Home Again - Reflections On What We Didn't Like

Where did the 21 days go? Here I am sitting comfortably back at home reflecting on the wonderful adventure of China. We continued to keep so busy that I had no time to add to this blog -- so I'm going to take a few minutes now to recap some observations. And, while the great majority of the trip was absolutely fantastic -- I'm going to divert this one posting to divulge some less-than-fun moments during the trip:

1. Hong Kong is NOT China: Our Scariest Moment: China uses the expression "one country, two systems" to describe its unique reacquisition of Hong Kong -- but it is my observation that there is very little similarity between Hong Kong and the part of mainland China that we visited. And, the border crossing of having to process out of one and then into the other makes it clear that China and Hong Kong are still completely separate entities. For while the border crossing entering mainland China had gone quick and routine when we arrived, our departure from mainland to Hong Kong was anything but routine -- giving us the scariest moments of our trip. We arrived at the border crossing and became part of a mass of people both ahead of us and behind us that we're crossing into Hong Kong. We never did learn why the processing backup occurred -- but we had gotten to about midway in the crowd when, again for unknown reasons, the crowd began to rush the doors. We had already known that the Chinese people do not seem to have any regard for queue jumping (see this article ) in our experiences on the buses, trains, stores, restaurants, etc. But, now, the mass of people just pushed the queue barriers out of the way and forced ahead. We were caught in the middle. We didn't want to disobey the orders of the yelling/indeed screaming officers who were in hand-to-hand fisticuffs with some at the door but we also couldn't stop the crushing crowd as we were moved along against our will. About the same time that we feared that the officers would pull weapons -- the crowd surge paused and we had a-way-too-close view of officers yelling all kinds of demands (none of which we understood -- but we could tell the crowd wasn't responding the way they wanted as they began to get physical with a few).

It was an experience I'd rather not have again. The border crossing that day -- both out-processing from China and in-processing to Hong Kong -- took us 5 hours. It was no fun and left us with more questions about China, its people and government. It is still hard to reconcile in my mind what we had learned about the school systems apparent focus on teaching obedience first -- with the apparent disrespectful -- survival of the fittest -- type behavior demonstrated both by their lack of queuing etiquette and crowd rioting at the border crossing.

2. What We Liked the Least - Toilet Smell, Spitting, and Driver Behavior: First off, toilets: It's pretty well known that China has historically used "squat" toilets rather than the "western style" sit-down type. We knew that and we knew the kids had regular "western style" toilets. We also quickly learned that we could find "western style" toilets for handicapped or elderly (sometimes marked in English "for week" (misspelling for "weak" that was also common). So, the squat toilet really wasn't a huge issue. The real issue became the unbelievable stench in almost every room that had toilets. First I thought perhaps it was because the plumbing can't take paper, and so the used toilet tissue is deposited in a waste basket. That was sometimes a contributing factor, but not often because the wastebaskets frequently had foot operated lids. Then I thought it was just general lack of cleanliness. That too was also sometimes a contributing factor, but not often because even those restrooms with full time cleaning attendants present (and many had them) stunk. I finally came to my own unprovable theory that Chinese plumbing systems are missing the simple U-shaped water trap that keeps the the septic odors from re-entering the room. I obviously don't know if my theory is right -- but I do know that the smell of China's toilets is disgusting.

Second, spitting: One of the many challenges the Chinese government is trying to address is the anti-civilized cultural behavior of spitting by a large portion of the population. When Staci/Martin first told me about this -- I was somewhat dismissive of the notion that the problem might be as widespread as they had observed. I couldn't have been more wrong. While it's clear that there have been successes: I saw/heard no spitting in the nice, new metro systems where apparently laws are clear and there is adequate on-site law enforcement to catch offenders. On the street is a whole different story. And, disgustingly, I'm not just talking about a simple, move to the curb and spit. What is common is to have people walking nearby hocking a loogie with seriously startling sounds. And, given their population density (it's easy to understand why they don't have the same personal space assumptions that we take for granted) -- that nasty sound is often offensively close.

Again, it was hard to wrap my head around the observation that about 10% of the general population and a majority of the government officials continue to wear surgical face masks at all times to protect against H1N1 but the hocking and spitting continues.

