Celebrate!
What a year 2005 has been!! From North Carolina to Atlanta to now, China?? Wow!
Thanks to everyone for your support and blessings! May 2006 be even better for us all!
Happy New Year Everyone!
At the foot of the Tian Tan Big Buddha on Lantau Island of Hong Kong.
A Big Budha Christmas
Well, I had wanted to go on this tour, but I never expected to do it over the Christmas holidays. But, here I was, climbing the stairs to the
Big Buddha. Doesn’t exactly sound like a Christmas story; does it?
The day hadn’t started too well. I got to the ferry terminal in Shenzhen to be told the 10:30 ferry I was planning to ride had been cancelled.
Cancelled! I pleaded with the ticket agent. I told her I had checked the ferry website in advance, and saw no mention of a cancellation. …… She didn’t have much sympathy. She just shrugged her shoulders.
Then my next problem was calling my friends to tell them of my delay. “
Your mobile is cancelled”, were the only English words I could understand on my cell. Cancelled! It was cancelled too? What is this? I have no idea really, but sometimes translations are just not too good. I think they were just telling me I was dialing wrong. Anyway, after a couple of hours of waiting, my friends called me. I was to able explain my dilemma to them and let them know I was very late.
That left a tight schedule to walk from one ferry terminal to another on arrival in Hong Kong. We headed straight for the ferry to Lantau Island. A half hour later, we were. there and finding a cab. Soon I was sitting in the front seat of the taxi, asking my friends all kinds of questions about the
Big Buddha: “How far? How long has it been there? Why?” I sounded like a little kid, and they kept looking at each other for answers.
Suddenly a voice spoke up to my right (remember now, the driver sits on right in Hong Kong), as our cab driver said “It’s a half hour ride. 22 kilometers.” I could tell by the open mouths of my friends in the rear that they had the same reaction that I did:
The cab driver speaks English? I mean he spoke very good English. Suddenly we had a tour guide. “The Big Buddha has been here 11 years. Lantau Island is twice the size of Hong Kong Island. Over there is the biggest beach in Hong Kong…………” on and on he went. We all agreed that Wong Tai See was one of the best cab drivers we had ever had in all of Hong Kong… even if he was a little fast around the curves, and we got far to close to the bumper of a bus.
As we rounded a curve in the hills, he suddenly pointed over his shoulder up the mountains and said: “
There it is! We’ll be there in 10 minutes.” It looked closer, but the highway climbed up a precarious cliffside, which added to the thrill of his speed. And it only got us to the bottom of huge steps to the mammoth Big Buddha, a well deserved name.
We first wandered the grounds of the
Po Lin Monastary. We visited the Welto Temple and Hall of the Great Hero. I didn’t understand much, but everyone was burning incense and getting their fortunes told. A group of monks was entertaining with “kung fu” style martial arts. One broke two blades of steel over his head. They said this was the type monastery where our “Kung Fu” television star got his teachings.
And then the climb! What a climb. Up and up. Why do they always up this stuff up at the top of mountains over here? But it was spectacular. The views were amazing. And thinking of the feat of putting this
23m tall bronze Buddha (over 75feet) on top of this mountain eleven years ago was even more mind-boggling. It took three years of construction after many other years of building the parts in a bronze works factory. Then they had lifted the 202 pieces up here and welded them into place.
For a country not much on religion, this sure made you think otherwise. Although it didn’t seem to be all so perfect. Many people were tossing coins up to the “Devas” around the base, even though the guidebooks said this “would bring bad luck and is forbidden”.
You can read more about this statue and monastery at Wilkopedia, or
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/touring/hkiidistricts/ta_dist_isla1.jhtml.
And I have posted pictures with a link on the right.
No, this wasn’t the usual kind of thing I’ve done on any other Christmas. Of course, I’ve never spent Christmas in China before. But it was a holiday and this seemed more tourist attraction than anything else. That’s why I went. I even made the climb up and down the stairs easily this time.
Happy New Year to All!
