than $150 a pair. So why are they so expensive in Vancouver?

Beer always comes in large bottles. 500 or 600 ml bottles. And one rarely pays more than $1.75 a bottle, except in the American Hotels and Tourist Areas.

Some people are polite. Others are not. The younger people on a bus or subway will always give up their seat to an older Caucasian woman. And if they don’t voluntarily, the attendant will instruct them to do so! But as for the men who are always spitting…

The rickshaw drivers will try and cheat you. They always quote a price, which, if you are smart, you will clarify at the beginning of the trip. But after 20 or 30 minutes of enjoyable time together, they will pretend that the price is ‘per person’! This happened to us every time, and made us feel awful if we didn’t give them the extra 20 or 30 RMB.

The tourist infrastructure is lousy. While there is very good tourist information on the web, just try and find a tourist centre or a map in the city! Few of the hotels can help you either. It’s even worse than Malacca!

The bus system works. While locals claim there is a need for more buses, they seemed very plentiful to us. We were also pleased to see an attendant on board, who collects the fares, calls out the stops, and helps people figure out when they need to get off. Both the bus and subway are very reasonable (between 1 and 3 RMB a trip) and the government is proposing to reduce the cost to get cars off the road during the Olympics.

Many roads are quite impressive. There is often extensive and attractive street planting along the roads and highways. It includes roses, irises, and other colourful plants, that are often watered by hand!

A few centuries are missing. There are few 18^th or 19^th century buildings around town. There are some very old buildings that have been beautifully restored, e.g. the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace, but one doesn’t find streets lined with great old buildings. Few buildings seem more than 20 years old, other than the dreadful slums that are slowly being replaced by new high-rises.

Food is cheap. Chinese food is particularly cheap, but then it is also inexpensive in America. On the other hand, American food, when you can find it, is quite expensive. A Starbucks coffee is about the same price here as it is in Vancouver. For the same money, you can get a wonderful dish in a Chinese restaurant that will serve 4 people.

Many people don’t wear watches. Sally noticed this, and it’s true. But then they can always tell the time on their cell phone. And everyone has a cell phone.

People often smile at you, just because you are Caucasian. It’s not uncommon to be asked to have your photo taken with them, especially when they think you are Steven Spielberg!

The Forbidden City

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I really didn’t know very much about the Forbidden City when we arrived at the gates. I didn’t even know why it was called 'The Forbidden City'. Sally knew much more as a result of the books she had read, and the movies she had seen. As a result of my ignorance, I wanted to buy a guide book. But it’s tough buying anything as a foreign tourist in Beijing. For one thing, you don’t know if what you buy is real. For another, you don’t know what a fair price is. Eventually I bought a guide book that included more Russian than English, but the price was right! A few minutes later, once we were inside, I discovered that you could rent electronic guides that were programmed to activate themselves at key locations around the site. So we got two of them, only to discover that our machines were not fully synchronized, and so we often had to resort to our English/Russian guidebook.

The Forbidden City, for those of you who haven’t been here, occupies the central part of Beijing, across from Ti’ananmen Square. It was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Construction began in 1406, so it has a history of over 600 years. 24 emperors ruled the whole country from here, and they had some very opulent digs, while the rest of the people lived in hovels outside their walls.

The grounds are large, occupying 178 acres. The overall complex is extremely impressive, although many of the buildings start to resemble one another after a while. There are some wonderful courtyards, and gardens that include 300+ year old cypress trees. Many of the buildings were used for conducting government business; others provided accommodation for the emperor, the queen, the concubines, the princes, and various relatives and staff. Today, the buildings are considered the most magnificent ancient architectural complex in the country. In 1987, the Forbidden City was included on the UNESCO list of World Heritages. As a result, although there is a Starbucks in the Forbidden City, it cannot have a sign outside. Sally hates to admit it, but when she discovered it, it was like an oasis after her barbq’d pork breakfast snack. (She has promised never to criticize Starbucks ever again!)

After the Forbidden City, we did what every Beijing tourist does, and took a ride through the Hutongs, or back alleys in a rickshaw. As we rode around, we saw a lot of great investment opportunities, and we are sure it is only a matter of time before most are bought up, renovated and sold off as Beijing Mews townhouses.

