A Bryson in China: September 2006

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Ed at the top of the tower at the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees in Guangzhou.

Off to Guangzhou

What else is there to do in Dongguan? Well, we’d already been to WalMart and Dongguan’s Old City. So ……………… off to Guangzhou!

Guangzhou is the large city another 50km to the west of Dongguan that used to be known as Canton. It is an interesting city, with a little more history than most of the rest of the province of Guangdong. So why not go see it?

We opted for this visit to Guangzhou on Sunday to see a few different sites than the industrial and modern-only area of Dongguan. Ed was still visiting and wanted to see some Chinese culture. It wasn’t easy making arrangements. We had to hire a driver for the day, whom I think was a little more than surprised to hear that he was to be a tour guide. I think he was more used to just hauling folks to a spot and picking them up later.

And I even had to be the one to find the tourist spots myself. Okay, some Decca associates did recommend Guangzhou and the Old City. They explained it had some nice historical areas, but did warn us to be wary of pickpockets and such. That was about all we had to go on. I copied down what I could read from the internet on Saturday, and then I had to have someone translate the sheet into Chinese so I could give to our driver.

Nan Yue Museum and Tomb of Emperor Wen Li

Off we went on Sunday morning. After about an hours drive, we could tell we were in the Old City area of Guangzhou, but our driver was evidently having trouble from there. Soon he did find a map at a tourist stand on a corner, and we started circling around the area. Finally we did come to the Nan Yue Museum, the site of the Tomb of Emperor Wen Li.

The museum was pretty impressive. Many of the artifacts were a little irrelevant, but most were amazing. And the display was well done. It rambled through many rooms where you entered. Then you wound your way up some steep steps to traverse the grounds to the tomb itself. The stairs had been enough for me. I didn’t go down in the tight confines of the tomb too.

But the next section was the most amazing. Here they had most of the artifacts found from the excavation of the tomb. It included an enclosure that looked like a suit of armor, but which was actually made of jade all woven together with bright red twine. Truly amazing! There were many other items found at the site, including weapons, and jewelry. Incredible!

Liurong Monastery and Temple of Six Banyan Trees

Circling again with our driver trying to figure where to go next, we finally found the Liurong Monastery or site of the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees. Now, I’ve about been to as many temples in Thailand as I care to go again, but this was a little different. Not quite as gaudy in color and gilding as its Thai equivalents. But it did still have the large Buddha here and there.

The tall pagoda like temple was truly amazing. It was, I guess, about eight stories. But each story was like two small stories. And the stairs were incredibly steep and tight. I just made one level. (Stairs are still difficult in my condition.) My new friend Ed was not to be deterred. As soon as I saw the gleam in his eye when we looked at the place from the street, I knew he would climb it. I can’t even imagine how tight and difficult the last few floors must have been. As it narrowed at the top, he said it got to be more ladder than stairs, and was like passing through a needle. And Ed is no small Asian. No, Ed is far bigger than me. Okay, he’s a little more agile. He got some great pics from the top.

As in all Temples, there were many incense burning urns. But the grounds were interesting in Chinese architecture laced with Buddhist elements. Beautiful bansai trees were plentiful. They coulda made more money selling those than the incense to visitors.

Entering and leaving we were besieged by a large group of beggars. It was evident that foreigners were entreated to contribute to these disabled members of society. They probably make a good living on the tourists here.

South China Botanical Gardens

Ed had mentioned earlier in the week that he wanted to see some local gardens. He used to be a photojournalist for newspapers and in the military, and evidently has an affinity for nature photography. Well, luckily the South China Botanical Gardens were also located in Guangzhou. From the start of our day, we kept telling our driver we wanted to go there.

We did finally arrive just before we had to depart to
get back to Dongguan. Pressed for time, we quickly opted for a golf cart ride through the grounds rather than walking on our own. Good thing we did. The property was huge. It rambled for quite some distance with lake after lake and beautiful forests.

Flowers were not too plentiful at this time of year. And as in most of the area, wildlife was practically non-existent. It just doesn’t seem so natural to see such large ponds without a few ducks, swans, or other birds. But that is the way most things are here. It also seemed a little odd that the grounds included so many apartment buildings. We were told they were the dorms for the workers. I would think they should have put these in the back somewhere, but there they were right on the tour. Our guide even highlighted a cell phone tower as one of the attractions……………… Okay……..