The view from Big Buddha, down across the Lo Pin Monastary.
Young Monks doing Kung Fu demonstration.
Up the steps to the Big Budha. It was over 200 steps to the top.
Lobby of the Royal Lagoon, with choir singing and tree trimmed and decorated.
A Royal Lagoon Christmas Eve
I would rather have been around a Christmas tree in the mountains of North Carolina. But the tree at the
Royal Lagoon was big and beautiful. Santa was there, with a choir singing carols, a great buffet of food, and good friends to share the evening. It made being 8,000 miles from home a little more palatable.
My good friend, Lucas had invited me to share the evening with he and his management team from Premier Furniture at the Royal Lagoon for their
Christmas Eve Celebration. I had long heard that this was the place to be on Christmas Eve, if you have to be in Dongguan City. I was not disappointed. We had a big table right off the lobby just behind the choir, but not so close to the buffet as to get food slopped on you.
As I arrived the choir was already in full chorus of hymns and Christmas songs. My friends that make up a Phillipino trio: Wendy, Grace, and Linga, were leading the carols. They are so talented. Name a song and they can play it. And here they were doing Christmas carols too. The choir in white robes and crowns was quite good too. I kept trying to figure if they were from a local school.
As I started snapping pictures (see new link “Royal Lagoon Xmas”),
Santa appeared and the excitement rose. Kids even here were getting excited and giddy. They had evidently already been into some chocolate. And they certainly knew Santa had special meaning on this Christmas Eve.
More of Lucas’s staff arrived, and we began making our way to the
buffet. What a spread of food. There was a sushi table, salad row, covered meats and vegetables, breads, and a big dessert section. I found two more buffet sections (pasta bar and appetizers) after I had stuffed myself to near explosion. And this was just one of at least three restaurants in this large hotel catering to meals like this. The choir was rotating between the different venues to entertain everyone.
As I moved behind the choir for close-ups, a young lady on the end of the back row suddenly said: “Hi Gene!” …… Whoa!? She knew me! Who was this?............... Finally it hit me: It was Rose, one of the hostesses here at the hotel. I sure didn’t recognize her at first in the shiny white robe and crown. So that was it: the choir was actually staff from the hotel. And they were really good. They sang numerous songs. They did dances to more peppy tunes. What a group of employees. This hotel continues to amaze me.
By the end of the evening, Lucas decided to share the
Skyy vodka bottle I had brought for him, with everyone at our table. The hotel staff searched back to the bar and found shot glasses, and we toasted the Christmas season.
The hotel even had a drawing of prizes from massages to laptop computers. We had a couple of winners at our table, so the excitement got more furious. I didn’t win, but at least I won some more new friends and had a good time.
It wasn’t a North Carolina Christmas, but Christmas in China was good!
Merry Christmas to all!
Santa giving out treats.
One of the buffet tables.
Premier Furniture table enjoying the evening.
Kids caroling at Pacific Place Mall in Hong Kong.
Christmas in China
“
Jingle Bells” caroling from the speakers! Children dancing and frolicking in the anticipation of gifts and treats. I sure didn’t expect that here, but that is what awaited my return to my apartment last night, the eve of Christmas Eve.
The
Golden Future Kindergarten across the street was definitely celebrating Christmas. I have seen the decorations for a few weeks, but really didn’t expect this much of a celebration. The street was packed with cars. Parents were escorting brightly dressed kids into the assembly grounds on this Friday evening. The speakers were blaring (I really mean loud) with the sounds of Christmas songs we all know so well. Only these recordings were definitely sung by Asian kids with strong accents and missing the letters l, r, and v. Soon you could see the kids in games of many activities as they danced in their classrooms. They were definitely celebrating!
Earlier in the day I had run back to
Hong Kong for a quick trip to the doctor (stitches all out now!). While on my way to find a hamburger for lunch at Dan Ryan’s, the sound of kids singing carols filled the mall. It was just like being in Woodland or Hanes Mall. Kids on a stage were decked out in Santa hats and bellowing the words to “All I Need for Christmas”, complete with a solo by a little girl missing her two front teeth. It warmed my heart to hear the joy and spirit of the kids. The hamburger was great too!
