Oct 2014 Beijing

   (e-mailed to family and close friends only)

Dear Oscar, George, Julie, Sarah, Ok, Ines, Sue, Nic, Sally, Steph, Dian, Di, Mercedes, Maria-Elena, Herbie,

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We are in China for a month.  In Beijing with daughter Astra's family, and a week in Hong Kong with son Cass's family including new third grandchild Otto.  Then we are back in London for 2 weeks, and then on Nov-5 to Argentina till March-4.  It's a hard life, but we have to do it...

Beijing has not turned cold yet, and it is shirtsleeve weather.  It really is the most amazing place, and the society is not at all how the British media represents it.  When I first came in the 70s everyone wore Mao suits, there were bicycles 8 deep on the city roads, practically no cars, a few tractors, just the one Friendship hotel for Westerners to stay in, and practically no shops.  People are friendly, streets are wide and tree-lined, exercise machines on pavements all over the place, and the food!!!  I have also travelled in rural China.  I suppose it helps that I have no direct intimate knowledge, but the natives do seem happy.

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Went to a Korean restaurant this evening.  Don't know what half the stuff is, but is was delicious.  And in a Chinese restaurant don't know what any of it is.  So it is best to be with a local who can order for you, otherwise you would just ask for an omelette and miss out on things like tree fungus or sea cucumbers.  Lots of little shared dishes, and you are quite expected to pick and choose.  I remember when I came to a British engineering exhibition in the 70s, northern types were saying "tak away these bloody knitting needles and bring me a knife and fork with meat and two veg", but by the end of the week they were all tucking into Chinese tucker and at least trying to use the chopsticks (it doesn't taste the same without them).

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Later:  It has now turned colder.  Went to a gig of LiJi's (Astra's husband) new band.  Keyboard, drums, base, guitar and LiJi singing.  They were perhaps the first rock band in China in the 80's (though they did no gigs) so they get some cred for that and could be, they hope, regarded as a revival band.  (LiJi was also break-dancing champion of China in the 80's).  They are extremely proficient, and LiJi is a terrific front-man, skinny and with all the moves.  They have toured, playing in China cities, but this was in a bar in Beijing with all their friends.   The bar normally has a quartet of scantily clad go-go girls, and they were doing their interval thing, and LiJi joined them on stage, it was a hoot.  Otherwise LiJi is often away filming, and sends back photos of himself in costume, as a 30's gangster or a Ming war-lord.

Internet speeds seem no better than UK.  The main problem is state censorship.  Various things just don't work (Msoft Outlook, UK weather, Google etc), and because there is some state censorship you assume that it must be that, even if it may be just a temporary glitch.  Strong argument against any freedom that is anything less than near 100%

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Seen in a park:
An automated library, with used books displayed, like a large Kit-Kat machine.
A very young child in a toy car, steering and motion controlled by his dad by radio.
Men power-walking
Thousands of people walking about, not one of them smoking.

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We are off to Hong Kong on Thursday, hope it has quietened down by then.  What are they getting excited about, anyway?  When they were British before 1997 the governor was appointed by Westminster, so what's the diff?

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Now back from Hong Kong:

The demonstrations messed up traffic, but otherwise not noticeable.  If often seems to be the case that people at home see news of some activity where you are, and perhaps send a worried email to you, and you are hardly aware of it on the spot. 

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On Thursday we forgot (for the second time in HK!) the large charger for my buggy battery.  But Cass (thank you Cass!) phoned his office, who collected it, packaged it and DHL-ed it, and it arrived here in Beijing less than 24 hours later!  What is the world coming to!  And another thing: Oak, when he came to London last month, left his bag with his Mac computer and several ritzy lenses in the Madrid airport childrens’ room, and spent the next month rushing around frustratingly with police, airport lost property, and re-supply options.  Then Ines, who came back to London for a week, went to the Madrid airport childrens’ room, and they had it, untouched, in a cupboard!

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Cass left for London for a series of meetings later the same day as we left for Beijing.  We will see him when we get back on Tuesday.

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Amber and Astra are today, Saturday and Monday completing their sessions with a hospital acupuncturist they have tried before and like.  He heats his needles red hot, and they sizzle when he inserts them.  Amber has a double row of pronounced marks all down her back.

Love
Gavin & Amber

 

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