Third, driver behavior: It is impossible to adequately describe the experience of being both a pedestrian and a bus user in China. I can not ever imagine wanting to personally drive there. As I previously described, China's drivers demonstrate chaotic lawlessness where the pedestrian has no rights, the drivers make a habit of honking their horns constantly without regard for whether the honking really serves any useful purpose, and with same disrespect for space and sharing demonstrated at the border crossing -- driving is the wheeled version of survival of the fittest -- the ultimate game of automotive "chicken."

Here again, I continue to have great difficulty in understanding why the Chinese government employs a reported 30,000 to monitor and control what its population can see on the internet (even this google blogging site is restricted) and yet it seems to have almost no law enforcement of basic traffic and public sanitation laws.

Those are my rants for today. I share them so that you might get a more complete picture of our experience -- but don't think for a moment that these less-than-best experiences seriously detracted from the wonderful adventure we enjoyed in China.

The Weekend In Guangzho

We just returned from spending Friday and Saturday nights in Guangzhou (pronouced Gwawng-joe) the capital of the Guangdong province in which Shenzhen is located. To and from we took a 55 minute ride to go about 85 miles on a "bullet" train that reached speeds of about 125 mph. The trains were modern and plush -- and the cost was the equivalent of about $10 each way.

The province of Guangdong holds great significance in China both (1) historically: origins of contact with the outside world that reaches back to the second century AD and origins of revolutionary politics that has guided the direction of China; and (2) culturally: origins of Cantonese and their world-respected cuisine. Guangzhou is a city of about 11 million people.

The weekend was filled with fascinating exposure to the city, its people, food and history. We enjoyed long walks through major city parks which gave us lots of opportunity to see families at play and exercise, and visited one history museum and several historical monuments. Surprisingly, the city traffic was less crazy than Shenzhen -- even Lonely Planet guidebook says that the city enjoys "tougher traffic law enforcement" -- and the city seemed better equipped for English-only speakers with more dual-language signage. The subway/metro was most similar to Shenzhen in that it was modern and beautiful.

We exhausted our bodies -- but envigorated our spirits as there was so much to be interested in and learn about. We had many fun encounters with students collecting money for charity, random Chinese tourists who just wanted to put us in their photos, and locals who wanted to teach us their activity with a ball/paddle. We also enjoyed lots of wonderful food.

Upon returning to Shenzhen, we visited their spectacular concert hall and library -- and had a random encounter with a local resident who saw us sampling food from various street vendors and just wanted to converse in English. We chatted for quite a while -- and exchanged email addresses -- so we can keep up the contact.

It is impossible to adequately explain all the wonderful contacts, food and experiences -- but I've put together these two photo collages that will give you the flavor of our wonderful weekend.

Monday to Friday - Dec 7-11 - Part I

Wow! The time is flying and we've been super busy -- and either too busy or too tired from being busy to keep up a daily posting. I have a bit of time now -- so I'll post a few thoughts -- and add to them when I get a chance.

As we often say about life itself -- we wonder where the time has gone and we feel like time is running out too quickly on all we want to experience and learn. It has all been fantastically interesting -- such that our learning continues after our daily experiences, late into the evening both from conversation with the kids and from reading from the many books the kids have here. In addition, we've eaten in the high school cafeteria several times this week that has allowed us to enjoy enlightening conversations with the kids' "contact" teachers -- one in his mid-30's who has been teaching 14 years and the other, age 24, who just started teaching last year. It's been so interesting to be able to learn from them about all aspects of Chinese life, education, food, culture, attitudes.

Rather than writing a daily journal for the week, I'm going to just highlight some of our activities and summarize a tiny bit of what we have learned/experienced.

I'd never even heard of Shenzhen until just a few years ago when our daughter-in-law's brother was here participating in the same English teaching program that the kids are doing. I still remember seeing him on the video-chat program (Gmail Talk) and contacting him for a brief conversation. Now that I've had a first-hand look for myself, allow me to share some background and personal observations (a little of this repeats what I posted previously -- but is helpful to understand what follows):

Shenzhen (pronounced Shen-Jen) is a mega-metropolis just north of the Hong Kong territory that is home to 12 to 14 million people. However, just 25 years ago, it was just a small fishing village. In the 1980's it was designated by the Chinese government as one of the "Special Economic Zones" where capitalism was encouraged and government assisted. Today it ranks in the top of first-tier cities in China along with Shanghai and Beijing and is said to be the number-one Chinese city for quality of life and the richest city in China.