You expect Christmas in Hong Kong. The British brought the spirit of the season to the island years ago. As I’ve mentioned before the city is ablaze in lights and decorations of the season. Two days are celebrated as official holidays for Christmas. This year it will be observed on Monday and Tuesday.
But back here in the mainland, it is much more subdued. Today is Christmas Eve, and I just got back from work. The plant will go right on operating tomorrow and into next week. I get to observe the Hong Kong holiday schedule, so I have Monday and Tuesday off with most of the rest of the management team. But the plant will go right on working.
So the celebration at the kindergarten was a little unexpected. I think they will be getting into more of the spirit over the years. You know how it is: kids get acquainted with a custom of gifts for Christmas, and they will want more of it.
I do have a few parties with friends. The Sofitel Royal Lagoon nearby has a big
Christmas Celebration tonight. I am going with a friend who is part owner of Premier Furniture. We will probably go do karaoke with his management team afterward. That is a popular in all of Asia. (What will I sing tonight?) Then I go back to Hong Kong on Monday and Tuesday to join friends there in more celebrating.
Thursday night, we even had another famous Decca dinner and celebration. Tony came up to me around 4 PM and told me that this day was a “
Thanksgiving Day” of sorts in southern China. Being the shortest day of the year, families usually get together. So he had just decided to close the plant 5 and those of us in management not with our families would go out to dinner together. Soon we were back in another big private room of the Grand Oriental with about 30 of our associates. And as usual, the toasts and spirits flowed. I couldn’t believe we could just plan and take off to do this in such short notice. They continue to amaze me with their partying. We had a great time.
I just learned “Merry Christmas” in Mandarin. It is something like “shen dah qua lo”. I have no idea how to spell it. I’m having a hard enough pronouncing it. I’m not sure a Rebel can speak Mandarin. Anyway, I need a nap for the next party. But to all my friends around the world:
Merry Christmas to All!
Joining in on the toasts at our "Thanksgiving" dinner celebratarion on the "shortest day of the year".
Christmas lights brighten the Hong Kong harbor from the buildings along Kowloon side.
Shaving in the Street
Yes, I did go to Hong Kong while the WTO meetings were being held. And no, I did not see any of the anarchy and riots by the Korean farmers.
In fact, I didn’t see anything unusual. Okay, I did see a guy in a bathrobe shaving his face on a street corner near Kowloon Park. And there was a mini-McDonalds inside the park too! You find “Mickey D” everywhere here. The guy shaving was doing some kind of advertising stunt for a department store. You think that sells more shaving cream?
Getting around Hong Kong last week was a little confusing. I usually stay in Wan Chai, but it was practically cordoned off from visitors since the convention center where WTO was meeting is in that area. The MTR subway trains were even bypassing the station. We had associates at Decca unable to get to their homes for several days. When I first started down to the MTR on my arrival, I thought it odd to see guards at the doors, and then it dawned on me: they were there because of WTO. You then appreciate their presence.
All in all the WTO Conference went pretty well. Most everyone was orderly. The farmers wanted more attention, and got it without too much controversy. The most dangerous situation was probably not the confrontations with police, even though over a 1000 were arrested stemming from their staged melee Sunday night. No some farmers jumped in the infamous Hong Kong harbor. It’s famous because of the contamination. It was a dangerous act for their own health.
From what I could gauge, and there was a lot of discussion around Hong Kong, public opinion was mostly sympathetic to the farmers, but also prideful of the way the Hong Kong police were orderly and kept control. Damage to property was very minimal.
Businesses are complaining profusely that they lost significant sums over the closure of the area to visitors. On the other hand, the hotel where I stayed probably had more visitors than usual on a Sunday night. The guy in a bathrobe in the park probably caught a cold.