A warning about rickshaw drivers. They are always quite charming, trying hard in their broken English to tell you about their city. But we have been taught that you have to negotiate the price before you head off, and we always do. But regardless of how clear the terms are, the driver always tries to pretend that the fare agreed upon at the beginning is for each person, not both. And you always end up feeling like a real cad if you don’t give him the extra few dollars. It happens every time!

Some final thoughts about the Forbidden City. I really have not done justice to this place. It is a museum, full of wonderful artworks and artifacts collected over hundreds of years. For example, there’s an exhibition hall devoted solely to clocks and watches collected from around the world; there are halls and gathering places as ornate as any at Versailles; there are fabulous stone sculptures and so on. One could spend days or years studying the palace. But when it’s really hot outside, and you are one of 120,000 people going through, and you didn’t have a very good breakfast, it’s really hard to appreciate it all!

The Great Wall of China

We didn’t expect to visit the Great Wall of China, but that’s because we thought it was off somewhere in the middle of nowhere. In fact, a portion of it is 60 km from Beijing, and so we booked a tour through our hotel. We set off at 7:30 in the morning, only to discover we were the only Caucasians on the tour. When the guide started to speak in Chinese, I was surprised since I was sure the program had said it was an English speaking tour. Then we realized he was speaking English. We just couldn’t distinguish it from Chinese. We felt bad since the other 10 or so people had to sit through his English explanations until we learned that two of the ‘Chinese people’ were really Cambodians living in Melbourne who didn’t understand a word of Chinese either. As Thomas Friedman says “the world is flat”.

While I thought we were off to see the Great Wall, our first stop was a Jade Factory. It was very interesting seeing people sitting behind a glass screen carving away, but this is the trouble with organized tours. The guide is making a good portion of his income by taking his ‘passengers’ to different businesses where he gets a commission on whatever they purchase. We didn’t purchase any jade, but Sally did buy some ‘infinity matches’ that a young salesperson assured her will last for 20,000 strikes. (We’ve learned not to believe everything we’re told in China, ever since our visit to the art school. By the way, in case you are wondering, we did get our money back!)

After an hour, we arrived at the Great Wall of China. While I couldn’t actually see the wall, I knew we were there by the number of tour buses. We were given a choice by our tour guide. We could head west along the wall, where we would get a fabulous view, but the stairs were very steep; or we could head east, which was a much easier climb. We headed east. In most respects, I was quite impressed with what we saw. In others, I was a bit disappointed. While the view was very dramatic, a number of the amazing ancient statues along the way were being allowed to deteriorate. People were grabbing them for photos, (myself included), only to discover they were quite fragile and crumbling. I couldn’t understand why there weren’t notices warning people not to touch. After all, they were all over the Jade Store.

After our walk along the Great Wall, we reassembled at the bus and set off for lunch. I was curious to see what would be served, and still am. Other than the French fries and the beer, I didn’t recognize a thing. But it was all very good, and after a tour of the adjacent enamel factory and jewelry shops, we were on our way to the next stop…the Ming Tombs. Sally and I weren’t really interested in this, but still enjoyed being part of the tour and seeing what interested the Chinese tourists. Indeed, watching the other people was often as interesting as seeing the ‘great sights’. I particularly enjoyed watching a 7 year old girl, who could captivate everyone with her antics, and her mother who never got off her cell phone. I’m sure she was a real estate agent, although no one understood me when I tried to get this confirmed. We were also intrigued to see them enjoying a typical Chinese summer snack…peeled cucumbers. Now why don’t we do that?

On our way back, we drove by the Olympic Village which is still very much under construction. We saw the ‘Bird’s Nest’ which is being designed by a Swiss firm, and something you will see a lot of next summer. I was hoping to see the athletes’ housing but it is all wrapped in green gauze at the moment. But I can tell you that it is being promoted as very ‘sustainable’. I can also tell you that it sold for 17,000 RMB a square metre, (about $240 a sq.ft.) and re-sales have increased significantly. After our visit to the Olympic site, we stopped at a traditional teahouse where a lovely young lady told us about the attributes of different Chinese teas, and encouraged us to buy some to take home. Since we are not going home for a while, we passed, although we have been trying out all sorts of different teas since we arrived here. (Our favourite is ginger tea).

By 5 o’clock we were back at the hotel, and my new friends from the tour invited me to the third floor of our hotel for a drink. When I arrived, I was surprised to see that instead of beer, we were drinking more tea! It was all very enjoyable, even though most of them didn’t speak a word of English, and I don’t speak a word of Chinese. We communicated by doing drawings on the napkins.