Shenzhen is comprised of several "districts" just like any large US city -- and a new and growing underground metro subway system that appears to be as good as, if not better,than the newer ones in the US like in Washington, DC and Atlanta and far superior to the aging ones in Chicago and New York. Like US big cities, it has huge, mega-destination shopping malls packed with high-end stores that I could never afford to shop at -- as well as the typical big box stores familiar in the US: IKEA, Sams Club, WalMart and electronic/computer/camera stores on a massive scale that I've never seen in the US.

Like all big US cities, it has destination tourist attractions, massive traffic problems (though on a scale and with a seemingly chaotic lawlessness that I've never seen before -- where pedestrians appear to have no right-of-way even in cross walks), seemingly unlimited places to eat and shop, and a wide diversity of income and quality of life for its residents. Like all major US cities, there is clearly many who have little amongst many who have it all.


With that background, I want to explain that the Staci/Martin were assigned to a school which is outside the "Special Economic Zone" of Shenzhen in an "outer district" called Bao'an" (pronounced Bough-On") where they have gotten to experience all of the diversity of Shenzhen. Their nearest "shopping" is truly a rural village which is a 25 minute walk or the equivalent of about 30 cent bus ride away. It has one main, smaller grocery store but lots of crowded stalls and street vendors, and many eating opportunities including a few nicer restaurants (table cloths!) and many "hole-in-the-wall" type diners. One of the nicer restaurants cost us the equivalent of under $15 for all four of us and one of the diners cost us the equivalent of about $5 for complete dinners (four plates of different items plus rice and tea). Yes, that's right -- not $5 each, $5 for all of us. Both served incredibly delicious food -- the diner gave us the opportunity watch them make the spaghetti like noodles that were hand-stretched to the perfect size.

The following picture is our $15 meal (not pictured are two beers, tea and rice -- all for $15)

I'm out of time right now -- and we are headed on a bullet train out of Shenzhen for two nights (more on the trip later) -- so I'll add to this later as well.

Traveling to Staci/Martin's China Home - Sun - Dec 6

Another gorgeous day in Hong Kong -- but it was time to begin our trek to one of the "outer districts" of Shenzhen. The city of Shenzhen is directly north/northwest of the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong (specifically the part known as the "New Territories") but, as Staci/Martin had advised, it is very different than Hong Kong. One of the first signs of the many differences was the formidable border crossing to get from the Hong Kong region into Shenzhen.

We were sure glad we had Staci and Martin to guide us to get to their school accommodations because it would have been a huge challenge to try it by ourselves. Getting to the border crossing would have been the easiest part because in the Hong Kong region, all signage is
duplicated in English -- and this involved only taking the subway to its termination and transferring to an above ground train to Shenzhen. Even the border crossing was pretty typical immigration/customs processes with an additional/preliminary stop and form processing with Chinese government health officials. After leaving the border station -- we proceeded onto the new and nice Shenzhen subway to its northern most termination/stop. Here is where the trip got complicated as we were in a very different environment where we were the only non-Chinese persons to be seen and signage was only written in Chinese. Getting to the school from here entailed finding a rather obscure bus stop for express transit to the Shenzhen airport (a very new, modern and busy airport complete with a Starbucks), then finding the right local bus to a non-descript stop along side of an expressway and walking about 1/2 mile to the school.

I was overwhelmed with happiness to be walking onto the beautiful campus which had been home to Staci/Martin for the past 4 months -- and which I had only seen from the satellite view of Google maps, a few photos and through the computer web cams with which we frequently video-chat. It was fun to get a first-hand view of our accommodations for the next couple weeks (the two dorm rooms the kids have on the 6th floor of one of the three large housing complexes), their private office (on the 4th floor of the main classroom/administrative office building), the cafeteria and the massive gym/sports court/field. The school is a highly regarded senior high school where the 4000 students reside on campus during the weekdays.