The oddest thing was the advertising and area devoted to another attraction within the attraction. It was a paintball compound. Yep! Right there in the middle of the Gardens.

On whole the Gardens were very beautiful. A new larger area is even due to open in the next month. But this is already very popular for one thing: Weddings! All around the first set of ponds and arched bridges were brides, grooms, and wedding parties. At one area alone we counted four brides posing for pictures.

All in all a very nice day! And we didn’t have any real problems getting to and from Guangzhou! Good place to visit.

All Ed's Photos available from link at the right titled Guangzhou Tour.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Musical Fountains of Dongguan City.

Visitors enjoy fountains in Dongguan City.

A Visit to Dongguan City Center

Wow! Have I ever been busy! I’ve been hosting an associate, Ed S., working with us from Seattle the last two weeks, and entertaining him and keeping his project going has kept me hopping. I had to go to Hong Kong to assist him with Visa on arrival, and then I’ve shown him around the Guangdong Province the last two weeks. We’ve been to Guangzhou, all over Dongguan, and worked very hard daily on the software project that brought Ed here in the first place.

Well last Saturday, I took Ed through the main center plaza of Dongguan City, and there was a lot I had never seen. It is always an amazing tour anyway. There are four museums, many government facilities, including a People’s Hall, the convention center, and fountains and parks that are incredible.

Now I’ve been dragged to the Great Musical Fountain in Grand Haven, Michigan a couple of times. But believe me, Dongguan may have it beat. There wasn’t the theatrical presentation of it’s Michigan counterpart, but they do have fountains dancing to music. And we were there in the daytime. I bet the nighttime is even more spectacular. The size of the fountains was unbelievable too. It was enough that the first one we visited one was at least the size of a football field, but after traversing around the plaza further to the north, there was another even bigger fountain!! It was spectacular.

All this sits amidst incredible buildings. There is the Science and Youth Museum. There is a huge public library open 24 hours a day. The People’s Hall is enormous. The cylindrical music hall was the building I have already featured and written about last year, when it opened and we went to see the Russian National Orchestra perform. There is a statue much like an Alexander Calder piece.

What an incredible plaza? And I’m told that all of it is less than five years old. It is said also to be a modern version of Tiananmen Square. And I bet you had never even heard of Dongguan!

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Tea service waiter in hot pot restaurant, pouring over his shoulder from traditional Chinese long spout teapot to cup.

Restaurant Woes

Getting good service in restaurants in China is another one of those challenges of everyday life. Of course, I shouldn’t complain too much, because I can’t speak their language, but I gotta relate some of the service shortcomings and experiences that confront you on a daily basis here.

The first thing that makes service shortcomings ironic is the fact that there are so many waiters and waitresses in restaurants. Remember now that labor is not too expensive here, so owners seem to be obsessed with quantity of wait staff over quality of the staff. Go anywhere, and you have two people just opening doors for you and then hordes more service staff everywhere.

Now, let me back up right here, and state that most of this is a biased report. It’s based on me being a Westerner, and from my expectation in restaurants that are trying to serve Westerners. So on the other hand, I think I’m relating what is expected by my fellow comrades, and hear it from so many others on a regular basis. And that even goes for those that speak the local language and converse with the waiters in their own language. But it may be that the service I’m describing is desirable to locals.

Nonetheless, you would think that most of these restaurants catering to Westerners would have staff that can speak English. Wrong. If they do it’s often not very good, and is usually isolated to just a few staff members that try to run things and take all the orders. They usually get overworked and are not so good at translation.

“Mice Meat Anyone”

Take our visit to a new Indian restaurant the other night. The lead waitress that spoke fair English came over to take our order and impressively started into a list of the specials recommended for the night. My associate, Mitchell, speaks fluent Mandarin, so she was switching back and forth some between her broken English and Mandarin. Well, you can imagine the double take I had on my face when she mentioned one of the specials: “mice meat”. My jaw must came close to dropping to the table, as I stared at her with a pained expression, trying to decipher if she had really meant what she said. I must admit here, I haven’t been to too many Indian restaurants, and I’ve heard a lot of indescribable dishes being served in this continent.