Passersby stare at bathrobed man shaving in street in Hong Kong near Tsim Sha Shui.
Edmund's Birthday
The candle just opened up like a tulip spreading its leaves, and
walah, seven petals spread their wings with a candle on the tip of each. Incredible! I had never seen anything like it. From a torch ready to set off the sprinklers, it became this beautiful flower of little lights. Okay, so it wasn’t as many candles as Edmund really should have had for his birthday (I can say that, since I’m a couple of weeks older than him), but it was spectacular.
My associates had encouraged me to stay in Dongguan an extra day to attend Edmund’s birthday celebration at Decca. It didn’t take much arm twisting. Although it did mean I had to delay my return to Hong Kong to remove the stitches from my leg. But it was a Decca party, and they have been sooooooo good! This one was no different.
We started at the new Grand Oriental Hotel nearby the factory. That’s the place with the live crocodiles in the fish restaurant. Or alligators. Whichever… they’re big. On this night we had a special dining area on the second floor. Twenty-five of the staff assembled around one of the biggest dining tables I’ve ever seen. The glass lazy-Susan was certainly bigger than I had ever seen. It had to be 15 feet across, and at least ¾ “ thick. (The Japanese restaurant nearby my apartment has one as big or bigger in wood, with electric motors and touch switches at every setting. But on the night I was dining there, they never turned it on. I really don’t think it worked. Pretty imposing though.)
We ate on this night, as usual, like we were in the court of a king. Food kept coming. Every time you had enough another tray came out. We had goose. We had chicken. We had noodles. We had soup. We had shrimp. We had fish heads. Okay, they had fish heads. Cooks prepared right in our room. And there was plenty of wine, beer, and hot tea. It was great.
As we departed the building, we lingered in the massive lobby to take in the Christmas decorations. Of course, some of us had to dance with the mechanical
Welcome Santa. And Edmund tried to ride one of the mini-motorcycles. I think he wanted one for his birthday.
Piling into a Decca bus and van, we made our way up to the row of bars in Dongguan City, near my apartment. We had a private karaoke room at the Languifang Bar. Rows of girls in white fury jackets met us at the entry near the bright Christmas tree. Up to our room on the second floor, we bypassed the crowd in the loud disco lounge, common for these type of bars. I first went back to my apartment to pack some things to stay at the Decca “hotel” later that night for an early departure to Hong Kong. The party was already in full swing. A bar shuffleboard table had a big crowd sliding pucks back and forth – no organization – just everyone having fun. Edmund and Tony were soon crowing like they were Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin – only they were singing in Chinese.
I played dice and other games. They love to play drinking games here like this. Anything to make you drink more. And the toasts continued.
They made me sing an Elvis Presley classic:
Only You! It may have been the only one they had in English. Edmund soon joined in with me to help me not sound so bad. The tempo was far too fast, and the pitch was too high for my voice. Musta been a Chinese version. They seemed to enjoy my attempts nonetheless.
At about eleven, the cake came out with the wonderful birthday candle I illustrated at the start of this story. It was truly amazing. You have to check the pictures to get an idea of how it really worked. (See link on right or below.)
Champagne toasts followed (like we hadn’t already done enough toasting over the last three hours). The two waitresses hustled cake to everyone and swept the champagne glasses away before you could get another glass. I guess you were supposed to swig the whole glass during the toast. No seconds on the champagne. You got me?
Edmund even brought a bottle of Belvedere vodka that he had been keeping on ice. We killed the bottle in a matter of minutes through another series of toasts. The shots would have crippled most folks.
I went on back to the Decca hotel for the night. Somehow I had to be on a van to Hong Kong early the next morning. I made it. I wonder how many of my associates were late for work?
A link to the pictures from the party can be found on the right, and can be reached by pasting and going to (please email me with any problems):
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=abrysoninchina&p=1A55&AID=3113002
Petals of tulip open from flaming candle to flowering candle.
Decorations inside the lobby of the Grand Oriental Hotel.