As Sally and I had dinner that evening, we commented on how enjoyable it had been touring with people with whom we had very little in common. Over the course of the day, we had all become quite good friends. While it would have been easier being with a group of Americans setting off from the Hyatt, the day had been quite special. I just wish I had understood more of what our guide was trying to tell us!

Beijing: a City of Surprises

During Expo 86, Sally and I visited the China Pavilion which featured a movie about the country. As we walked out, Sally said I don’t think I ever want to go there…too much grey and not enough trees and greenery. Well last year, we did go to Shanghai for a few days and thoroughly enjoyed the city. While there was a lot of grey and pollution, it was a very cosmopolitan and exciting experience. Phil Boname had recommended the Park Hotel in the geographic centre of the city, a perfect choice, close to the pedestrian mall and Centre for Urbanism, something you must see if you are there. It was also near the Bund where we ate at M restaurant and watched the buildings in Pudong change colours as the dinner progressed.

This year, we wanted to spend a month touring various cities in China. Ray Spaxman gave me a list of his favourite places; Nellie Cheng at CMHC offered to set up some speaking engagements, and I planned to visit the work of Vancouver architects working here. However, as a result of additional time spent in New Zealand, Australia, and Laos, a month has shrunk to about 2 weeks. Our top priority, however, was a visit to Beijing as it prepares for the 2008 Olympics.

This is a very, very impressive city, with a population of 18 million. Tian’anmen Square was designed to accommodate one million people! While there are millions of upright, silent bicycles, with three gears and Dutch-style hand brakes, there are a variety of other forms of transportation, and an increasing number of people are driving cars. And they don’t pay any attention to red lights.

We are constantly amazed at the scale of things. We booked a hotel which on the map seemed within walking distance of our train station, Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City. But when we arrived, there was no Tourist Information Centre and no ATM machine. I only had about 17 RMB’s in Chinese currency (about $2.50), that I had been given as change on the train. So we decided to walk to the hotel. Eventually someone saw us looking at a map, and offered to help. When I told him where we were going, he laughed and said we were 15 km away! We got into a taxi, thinking we would change money at the hotel to pay the driver. The trip lasted about 20 minutes, but we needn’t have worried about payment. The fare was 14 RMB’s.

The Mercure Hotel, part of the French ACCOR chain, turned out to be a poor choice. While it was in central Xiden, and near a subway station, you couldn’t just walk out the door and find restaurants, or pop over to the Forbidden City. It seemed miles from everywhere. So we set off in a taxi to check out another hotel, Qian Yuan International Business Hotel, an independently owned Chinese hotel located on what was described as Beijing’s famous street of restaurants. It had been my second choice. It was a much better location, and we booked on the internet for the next three nights.

We then did something we rarely do. We went into a restaurant with no English menu and instructed the waiter to just order for us. From the tanks by the door, he brought a bowl of clams, scallops on the half shell in a black bean sauce, large snail like things that the French like to eat with a vinaigrette sauce, a beautifully arrayed plate of vegetables, and seafood dumplings. I had a large beer, and the bill came to 97 RMB (about $14). After dinner, we wandered by all the restaurants adorned with red lanterns, and eventually decided to get on a bus heading in the direction of Tian’anmen Square. But it turned right when it shouldn’t have, and as we were about to leave, a young lady said in broken English that she was off to an interesting club area, so we joined her.

The restaurant/club strip around Houhai Lake was quite beautiful, with the lights reflecting on the water. But with the mix of Asians and Caucasian tourists, and the occasional Starbucks, at times it felt a bit like Robson Street, (except for the elderly ballroom dancers). We wandered into an attractive spot to have a drink and listened to some karaoke, a popular local pastime. Here two drinks cost the same as our wonderful dinner an hour earlier.

The next day, we checked into our new hotel. The room was very well designed with a large seating area. But more interestingly, the bathroom had glass walls, and on the counter was a HAPPY TRIP package ‘For People Frequently on Business Trip’. It included amongst other things a vibrating condom and other products for the traveling businessman. Normally we’re happy just to get an extra toothbrush and comb!