Mitchell immediately went to flipping through the pages of the menu, and soon interrupted her from proceeding to provide an English lesson: “It’s pronounced mince meat, not mice” as he stated more politely than I can convey here. She blushed and corrected herself. I at least was able to stay and eat in the restaurant.

It was pretty good actually. Wonder what meat it was minced from anyway?

Clear the Table

One of the most irritating things to me around restaurants here is how the staff has good intentions but just doesn’t quite get it. And I figure one of the main reasons for that is really (going back to that earlier point), because there are too many wait staff. The bad thing with this, is that there are so many that they are constantly trying to find something to do. So they stand in the background like vultures waiting for the kill. As soon as you give any inkling you may be finished or nearly finished with something………………. ATTACK! They come in swooping for the kill and snatch away your plate or glass. Woe is ye if you dare to want to suck on the last swill of that beer or scrape the dish with some bread.

And speaking of bread, they seem to think it’s only for the appetizer or soup course. Again, woe is ye if you save some for the main course. Oh no! It’s gone. They come swooping in as soon as they see that spoon drop from your soup dish, and swipe, before you’ve had a chance to defend it, the bread is gone too!

The other night I was sipping a nice drink in Hong Kong. Finished and getting ready to pay the bill, I was savoring that last of the ice as it melted in the glass. But oh no………… Swoosh! Before I could speak a waiter had it gathered and it was gone.

And remember my story about iced tea the other week. For whatever reason, you always get offered another mixed drink or beer, but forget it with iced tea. Why would you ever want another? I guess that’s there reasoning anyway. So they generally….. only generally mind you….. let you keep that iced tea glass a little longer. But get a beer or mixed drink near the bottom, and here they come. I’ve even seen ‘em tag team ya too. One diverts your attention asking if you want another, and SWOOSH away goes the glass by another waiter. “Well, I guess I do want a little more to drink, now that I don’t have anything.”

Turning Tables

One of the last irritants can actually be quite nice at times. It is certainly a contrast from US restaurants. In fact, it is the style in the US that is probably more bothersome. What am I talking about………… I’m talking about paying the bill, or at least trying to pay the bill.

In the US, paying a bill is treated like they treat cleanup of tables in China. SWOOSH, you get that last dish, and that bill is coming whether you want to take another five minutes to finish eating or not. Heck, in many places in the US you will get the bill before you get the food. The restaurant wants that table turned and you are in the seat they wanna give to someone else. That’s the American Way.

Not in China. No, they are much like Europeans here, in that you can probably stay in your seat all night and no one will push you out until closing. I don’t think they know what “table turns” are over here.

But the trouble sometimes with that is that when you do want to leave you may find yourself waiting a while to get out the door. Don’t ask me why, but they just take their time then. They’ve probably swiped all the plates and glasses from your table already, but don’t expect that check too quickly. Of course part of this is the insecurity of management for their staff. So everyone has a very distinct and different function in the process. The waitress has to find someone that can actually write the check or bill; and then when ya pay, he/she has to find someone else to accept it and record and get your change or receipt. It all takes time. So plan on it taking some time….

But don’t think you’re gonna suck on the last of those ice cubes in your drink. The table has been cleared!

Monday, September 18, 2006

Flooded highway on a recent Saturday afternoon, after not so much rain. Traffic narrowed from five lanes to one as cars found highest point to slowly pass through. .... And yes, that is a pedestrian perched on the median barrier waiting to cross the highway.

Read about Driving in China

While home the other week, I had the occasion to read newspapers again. Seems trivial, I know, but I don’t get a newspaper here too often. Now think about it, do you think they sell many English papers here? They actually do print English newspapers in Hong Kong, so I can obtain occasionally, but not often.

Well, reading USA Today was a great treat while in NC. And the most interesting article I read was actually about China. Wouldn’t ya know it? It was all about the perils and tribulations surrounding driving vehicles in this country. I’ll attach a link:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-08-30-china-cars_x.htm

I’ve repeatedly mentioned I was going to write about the roads here, but I haven’t yet put it all together. There is just too much to write about concerning traffic over here. It’s so much that I just don’t know where to start. Anyway here is some comment about it. .