Gene and Vicky dancing with Welcome Santa.
Bar shuffleboard in swing.
Associates gather round table for Edmund's birthday dinner at Grand Oriental Hotel.
Me and Air Conditioning
I was relating some of my plight with air conditioners the other day to my sister, and she recognized how they have been a bane to my travel woes over the years.
Many of you may have heard my story about my visiting Saudi Arabia in the early ‘80s. I was being toured around Riyadh by an Englishman who was the Managing Director for a royal sheik. We were in a very nice Mercedes Benz. Only it was incredibly hot. Temperatures were easily cresting 100° F daily. And the car was like an oven. I asked the English Director what was wrong with the air conditioner, and he explained that they could not get it to cool. When he abandoned the car to enter a building, as I sat there waiting in the car, I couldn’t take it anymore and started studying the controls from my rear seat. I easily spied a concern, and motioned the guard and driver in the front seat to “
slide the bar control to the blue”. Instant cool air! I was a savior. The driver and guard started praising me as if I was Allah reincarnated. They were sure ready to sacrifice a lamb or first born for me.
Well, the opposite of that is happening here. As much as the Chinese are incredibly conscientious about energy, they have some odd ways about it. In the heat of the year (which is almost always) air conditioners are shut off as soon as possible. Conference rooms and dining rooms do not get A/C until the very last minute. And then they crank the thermostat down and fan up to the point of where they can freeze a penguin. You walk in a room, and the cool air is blasting. As soon as the last person moves out they turn it off, even though another group may be in to the room again in a few minutes!??!
Now, it’s December and it’s cold. As I’ve mentioned before, there is practically no heat in any buildings. Everyone seems content to just wear jackets all day long. I find myself visiting the finishing line regularly to walk through an oven to warm up. It’s the only place I can find heat!
You would think when I get in a I could warm up. No, no such luck! The drivers are adamant about continuing to operate with the A/C on, even though it’s below 50° C. I hop in a van, and immediately demand they turn off the air. No, they just mumble something and wave their hands with something like “the car won’t run without the air conditioner” … or something I sure is the equal in Mandarin. They may turn down the control (from that infamous blue area), or they will give me access to the controls in the rear. So often I’ve got heat blasting from the back seat vents, while they have cool air blasting from the front vents. Go figure!?? I gotta get back to the finishing room oven.
Christmas decorations in the Bryson apartment.
Christmas Trees
It finally got a little warmer here. Last week was cold!! I mentioned before that it got down to 5° C. Well, that may not sound chilly, but when there are
NO heated buildings
anywhere, you have a hard time ever getting warm. I’ve felt a cold deep to my bones all week. And my apartment has been like an icebox – absolutely no heat, barring the small space heater I recently procured.
I took the warmer weather on Sunday to walk up the street. McDonalds was interesting with a huge bouncy playground out front for kids. The Mickey stood taller than me. Kids were all over it. And yes, the double cheeseburger was delicious!
Wandering on over to the Ole´ department store, I bought a few things for my apartment. I even found a small Santa candle to try to get in the Christmas spirit. A few of the department stores do have large Christmas trees out front, so it’s not entirely barren of decorations around here. Our apartment even put up a Christmas tree in the lobby, and draped a few plants with colorful garlands. By the look of the decorations, I imagine they’ve been doing this for us Westerners inhabiting the complex for a few years. But you would think they would get the tree a little straighter. It looks like the leaning tower of Chrismon.
As I was leaving the Ole´, I thought it odd that the department store was not selling Christmas trees. I regretted not getting one at Wal-Mart a few nights before, but I was touring some friends visiting from HBF, and shopping was not on the agenda. Just as I had given up hope at the Ole´ and ready for a taxi, there it was: a large Christmas tree display. They even had trimmings and decorations of a wide variety.
I bought two trees, one for my apartment, and a very small one for my office. May as well try to spread the spirit a little in my own way. Merry Christmas!
New World Garden, Building 5, Christmas Tree. (Picture is not crooked, that's the tree.)