Staci/Martin gave us a "home-cooked" meal -- and we filled the evening with lots of conversation about their life and experiences here.

With Staci and Martin

Friday and Saturday have been a blur of activity and conversation with Staci and Martin here in Hong Kong. They arrived at our hostel on Friday morning as neither of them had classes to teach on Friday. It was wonderful to be able to hug them again after 4 months separation. We had great fun catching up and were soon back out on the streets and subway playing tourists together. With both the kids' knowledge of the area (they had visited Hong Kong twice before) and our trusted Lonely Planet guidebook -- we've been on the go experiencing Hong Kong, its neighborhoods, markets, sights and food.

We started our sightseeing in Kowloon where we first went to retrieve the kids' repaired Nikon camera (they had left it there a month before). Thereafter we pushed our bodies, both our feet and our senses, to their limits by taking in as much as we could. Peaceful walks through an amazingly beautiful park (Nan Lian) and Buddhist nunnery (Chi Lin) were followed by visits to crowded and loud street markets (jade, Temple Street, Nathan Road's "Golden Mile") mixed in with local food -- ending the night watching the spectacular "Symphony of Lights" from the Kowloon waterfront. The "symphony" involves the pulsating lights of 44 highrise, waterfront buildings set to music and put on at 8pm each evening.

The display we watched was accompanied by a flotilla of illuminated boats and special musical presentations in celebration of the opening of the 2009 East Asian Games that were opened on Saturday. About the time our feet were telling us that they would take no more abuse for the day, we returned to our hostel to continue our conversations over some supermarket beer and cheetos/snacks.

On Saturday, we renewed the assault on our own bodies/stamina with similar intensity. We started by taking the the streetcars (double decker trams that have been in operation since 1904)

to more markets in the central districts of the city followed by taking the longest series of escalators up the hillside to the zoo/botanical gardens. Again we were fascinated with everything -- and sought out and happened upon many interesting and fun sights -- from the many ginseng merchants to an elaborate wedding that was going on at the cathedral.

Another blog I follow of a guy traveling by motorcycle from Seattle to the tip of South America describes the best moments of travel as "the in-between parts": "They are genuine moments that occur without the direction of guidebooks or behind the guise of local attractions." I agree with him -- and today was full of them as well. But the guidebooks are essential in setting the course for the "in-between parts." And, this afternoon we had just enough information from the guidebook (some city bus route numbers) to get us headed on a curvy, mountainous road to the southern coast of Hong Kong Island with a destination of "Stanley Market." The ride, on an upper level of a city bus, took us along some of the most beautiful beaches and waterfront residential areas -- to another busy market set in a lovely seaside resort.

Following the return ride, we found a local place to try our luck on ordering food -- and ended up with some pretty delicious dishes -- and only one marginal one. Eating is always an adventure of travel.

Walking back to our hotel was an another adventure all to itself -- because it was Saturday night and the city had become swarmed with people -- a density that one must experience to understand. It was interesting -- fascinating even -- but we were also delighted to finally reach the tranquility of our hostel rooms (with a few more beers and snacks -- to fuel our own assessments of the wonderful day in Hong Kong).

Tomorrow we head to the "real" China as we head to Staci/Martin's school.

Day 3 - Sightseeing Hong Kong

Deb and I like to use tripadvisor.com's top rated attractions as a beginning point when we get to explore a new city -- and today was no exception. Our first destination was the spectacular views of Hong Kong from Victoria's Peak -- which can be climbed by a historic tram. We opted to walk the distance of two subway stops so that we could enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of the awakening city -- and we were glad we did. Along the way we happened upon Hong Kong park -- a forested escape from the shopping malls and skyscrapers that surround it. The Park was full of interesting places and plants -- and we were especially delighted with the free and lovely aviary that is home to over 600 birds of 90 different species.Victoria's Peak did provide the promised panoramic views of the city and harbor on a perfectly beautiful day except for the smog that I mentioned in my last posting. Thereafter, we strolled through more significant buildings -- and beautiful fountains/parks to get to the famous Hong Kong institution of some 120+ years -- the Star Ferry boats that carry passengers to Kowloon (once the only way to cross -- it now is more of a respected historical attraction as there has been a cross-harbor tunnel since 1978 and the MTR rapid transit crossing since 1980).