Let me first relate a little bit of a parallel to things here. Back in the ‘80’s, while I was working with Westinghouse I had the occasion to assist in evaluating the startup of a manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia. I remember well how Ken Gallier summed up our team’s collective thoughts that manufacturing wasn’t so much of a concern there, but it was our concern that “surviving the perils of riding the roads of Saudi Arabia would be the greatest challenge facing any ex-pat” assigned to the task of living there. Well, little did I know that I would now live in a country that is even a greater challenge.

Just read the USA Today article. Over 15% of the world’s traffic-related deaths occur in China. Now on first blush, you would understand that considering there are over 1.3 billion people. But then you read that there are only 2% of the world’s cars! That is a pretty big differential.

Now I will tell you that I am not surprised by these statistics. I daily ride a half hour to and from work and home, and it is always an amazing experience. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles constantly switch from lane to lane. Many vehicles are constantly going up and down roads the wrong direction. All the while, people are walking or running across traffic every 100 feet or so. And motorcycles, bicycles, and other slower two or three wheeled vehicles are challenging everyone else by just going wherever they want, in a dare to be killed attitude.

It really boggles my mind that I haven’t seen more wrecks or accidents. How there isn’t an accident every few feet is beyond belief?

Until I saw the USA Today article, I was about convinced things weren’t so bad somehow. I guess the numbers speak otherwise, but it is still amazing there aren’t more accidents. Buckle up tight if you visit here.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

The hard bed in my new apartment.

Back in My Hard Bed Again

Back in China! And back in my own bed! Always great, huh? Maybe the latter ain’t so great in my case. I was, let me count……… I think it was ten different beds (or versions of a bed) over the last couple of weeks, during my trip to the US and back to China.

I finally got back to the bed in my new furnished apartment last Thursday night. Good to be back. But, this bed isn’t quite like home yet. I thought the bed in my last apartment was hard, but this one is more like sleeping on a slab of concrete than it is a mattress. The beds here don’t come with box springs. They are just incredibly hard mattresses on a plywood frame.

I must admit though that I think I like the hard bed better than a few of the soft ones in some of the hotels I slept in over the trip. Some were so soft that just to get out of bed was a real challenge. Whenever my alarm would sound, I always found myself climbing up mounds of down, blankets, and pillows to get to silence the offending noise. When did they start putting a dozen pillows on a bed anyway?

The Chinese just plain like hard beds. I guess it should not be a surprise for a group of people that can sleep on any hard surface. Heck, they sleep sitting or even when standing on the subway in Hong Kong.

At our factory dormitory, we changed the bedding in our guest rooms to better accommodate weary travelers. We did not change the bedding for our own employees. And I was recently in a new nearby Hyatt Hotel that has Western style soft bedding too. In both cases, the catering to Westerners certainly influenced softer bedding.

In the meantime, I have got to go back to Wal-Mart and see if I can find some more bed covers to try to soften mine some more!

Thursday, September 07, 2006

The HOT Sign is On in Hong Kong

I knew it was here somewhere, but these small streets in this area look pretty much all alike. I was scanning down every street, straining my neck over the masses to see. When there ahead down a small alley was the bright red neon: The HOT Sign!

Hallelujah!! Hallelujah!! I had found it! The Krispy Kreme store in Causeway Bay was open and the HOT sign was on! YES!

I have mentioned the new Krispy Kreme store in a couple of other postings, but this was my first chance to go there myself! Ahhhh! What a nice experience! Almost just like home. Okay there was one major exception. I’ll get to that later. The store is located in an affluent area of Causeway Bay between the major Sogo Department Store and two major shopping complexes: Times Square and Lee Garden. The store is about as small as any I’ve ever been in before, ….. and okay, I’ve been in quite a few Krispy Kreme stores. But it still had the doughnut conveyor line encased in glass, just along the right wall as you came inside, a small seating area, and the standard counter displays..