We then set off for our first day in Beijing. We looked for the Tourist Information Centre, but were repeatedly told there wasn’t one. Finally, I went onto the internet, and found a list of 9 places around town. Two taxis and a bus later, and a visit to the head office of China Travel, we were no further ahead. No one knew what we were talking about. Eventually we got to where the main centre was supposed to be, and met up with two young girls. They were students and offered to help. Their English was very good. They told us the Tourist Centre had been demolished to make way for a 5 star hotel. They were studying art, and their school was not far away and having an art show. Did we want to see it?

Giving up on the Information Centre, we decided to go along and see their school. One of their teachers was there, and they showed us their work, and the work of some of their colleagues and other teachers. It was all very good; considerably better than what one sees at Emily Carr. The class was planning a trip to Barcelona and selling some of their paintings and drawings to raise funds. Did we want to buy something and support them? “Of course” we thought, imagining ourselves as another Michael Audain supporting emerging young artists. We picked out a couple of drawings on silk that were very good. “What is an appropriate payment? I asked the teacher. 200 RMB each, he said (about $25). So we purchased them and gave the girls the money. At that point, he unrolled a long piece of silk with a wonderful drawing of old Beijing. It was drawn by one of the other professors, and was very good. “Were we interested in this piece?”

“Oh we can’t afford that” said Sally. “But how much is it anyway?” He wanted 1000 RMB. This seemed like a very low price for such a lovely piece. So we bought it too.

Happy with our purchases, we had photographs taken with the girls, and set off for the major pedestrian mall. The place was just packed since we were in the middle of the Golden Week holiday. Many people smiled at us since we stood out as two obvious foreigners. A couple of people stopped to ask if they could have their pictures taken with us. Sure. Finally a twenty something young man came up to us and started to chat in English. He was an art student, and wondered if….

Then it hit us! How foolish could we be? We had done everything that one is told not to do! We had gone off with strangers, bought things without much scrutiny, all in the excitement of the moment. So we sat down and took another look at our purchases. They were obviously not done by art students and their teachers. They were mass produced pieces. Very good, but still mass produced. Now we understood how some people can be taken in by Nigerian bankers.

Although we had been completely conned, it had been fun. Sally put it down to the fact that we just couldn’t ‘read’ people here in the same way as we can on our own turf. And anyway, the pieces still looked very good, even at the price we paid.

Two days later, we were walking down the street, and were approached by the same two girls. “Hey just a second” said Sally. “You’re not art students.” After a brief chat, which included reference to the fact that I had video taped much of their presentations, they offered to take back the pictures and return our money. We’ll see. I’m starting to get quite attached to them!

Hong Kong to Beijing....by train!

I got the idea from one of the around the world guide books that I purchased in Canada. It mentioned a non-stop train trip from Hong Kong to Beijing, and I thought this would be a good way to get to Beijing, our No. 1 destination in China, and see some of the countryside, while avoiding at least one somewhat trying air flight. (While we always enjoy our Emirates Business Class outings, the shorter flights on smaller airlines are not always as much fun.) Furthermore, train travel has always had a certain allure for us since we traveled Europe on Eurail Passes in the 70’s.

We went to a travel agent to investigate buying tickets. It was a bit confusing. There were no classes of travel, but you could buy a hard bed (upper, lower or middle), a soft bed, or a super-soft bed. After a few probing questions, we realized that the quality of the bed was not the only consideration. Hard beds had 6 people to a compartment, but no door; soft beds 4 and a door; and super-soft 2, and of course, a door. So we asked for super-soft, since I suddenly had memories of an overnight train from Paris to Marseille in a compartment with a man who never stopped smoking gauloises or spitting and coughing all night. “Sorry, just one place left” said the lovely girl at China Travel. “Ok, we’ll take two soft beds.” “Upper or lower?” “Lower.”

When we arrived at the train, some of the compartments looked quite nice, but as we walked to our carriage, they seemed to be deteriorating. “I don’t like the look of these,” said Sally, as I handed our tickets to the conductor. “No, wong place, down there” he said pointing to the portion of the train we had just walked by. And so we entered one of the nicer cars with 4 bed compartments and lots of pink frilly covers. We then waited for our traveling companions to arrive.

