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.

Back Home in Bangkok

After our daily adventures in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, it felt like we were back home when we arrived in Bangkok. We knew exactly where to go to get a cab; how much to pay, and what the accommodation would be like, since we were returning to Ou and Ross McClellan’s apartment. Early the next morning, as we set off for the Indian Embassy to pick up our visas, the phone rang. It was Ross. Twenty years ago, a call from Ross often meant that the other party’s lawyer wouldn’t agree to a change in a legal document. Now he was calling to see if we needed some clothes washing!

When we got to the Embassy, we realized that we had forgotten that we could only drop off our passports between 12 and 1 pm. Indian bureaucracy. So we used the extra time to mail a parcel toVancouver, and look after a few personal needs. Sally had her nails done; and I decided to have a haircut. Unfortunately, the hairdresser didn’t speak English and she interpreted my request to take just a little off with leave just a little on. Sally and Ou think the haircut makes me look younger. Ross thinks it makes my ears look much older! At least I won’t need another haircut until we return in September.
Sitting in Ross’s apartment this morning, we reflected on how different travel is today compared to the 60’s when we were both traveling around Europe. Back then, American Express was indispensable. ‘Poste Restante American Express’ was everyone’s address in the major cities of Europe, and Travelers’ Cheques were the standard form of currency. Today we stay in touch through email and blogs, and Travelers’ Cheques are a thing of the past (for most of us). Instead we use ATM machines and credit cards.
Although most banking is now done over the internet, from time to time, it’s nice to be able to walk into a bank. In anticipation of our trip, for a number of reasons, Sally and I switched from CIBC to HSBC. As we were setting off, Maureen Jones, our Account Manager invited us to take advantage of the bank’s international ‘Concierge Service’.
Consequently, when I accidentally left a sweater and memory stick on a bench in Auckland, the bank sent them to me c/o its Melbourne office. When we needed US dollars in Hanoi, we took a taxi to the HSBC Branch Office and had our money in a few minutes. The bank then called us a taxi and even negotiated a better taxi fare to our next destination! We have discovered that some Asian hotels offer better rates to HSBC customers on the Wotif booking site, and restaurants offer a discount if you use an HSBC Credit Card.
It is very comforting to get off a plane in a city and see the HSBC advertisements in the airport. We have been to so many branches, we are sometimes suspected of being two of the bank’s ‘mystery shoppers’. As we travel around the world, the tagline ‘the world’s local bank’ is quite apt. HSBC is our new American Express.

Once again, it was very comfortable staying with Ou and Ross. We were spoilt by them, and could do little in return. But hopefully one day when they visit Vancouver, we can reciprocate. Until then, thanks Ou and Ross.

Now, we're off to Hong Kong and China.