As typical all over China, there were many employees. And I mean many. They didn’t move too much. They didn’t have room to move. They just passed information and doughnuts from one employee to the next.

But the greeting was great! I was immediately “Welcome[d]”, and a kind attendant at the end of the conveyor handed me a hot glazed morsel of dough fresh from the line! Ahhh! How sweet it is! Or was. Tasted just like any “original” back home. And here they were giving a few out to entice visitors. I know they probably went out to impress me a little more since I was a Westerner, but they probably didn’t realize that this was far removed from my first Krispy Kreme experience. Heck, I have been eating KK doughnuts for longer than most of these kids have been alive.

I asked a couple of times of one young lady that had greeted me “Anyone here from North Carolina?” While in High Point last week, an employee at a KK store there (okay I visited that one last week too), told me one of the store employees had come to HK to assist in the opening. But neither this girl nor anyone else in ear’s range seemed to understand my question or were too involved in work to care. They just ignored me and kept trying to sell me more doughnuts.

Okay, here is the big exception. Each original doughnut cost $10HK. That is about $1.29 in US dollars!! And a dozen cost $88HK or over $11 US. Now aren’t ya glad you can buy ‘em cheaper than that in NC. Maybe I’ll try to use my coupons I got in High Point for an extra dozen. The HOT Sign is on in Hong Kong!

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

ABrysoninChina Featured in Here! Dongguan Magazine

I”ve been getting a few extra hits and comments lately. Late last month, just before I headed to the US for a couple of weeks of business, I got interviewed for Dongguan’s Here! Dongguan magazine for this weblog! Yeah…. Me! For this website!

Here! Dongguan is an English magazine primarily devoted to ex-pats living and working around the Guangdong area. It is a must for those of us trying to survive the rigors of life there. It provides good info on happenings, news, and reviews of new Western style restaurants, stores, and bars in the area. The article was printed in the September edition, and I’ve not even seen yet since I haven’t gotten out of Hong Kong with a new China Visa yet.

But here is a link to the article: http://jennyseyes.squarespace.com/stories/

Jenny is the author of the article, and a weblog writer herself. You should also look around her site and enjoy her perspective on Dongguan too.

Nine Hotels in Two Weeks!

Back in Hong Kong! Let me think……. I believe this is my ninth hotel room in the last two weeks, and I was at three more places in Thailand the week before leaving. I don’t know where I am when I wake up. I definitely feel like a “road warrior” now!

And what is it about the differences in beds? Asians prefer firm or hard beds. Translated truly: they like to sleep on slabs as hard as concrete. My new apartment bed is so hard that I keep trying to find additional cover mats to soften it.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I was in three different Marriott Courtyards over the last week, and they were so soft you sink in place. Getting out of these beds is like trying to wade to the side of a water bed to throw yourself over the edge.

Of course, I don’t entirely know where I am anyway. It’s bad enough getting bearings when you wake up in a new hotel. Mix it up with the number that I’ve stayed in over the last few weeks, and I’m lost. I keep getting up and running into walls where the last bathroom entrance was located.

At least I know the Rosedale Hotel, now that I’m back in Hong Kong. It’s become my regular hotel when stopping here. Now I just got to get over the jet lag and get some sleep! It’s 3:30 in the morning, my typical wake up time over the last few weeks!

Monday, September 04, 2006

A Simple Thing: Sweet Tea

Ahhhh for simple things! It’s simple things you miss the most, and when ya get back to ‘em, ya savor ‘em more than ever. Well, I sure came upon one this week: Southern sweet tea! Nothing like it!

Today I stopped at an ole favorite hangout of mine near Clemmons, Ronnie’s. They have great wings that Dominick enjoyed after our golf game. I was enjoying a bomber sandwich and fresh chips and some of the best sweet iced tea. But what was amazing was that every time my cup got half empty, our waitress was refilling it!

And that’s the way it is all over the South! Practically every restaurant in the South has a waitress that calls ya “darlin” and she refills your iced tea every chance she can! And the glasses or cups (as often is the preferred style here) are HUGE!

