China (Pingyao, Xi'an, Chegdu, Shanghai) and Macau

I took a trip yesterday to this tiny, tiny island off the coast of Hong Kong called Macau. It was once the silk trading post of Asia and one of the most important trading posts in the world. That's until the rest of the world clued in, into the value of silk, and started colonizing islands near Macau...i.e., the British and Hong Kong.

It was discovered by the Portuaguese back at the start of the 16th century and today you can still see many remnants of Portuguese life..such as the food (LOVE my Portuguese custard tarts), the architecture (colonial buildings), the religion (Catholic churches) and the language (signs in Portuguese and Cantonese; Portuguese is still considered an official language). But who are we kidding? Macau is 99% Chinese today. Didn't really run into many Albertos youknowwhatImsayin?

Anyways, enough of the history lesson. Today the 2.5 sq km island has become bastardized and is full of Casinos and hotels. The Casino magnate, Steve Wynn, is building the exact same hotel he has in Las Vegas. The duty free port is turning into the Las Vegas of Asia. Nice place to get away if you gamble and like to spend money. It's about an hour away from Hong Kong. You take a high speed Jet Foil (no not like a hovercraft - I was 'confused' as well). It's basically a ferry that goes really really fast and has two skis in the front. Picture putting two skis in the front of a boat and there is your Jet Foil.

One thing about China, is you have to carefully read the signs and expect the minimum....because if you take all their propaganda and signage litterally, you may be disappointed. Like calling the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest in the Temple of Heaven (Beijing), "civilization's most precious treasure". Whoa. Really? I did not know that.

Or how about the Oriental Pear Tower, pictured here, declared the tallest tower in the world at around 468 metres. Really? In the World's Most Famous Towers display at the Oriental Pearl Tower, where was the CN Tower (at 553 metres) or the Eiffel Tower, or Empire State Building for that matter. BUT they did have Mexico's Torre Mayor on display (at 225 metres).

Anyways, my point is not to rant about the Chinese. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience in more ways than I could have imagined. It's a culture in transition. I take back the comment on China becoming the next empire however. After being there, you realize that their market operates in La La land. Its currency is not traded internationally and is pegged against the Hong Kong dollar. There is really no quality control in China, like the rest of the Western world which drives up the bottom line costs on our product. If China wanted to compete globally, there is no way that other countries would say, "yeah sure, we'll continue following the rules, while you guys do what you want". That being said, are the Chinese going to fall in the demonic trap of North Americans that constantly want more goods and better technologies...for no other reason...other than why not? If no, then China will do ok. If people are happy with the basic necessities then China doesn't need the rest of the world. But who are we kidding? The Chinese are going to want more 'things'...just like the rest of the world.

Anyway, my trip in China lasted a couple of weeks. I was in Pingyao (pronounced Ping-yow), Xi'an (pronounced She-an) , Chengdu (pronounced Chang-do), Shanghai...well you know how to pronounce it. I liked Pingyao the most by far because it was a 'quaint' village of 1 million people unlike the other cities of 5-17 million people. It reminded me of the village, Parmistan, in the 80's movie Gymkata. Yes, I did go Gymkata to all you ninja fans out there.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089243/

All the places in China I visited were on the Mid Eastern interior and the Eastern coastline. I will draw up a map one of these days to track my route. I liked Pingyao the most because it was this really ancient city that STILL felt ancient. Apart from all the Chinese tour groups waving their flags and taking their pictures with me (like I was a celebrity), I felt like I was taken back in time. It was all about the people watching. There's nothing quite like watching a cart full of hay and human caca ('the morning soil'), first thing in the morning, being carried down the street to be sold as fetilizer. Or taking pictures of a wedding parade go by, as the firecrackers dragged behind the electric carts snake towards me and almost explode at my feet. Or saying Nee-how and nee-how ma and watching the expressions on the Chinese faces.

Anyways, Chengdu was all about the Pandas and Xi'an was all about the Terracotta Warriors. Here are some pics. Shanghai was all about the smog and the freakin congestion of people and getting a new credit card sent to me. Don't ask. Didn't lose my card this time. Just some good ol' fraud happening at a tea house I visited in Beijing.

I traveled with this really cool Aussie for most of my trip. Paul, 48 and from Australia, had done and seen it all. It was good to have somebody to talk/ complain to on the night trains, as someone was hawking a big loogie next to you or some little kid was peeing in between the train cars. And what better way to spend a good night's sleep crammed in a 6 bunk bed compartment with 5 other Chinese dudes and no air conditioning. Mmm mm mmm, is that eau de onion I smell?

Finally, I have some important news to make. While traveling, Caroline, my ex-girlfriend (affectionately known to me as 'Bunny'), and I started talking again. After many emails and phone calls I am happy to say that we are back together again. She is the love of my life and I know now what I truly want. I want to be with her and only her. Can't wait to see her again to SHOW her. BTW, use Skype at http://www.skype.com/ and download it for free and buy credits to call land lines or cell phones from your computer...dirt cheap...like C$3 for three hours to Canada.

I am still have two months left of this trip and I am looking forward to Europe. I am flying to London, England tonight and will be staying with my ex-girlfriend Lisa Sanguedolce for a few days as I check out the UK. After that, we'll see. Germany, France, Sweden, maybe Spain, maybe Eastern Europe. It's all up in the air. Day by day, I'll take it from there.

Hope everyone is well. Talk to you soon.

p.s. Pictures to come later. I got to go catch a train. Ciao ciao