New Phone Number
My cell phone has been signaling text messages to me every couple of hours this week. No I’m not that popular. I haven’t even been able to read any of them:
话号码改变了。 如果电话号码开始了与4,
它现在有8
作为前缀。. After getting a translation the first time I received one, I could begin to see a trend and could tell what most of the others meant.
I was being told
my cell phone number is changing! Yes, the authorities have decided that the seven digits is not enough and have added an eighth. Anyone with a number that starts with 4, now gets an 8 in front, and anyone with any other starting number, gets an additional 2 prefix. See
http://www.countrycallingcodes.com/ for assistance.
So now my cell number for Dongguan is:
(0769) 8486 8935. Now you must figure out how to dial. I can’t begin to tell you all the codes. If you are in Guangdong Province, you probably only need the last eight digits. If from the US, you probably need to call 011 86 769 8486 8935.
Sorry about forcing you to change any recorded settings for my new number. Well, think about me. I am still changing the numbers for all my associates and friends. And the phones here aren’t intuitive in changing more than one number in the same fashion nor in an easy fashion. I can’t just go to the front of the number to edit. No, I have to erase a whole number to put in a prefix. And if I record someone as a speed dial, I still have to change their main number and their speed dial. But at least my cell phone here has English:
very important.BTW, while at it, an explanation on addresses here. This is my address for our
Dongguan factory:
Dongguan Decca Furniture LTD.Lot 25-36 Nan Chu Industrial Estate
Dalingshan Town
Dongguan City, Guangdong Province
China
Tel: (0769) 8335-1335
Fax: (0769) 8335-1466
Hong Kong Address:
Decca Furniture LTD.2/F Decca Industrial Centre
21 Cheung Lee Street
Chaiwan, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2896-2649
Fax: (852) 2558 3177
Personal Apartment Address:
Gene BrysonDongguan New World Garden
Garden View Terrace
Building 5 16C
Dongcheng Road
Dongguan City, P.R.C.
Tel: (0769) 2276 3547
I keep being reminded that mail to China is not very efficient. Please refer to my Hong Kong business address for any correspondence. Our company drivers deliver mail from that location to our factory on a daily basis, for a safer more efficient process.
Hospitals and Xmas Lights
Well, the Christmas lights in Hong Kong sure looked great this week! Dancing elves and snowmen lit against the sides of 30-40 story buildings.
Only, I had not intended to see the lights of Hong Kong this week! No, that was not at all in my plans. It worked out that way though. …………… I’ll try to keep this story short and simple and leave out pictures:
I cut my leg. A nasty, deep cut. Ended up in two emergency rooms and took nine sutures to repair. It wasn’t all
that serious, but under the circumstances of my medical history, I took some extra precaution and care.
It was part dumb mistake, and part bad luck that caused the days events to spin into an emergency. I had been walking through the plant after lunch on Monday, when I brushed up against a large metal mold. I thought I had just bumped it too hard. But my leg really felt wet. I couldn’t understand why until I pulled up my trousers and saw the cut?
It wasn’t pretty. I don’t like blood. This was a lot of blood. I had ripped open a deep, long gash. Ms. Vicky was with me, and with one look she told me to stop, and she rushed off for the cavalry. Soon I had several Decca associates hovering around me to wash my wound and put me in a seat (the latter being pretty important since I was beginning to feel a little woozy).
Soon, a group of workers fashioned a cart using a chair on a pallet pulled by a hand jack, and soon I was whisked through the plant, down an elevator, to a van awaiting in the basement of the plant. Xia Bao, Eric, and Vicky jumped in with me and off we headed to the Dongguan Hospital, about 30 minutes away.
I was feeling better now that the blood had stopped gushing. But they were more than a little concerned about me. As we wheeled into the lobby of the hospital, Eric and Vicky went running for aid. A kind nurse rolled a wheelchair out to the van and raced me into an emergency room.