I’ve practically OD’d on iced tea the last week! It’s been great! Now I go back to China where you can hardly find iced tea. When a Dongguan or Hong Kong restaurant does have iced tea, it’s usually an “iced lemon tea.” And that means it’s loaded with lemon! They usually put half a lemon hanging on the side of the glass. Maybe in slices, but it is a bunch of lemon.

And if you do want iced tea, you better make it clear to the waiter or waitress you want it soon. It seems the Chinese think that iced tea is for dessert. And then if you want more, whoa! “You really can’t be serious,” is the look you get! Chinese waiters just don’t believe you could ever want another… particularly since they’re gonna charge ya for another. Did I say “No refill?” I sure did! You have to pay for every refills! And often each glass is as much as an alcoholic drink! And we ain’t talking about HUGE cups like in NC! NO! Their usually puny little glasses!

I’ll miss sweet iced tea! Particularly the refills and being called “darlin!”

Friday, September 01, 2006

Ernesto Screws Up Plans

What is with my travel luck recently? First I got stuck in Hong Kong by a typhoon a couple of weeks ago, and now I’ve been chased by a hurricane all week in North Carolina!

And Ernesto may have been worse than the typhoon. No, I didn’t miss any flights or get detoured by flooded roads. No, nothing like that. It was worse: MY GOLF GOT RAINED OUT!!

Can you believe it? Here I work hard for days to get a little extra time to play golf in the evening yesterday with an associate from China. And it rains 4” in one day!! Now that is no good for golf! I’ve played in rain, but rain bands of drenching heavy rain wasn’t worth it!

And I haven’t played a North American golf course now in over a year! My associate has never played a golf course in the US. We were really looking forward to a getaway. The computer training was taxing our minds. We needed the diversion. Instead we got to drive back across the state in driving rain!

So far we’ve not seen any significant damage that Ernesto may have caused. We have seen major thunderstorms and a lot of rain. What a bummer!

Now we gotta find a way to get in a round on another day with a compressed schedule. I’m running out of time!

Finding a Rest Stop on Highway 64

Driving down the highway the other day with my associates from Hong Kong, we needed a break from the monotonous solitude of the long, lonely highway 64. We were on our way from Cary to Hickory, a drive that shoulda taken about 3 hours, but was getting longer due the infrequent heavy thunderstorms ahead of Hurricane Ernesto. We almost had to pull off the road a couple of times due to heavy downpours.

Looking for a good clean restroom – not exactly an easy task along this route – it suddenly dawned on me that just up ahead was a unique spot that would work great. Now you are probably thinking I mean Lexington BBQ or one of the other famous pork barbecue diners along this route. But no I knew my associates weren’t hungry and that most didn’t have the biggest nicest rest facilities either. But nearby was a new spot I had seen but never visited: a winery. What better spot?

And it was. As we pulled through the high brick gates and meandered back down the narrow drive through the grape vines, my friends couldn’t figure where we were headed. Sara was guessing it was some kind of residential development. But suddenly looming from behind the grapevines rose a beautiful building on the hill. It looked like a setting right out of Napa Valley wine country. It was no doubt that Richard Childress had patterned this now famous winery after more famous California locations. The architecture was rustic with that California Spanish influence.

Soon my associates had cameras in hand and were running all over the grounds taking pictures of every nook and cranny. It certainly was a beautiful place for photos. The skies were heavily overcast, but it didn’t slow their enthusiasm. They must have taken a hundred photos on their three cameras in a matter of a ½ hour stop. And beautiful shots they got too!

What a place! For those unfamiliar with this local legend, Richard Childress became famous for his NASCAR racing. His teams have been some of the best at left turns. A couple of years ago he decided to take some of his land around his beautiful nearby home – described as a mansion – and put in grape vineyards. The love of this art led him to establish his own wine and now this beautiful winery in Lexington.

Hard to believe NASCAR and wine go together. Childress has done it well though. I was expecting a lot of racecar paraphernalia, but there was very little. There were only a couple of discreet mentions. Otherwise this was all wine complete with up to 20 different wines including four reserve wines. Of course, there was a great wine tasting setup to entice a weary traveler. And shucks – I was driving and couldn’t partake. What a bummer! At least I enjoyed the beauty of the grounds! Very nice!

A Bryson in China