We took the ferry to Kowloon -- and followed the crowd into yet another high-end shopping mall. Just to give you an idea of the size of this mall, I should point out that it had 4 separate Starbucks locations. We only stayed long enough to note that shoe and clothing prices were about the same as in the USA. We then took the MTR to another busy district, Mong Kok, known for its large number of computer and electronic goods vendors.

We made our way back to our hostel by MTR -- to rest our very weary feet for a while -- and make contact with Staci/Martin to coordinate our get together tomorrow. When night fell, we headed back out onto the streets and found a very authentic Chinese noodle house (only one English menu in the place) -- and tried some dishes that we just guessed at -- including fish balls. Eating noodles with chopsticks challenged us -- but we slurped like we saw everyone around us doing -- and filled our bellies, albeit more slowly than those more skilled with chopsticks.

Crowds of people filled the streets this evening -- most smartly dressed and the stores seemed loaded with shoppers. I marveled at the amount of wealth on display here -- as the stores seemed filled to the brim -- especially the high-end jewelers and clothing stores. I made a mental note to do some internet research on average salaries of Hong Kong residents and tourists -- as it has been clear from all our days' activities that this may be ground zero for conspicuous consumption. Also, it is worth noting that while Hong Kong is smaller in square miles than the city of Los Angeles -- it supports about twice as many residents -- some 7 million. By comparison, the city of San Francisco has a population of about 3/4 of one million -- and the city of Portland, Oregon, only 1/2 million. The skyline of Hong Kong makes it easy to understand why it is considered one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

Tomorrow we meet up with Staci and Martin who are joining us here in Hong Kong for a couple of nights before we head to their school/current home!

Our First Night And First Full Day

Arrival into Hong Kong was ontime and immigration/customs processing was fast and easy. We quickly found an ATM and got our first Hong Kong Dollars -- which are currently exchanged for just under $8 Hong Kong Dollars for $1 US Dollar. It was a little odd to have the ATM spit out HK$800 while only reducing my account by US$103. We then waited for the hotel shuttle for a few minutes. The first night we arranged to stay in a nice hotel about 2 miles from the airport because of our late arrival time.

The hotel was super nice with a view out to the popular "cable car" "Ngong Ping" sky tram to one of the largest Buddha statues in the world -- a destination attraction for our first full day. We quickly crashed into the comfortable bed -- about 11:30pm local time but our bodies knew we had been up all night because of the time/date change.

The next morning we had a video chat with Staci/Martin to let them know that we arrived safely and had an extra suitcase full of stuff for them including six pounds (2 Costco boxes) of Cheez-its and 5 lbs of Tillamook Sharp Cheddar (two things Staci/Martin haven't been able to find in China and which they are craving). The suitcase also contains four pounds of Jelly Bellies and four pounds of individually wrapped Lifesavers (for classroom treats) as well as various clothing Staci wanted and some homemade cookies from Martin's dad, Randy.

We leisurely got our first day in Hong Kong started and left our suitcases with the hotel so we could venture out on the nearby sky "cable car". The walk to the cable car took us through a high-end shopping mall that was attached to the hotel -- that reminded us that high-end shopping malls all look the same, with the same stores regardless of country. Thankfully, the food court had unusual local fare and we enjoyed getting reacquainted with chopsticks over lunch.

The cable car ride was fun -- and that's an amazing admission from someone who doesn't like heights -- but the area smog/fog didn't lend itself to amazing photos. At the end of the 30 minute ride we hiked the 260 steps for an up close visit to the Buddha -- and wandered around the nearby monastery and "village."

After collecting our luggage, we made our way on Hong Kong's extensive metro/subway -- called the MTR -- to downtown Hong Kong where we had two nights reserved at the very inexpensive but perfectly located Hong Kong hostel. The private room/bath is rudimentary -- but we could stay here for 4 nights for less than what one night cost us near the airport. It's our kind of place -- the kind of place that allows us to stretch our traveling dollars. Free wi-fi is a bonus!