They never came! Fortunately, we were traveling on May 1, the equivalent of Labour Day over here, and it’s not that busy. We had the compartment to ourselves, and it suddenly dawned on me that perhaps the travel agent knew this would be the case, and therefore didn’t sell us the more expensive ticket. (I say this in part because Sally is convinced we are often getting better treatment in restaurants, hotel, tourist spots, etc because we are Caucasions…)

The 4 berths were made up as beds, and while there were quite comfortable, with adequate headroom, I was wondering where we were supposed to sit. As I walked up and down the carriage, I realized that most people were settling into their compartments. They were getting out food, whiskey, cards. They were obviously there for the trip. I started looking for someone who might speak English. I discovered a lovely couple two compartments away. “Do you speak English”. Oh yes, they said, and after a couple of minutes I discovered that he was in the diplomatic service, and they had been posted to Calgary for two years.

She didn’t comment on her work, but from the stylish way she was dressed, she could have been a fashion designer or model, or just the wife of a diplomat.

“Where are we supposed to sit?” I asked. “Is there a dining car or bar car?” They politely confessed that they didn’t know, since although they lived in Beijing, and worked in Hong Kong, they too were trying the train for the very first time.

Over the course of the trip, we had wonderful conversations about the different places we had both visited, the differences between people of different countries and cultures, and why the Chinese were very similar to the Jews. Since I knew more Chinese people than they knew Jewish people, they had to take my word for it. But to help teach them about Jewish Culture, I recommended that they watch some Woody Allen movies, especially Match Point, which is one of his last, and Alice, since it features a Chinese herbalist. If you haven’t seen them, they are both very good.

As I write this post from the Train, we have had breakfast (a mixture of traditional Chinese food, and a Chinese take on an American breakfast) and lunch, which included a bordeaux I picked up in the Railway 'duty free' shop. But I am concerned that the time is passing too quickly, and I will not get to do many of the things I had planned to get done during the trip. I am particularly enjoying watching the changing countryside, which quickly transforms from farmers' fields into major urban centres, some of which look just like parts of Richmond.

While there are lots of older dull grey concrete apartment blocks, there are a surprising number of new high rise developments which could be anywhere in GVRD. Some of the farms are quite delightful, with neatly planted zones of rice and other vegetables. Every once in a while I see something that I don’t understand, and I can envision a great business opportunity. Someone should package this and other train trips around the world with an audio visual guide, similar to those in Art Galleries. It would let you know what you are seeing at key points along the way, with appropriate explanations. Perhaps it’s a project for the creative people behind the Rocky Mountaineer! One thing they will have to consider for this trip is whether to allow the train to continue serving the rice congee and fried noodles for breakfast, or ask them to change to more traditional international breakfast: bacon and eggs and baked beans. They could offer the 6 berth people bacon and egg on a bagel from McDonalds. After all, an increasing number of Beijingers are now having that for breakfast.

Thank you John and Helen for making this seem like such a short train ride. I wish it had been longer! We look forward to seeing you in Vancouver.

Macau: sardines and casinos

We came to Macau for a day. I wish we hadn’t. I wish we had come for longer.

A 55 minute fast ferry ride away from Hong Kong, Macau has a very different character and feel. And so it should. For one thing, it predates Hong Kong by almost 300 years. Parts of Macau date back to the 16^th century when it started as a Portuguese colony. The Portuguese heritage is very evident today; not only in the remaining older buildings, but also in the extensive traditional cobble street paving, the Portuguese signage around town, and the number of good Portuguese restaurants.

But, for most visitors to Macau, the Portuguese connection is simply a sidebar. They are here to gamble at the CASINOS! Until 2002, all the casinos were controlled by Stanley Ho. Yes, that’s the same Mr. Ho who built the little building at the western end of Georgia Street overlooking Lost Lagoon. Since he lost his monopoly, many of the big players from Las Vegas have moved in. The Sands has developed a mammoth gold box, which is highly visible as soon as you arrive by ferry. Wynn has also built one of the more than 20 casinos in town. At the centre a new Grand Lisboa is being constructed; a gold glass building shaped to resemble goodness knows what.. It looks like it was designed by Frank Gehry and Daniel Libeskind, and neither liked what the other was doing! While it could become a landmark of sorts once it is completed, at the moment, it looks like a half dressed lady who’s getting made up for the night.

People who know Macau say it has been transformed in the last 10 years, from ‘a sleepy, dirty, impoverished backwater, with nothing to recommend it except legalized gambling and cheap dim sum’ into a modern city. There are new casinos and thousands of new apartments to accommodate the gamblers and the workers. It appears that billions have been spent on new infrastructure around the city. A major airport has been built completed and there are new bridges to Mainland China.