We made our way out tonight to find some dinner -- and enjoyed one of our favorite past times when traveling -- checking out the local supermarkets. I had to take a picture when I saw where their apples were from!

And We're Off

When I was making the reservations for this trip last August, I noted that departing from Portland would require connecting through Seattle and about $200 per person extra plus the dreaded United Airlines baggage fees -- so we decided to proceed by car to Seattle and leave from there. Thankfully, Asiana Airlines -- the top ranked national airline of South Korea -- offered some great fares ($707 round trip including all taxes/airport fees) from Seattle to Hong Kong with a change of planes in Seoul, South Korea.

So, we drove to Seattle on November 29 -- spent the night and Martin's mom drove us to the Seattle airport this morning for a 1:25pm departure. I am writing this posting from the second leg of the trip -- after having flown 10 1/2 hours from Seattle to Seoul. This flight from Seoul to Hong Kong will take another 3 1/2 hours.

I can't say enough nice things about Asiana Airlines -- the friendly, attentive service reminds me of what flying USED to be like in the USA. We just finished our third full meal (all free - 2 on the first flight to Seoul along with a "snack") and unlimited, free wine and no baggage fees. I don't know what the ratio of flight attendants to passengers is, but it is apparent that it is much higher than USA carriers.

The Seoul airport was beautiful -- though a little confusing as we had to go through yet another security screening to get to our departure gate even though our departure gate was directly across from our arrival gate. Oh, well, better to be more secure and safe.

For those of you who may be interested, by the time we arrive in Hong Kong, we will have "lost" 16 hours of our lives! That's the time difference between west coast USA Pacific Standard Time and Hong Kong time -- as we crossed over the international date line. Our arrival time in Hong Kong is 10:30pm on December 1 even though it will only be 6:30am on December 1 in Seattle. So, you can figure out what time it is in Hong Kong by adding 16 hours to the USA Pacific Standard Time.

For our first night we are staying at a hotel within a couple miles of the Hong Kong International Airport -- where sleep should come easy as we have been up all night. The airport, new 11 years ago, is on a man-made island called Chek Lap Kok off the northern coast of the island of Lantau.

A quick geography lesson: The Hong Kong territory is made up of 4 main areas: (1)"Hong Kong Island" is but one island among 234 others; (2) "Outlying Islands" -- all the other islands including Lantau which is where we stayed the first night; (3) "Kowloon" - the southern tip of the penninsula directly north across Victoria Harbor from Hong Kong and (4)"New Territories" on the mainland adjacent to Kowloon.

A quick political history lesson: Until 1997, the Hong Kong territory was under British rule and so its history is quite different (capitalist system) than that of the People's Republic of China (socialism). In 1997, it was turned over to the People's Republic -- but because of its unique history, it remains politically unique. The Chinese catch phrase for this unique arrangement has been "one country, two systems." Hong Kong is now considered a "Special Administrative Region" of China.

The practical side of traveling to Hong Kong and mainland China: Because of the unique "two systems," a USA passport is all that is required to get into the Hong Kong region however in order to travel into mainland China (where Staci and Martin are working), required us to get special tourist visas -- $130 each for the visas but with special processing fees that resulted in a total cost for both visas of about $325. Interestingly, these visas MUST be obtained before leaving the USA -- as they are unavailable to USA citizens who arrive in Hong Kong without them.

A Little Background On This Trip/This Blog

In August 2009, our youngest daughter (Staci) and her husband (Martin) embarked on a 9-month adventure teaching English in China. The program in which they are participating is described on its web site and provides accommodations, a monthly stipend and reimbursement of air fare. They were placed at a senior high school in the outlying area of Shenzhen, a city of upwards of 14 million people, in southern China directly north of Hong Kong. This google map link will help you understand the geography of their placement -- you can use the controls to change to satellite view and to get a closeup view of Staci/Martin's campus. The school houses about 4000 students who reside at the school on weekdays.

Staci and Martin have been having an incredibly wonderful experience with lots of opportunity for travel -- and have been keeping us informed with their own blog - linked here and frequent Google video chats (they have a private office at the school with computers and high speed internet).

Shortly after their placement, we made plans to visit. We depart November 30 and return on December 21. We will be using this blog to give more details about our planning for and accomplishing this next adventure.