Along the harbour, two new lakes have been created with some very impressive fountains, similar to those I wanted Aoki to install along Georgia Street in front of the Bayshsore! There is also a new "Fisherman's Wharf', which can best be described as a bit of Disney World's EPCOT centre that was left over, and installed in Macau.

We stayed at the Royal Hotel. Once again, when we arrived we thought they had confused with some very important guests. For $70 US we were embalmed in marble and crystal on the top floor of a very elegant hotel. We had every possible amenity, including free internet, and wonderful bed linens. Although the hotel was slightly removed from the action, the guide book noted it was attractive for this reason. We agreed since we were here to sightsee and eat, not gamble or hang around a neon strip.

We had a great time. We explored with no real destination in mind. We constantly found marvelous vistas, including this early evening view of the roads and bridges heading over to Mainland China. With the assistance of two local residents, who had studied music and religion in America, we eventually found Litoral, which our guide book claimed to be the best Portuguese/Macanese restaurant on the peninsula. It was a good meal, especially the grilled sardines and seafood rice, which reminded us of our holiday in Portugal in 1997. But the highlight of the dinner was meeting Priscilla and John Eng-Wong, a visiting scholar at Brown University in Rhode Island, who were on their own culinary tour of Asia. When they heard that we were planning to take the train from Hong Kong to Beijing, they quickly assembled a new itinerary for us, including another overnight train ride to Xien, then a flight to Guangzhou or Shenzhen, and a train back to Hong Kong. By flying within China, they said we would save a lot of money, and this itinerary would offer a better way to get a good feel for China.

At this point, we are altering our itinerary daily, especially since the BBC is reporting unseasonably high temperatures for Delhi. It was 42 the other day, and it’s getting hotter. Sally’s knees don’t like it when the air temperature is higher than her blood temperature.

But for now, we have a plan. We’re taking the 25 hour, 25 minute train trip from Hong Kong to Beijing, where we plan to stay at least three days. We will investigate taking another train to Xien, and then fly back towards Hong Kong where we’ll stay for a couple more days.. Then we’re off to India, with Michael and Julie Seelig’s itinerary in hand, to see how much heat we can handle at the hottest time of the year. Once we have seen the Taj Mahal, if it’s too hot, we’ll go to Dubai, where Sally can cool down in the shopping centres while I seek out replicas of Vancouver’s apartment towers.. Then we’ll meet the girls in Greece, where we are booked in at John and Jan Pierce’s New Villa on Kefalonia.

But now we must find the train station.

Hong Kong: Asia's World City

Whenever I watch skating competitions on TV, I always wonder how the judges know what score to give to the first skaters. After all, if they are given a 10, and someone comes along later who is much better, what do you give them? I feel this way about our trip. New Zealand, Singapore, Luang Prabang, and now Hong Kong. Each in their own way deserves top prize. Yet I suspect that before this trip is over, we will come across a few more places that may be even better!

While I had been to Hong Kong on two previous occasions, this was Sally’s first trip. I was concerned whether she would enjoy all the noise, activity and chaos; but in fact, she loved it. And staying at the Miramar Hotel at 118 Nathan Road, in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui, we got to truly experience the activity day and night. Many shops don’t close until 2 am.

Hong Kong has changed considerably since I was last here. For one thing, you are greeted by the Royal Bank of Scotland, not my celebrated HSBC (although they do have their name on some of the money). Perhaps the major change has been the handover from Great Britain to China. I asked a number of people how it had affected them, and most said it had made little change in their daily lives. However, others told me there is now a greater obligation to learn Mandarin, the language spoken on the mainland. At the political level, there were significant changes.

The city seemed much bigger than when I was last here, but that’s because it is. Each year, more and more of Victoria Harbour is filled in to create sites for new development. The new airport is constructed entirely on landfill, and while the landing is not as dramatic as it was at the old airport, the facility is much better.

One thing that impressed us was the transportation system. When we arrived, we purchased two electronic passes at the airport which entitled us to a return trip on the train and unlimited travel on the subway for three days. We could also make an additional payment and use them on the buses, trams and ferries. When the train arrived at the Kowloon station, we were directed to a free shuttle bus which took us directly to our hotel. So here was an example of an airport train system that really works. Take note Kuala Lampur, and Vancouver.

Of course, most people don’t come to Hong Kong to use the transit system. They come to shop and eat. We did both. Sally was thrilled to find a large Marks & Spencers. I was fascinated by all the camera and electronic shops selling goods at prices considerably less than Vancouver. (Hong Kong is tax and duty free.) We were somewhat interested in the computer equipment, since our Panasonic Toughbook, which we had purchased especially for the trip, isn’t as tough as advertised. The CD player/burner has packed it in. While we considered buying another computer, we decided to visit Panasonic, to see if they could fix it.

They said they would look at it, but first we had to pay $780 HK ($110 CDN) for the initial examination, and then the cost of repairs. Sally pointed out it was under warranty, but was told that the warranty didn’t apply in Hong Kong. Unbelievable. Here we are in the centre of the electronic world, with a huge PANASONIC sign adorning the skyline, but the warranty doesn’t apply here. Rather than face what could be a very large bill, we decided to do some lateral thinking. Because of its small size, the computer didn’t have a DVD burner, and we needed one for my new Hard Disc Video Camera. So we purchased an external DVD player/burner in the hope it would bypass the broken unit. So far it seems to be working. We wanted to buy a Panasonic model that I saw advertised on the internet, but of course it wasn’t available….in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is a great place to eat Chinese food. But we eat a lot of Chinese food in Vancouver, so the first night, we ate in a Japanese restaurant; the second night we had a fabulous Crab Buffet at our hotel (they served 17 different crab dishes); for lunch on the third day we went to a Jewish Deli, and that night we ate at a Spanish restaurant at Knutsford Terrace, a charming outdoor touristy area near the hotel. We chose the restaurant since HSBC credit card holders were entitled to a 50% discount on the meal. At first the hostess wasn’t sure we could have the discount, since our card was issued in Canada. But another restaurant had indicated they would honour our card, and HSBC claims to be the world’s LOCAL bank, and I could tell by her accent she was from Canada, which she acknowledged (she lived in Kerrisdale and had gone to UBC) and so she happily gave us the discount!

On our way to the delicatessen, we came upon a most unusual site. Thousands of women were sitting around the Exchange Square development, near the bus station, on sheets of cardboard, or makeshift blankets, playing cards, doing manicures, reading, talking, and just hanging around. At first I thought they were waiting for the bus, but there were too many. Then I thought maybe they were gathering for a political demonstration, but there were no banners, and they seemed quite happy. Finally, I had to ask someone what was going on.

They were Filipino nannies, on their day off. There are over 300,000 in Hong Kong, and since they have no homes to meet in, the gather in public places around the city. I was impressed that the authorities allowed this to happen. Indeed, some private companies even pay to clean up after they are gone.

There’s much too much to do and see in Hong Kong in a short period of time. But we did have a good trip out to Stanley, a seaside village with an outdoor market and waterfront promenade lined with non-Chinese restaurants. We also had an excellent guided tour of the Hong Kong museum and learned about the history of the place, and the local customs. Finally, we took an evening harbour cruise to watch the buildings put on a light show. That’s right. Every evening at 8 pm, many of the buildings around the harbour are transformed into large illuminated panels. Laser lights are shone from the roofs, and the lights change in concert with music. It’s the Symphony of Lights! While all the energy use is not very sustainable, it’s a great show, and we enjoyed it immensely.

Some final observations. I was impressed with many of the new apartment buildings which are really quite spectacular. Sally was surprised by the amount of greenery both in and around the city. She didn’t expect all the parks, nor the beaches and extensive hiking trails. We were both impressed with the general level of cleanliness. Not quite as clean as Singapore, but often cleaner than Vancouver. However, the smog is definitely a problem. While we were there, a newspaper featured a front page story about a recently released discussion paper on how to address the increasing smog levels. One proposal was a warning system, similar to that which has been implemented in….Toronto! An accompanying story was about the conductor of the Hong Kong Symphony, who was moving to a small Midwest town in the US, since he and his wife were concerned what the smog levels were doing to their young son’s health.

But as a short term visitor, coming from Vientiane and Siem Reap, we weren’t particularly bothered by the smog. We loved the city, and definitely plan to spend a few more days, provided we don’t find too many more 10’s in China.