And there she left me! Not only left me, but left me right at the foot of a table where a poor guy was getting attention to some major head injuries. A nurse and doctor were dabbing gauze around his head. This wasn’t what I needed to see. And why had I been wheeled up next to him in a relatively large room?
Fortunately before I passed out from watching the emergency care of this poor guy, someone pulled me to another corner and had me get on a table. By then Eric and Vicky had showed up and tried explaining my medical documents with explanations of hemachromatosis, hematomy, and other terms that no one seemed to understand. A doctor looked at the wound, and through translation explained that it was not too severe and could be easily managed. But we concluded that since he didn’t understand the other terms of my conditions that it was best I get care in Hong Kong. So he just cleaned and wrapped it.
Off we went again to go back to the plant for passport and another driver to the border. Fearing I would not be able to walk through Customs, my caring associates found me crutches. I took tried one out, and it came only to my elbow. Now how was I supposed to use this? In their continued concern and caring way, they wanted to lengthen it to my height, but as I showed them it only expanded another two inches, when six were needed.
I made it through Customs without a crutch. We arrived into Hong Kong, and after calling my personal doctor, Dr. Simon, he recommended we go to the Adventist Hospital. The view was spectacular. The hospital sat atop the Peak area, where I have previously been and shown pictures of the spectacular views of the city. It was even more spectacular here at night.
Inside, we called Dr. Simon, and he said he would be there in 15 minutes.
He would be there! Can you believe it? Wow! My personal doctor coming directly over! And he proceeded to handled all my care personally. I wasn’t so sure about his capability at times. Like when he was preparing to cauterize an artery, he asked the nurse which button to push. Of course, he turned to me to ease my fears by telling me he just didn’t know
this machine. He had been in the British Army for four years, so I knew he could handle cuts and wounds.
Nine sutures later I was tied up sufficiently. He had done it all. He did confide that he did not do a “
plastic surgery” job. As he put it, he didn’t figure I needed a “
pretty leg”. I guess he was right. I really didn’t care at the time. I was not bleeding!
Vicky stayed with me throughout the ordeal. She has become a great confidant and friend. I’m glad she was there. Of course, I had to refund her for paying the bill at the first hospital. It had cost 5.5 RMB. That is less than $1 US. Can you believe that I visited an emergency room, had a doctor check my wound, and had the wound cleaned and wrapped for less than a dollar?!?!
Now the Adventist care costs a little more. But still not too bad. Medical care here is lower cost, primarily since lawsuits are limited. So insurance costs remain low, keeping medical costs low. It was still many multiples over the cost of the China hospital!
I’m okay now. The medical care was interesting. And I know that I am in good hands between the folks here at Decca and with available medical care in Hong Kong. I’ll save everyone from any pictures of my leg for now.
Cold Jet Planes
My comment about the cold air in airplanes got an interesting response the other day. I didn’t know my website was getting such activity, but out of the blue I got this email the other day:From: Derek MacK.....
To: brccbryson@aol.comSubject: Cold jet planes
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2005 09:45:50 -0700
I was reading your blog the other day and noted that you were wondering about the temperature in the airplane on long flights. The problem is one of energy. In order to heat the air in the plane they have to burn precious fuel and exchange the air in the cabin more often. Some airlines actually offer the pilots a bonus based on fuel consumption (or more correctly – a lack thereof). It burns more fuel to go to fast, climb to high or heat the cabin to much. So… its often slow, cold and low if the pilot wants to make a few bucks on the fuel bonus. On many airlines (especially these days) it’s not about the passengers anymore. I enjoy reading your blog as I have spent some time in China over the years. Merry Christmas. D MacK....Vice President - Compression VaporTech Energy Services Inc.Calgary, Alberta CanadaWell, he should know. I don’t open the website to comments anymore. You wouldn’t believe the spam I was getting until I closed that feature. But I welcome readers to use the link to email me messages. Derek was kind enough to do that. (Remember, that it is nice to hear from you too.) Thanks for the info D. MacK....!
Whistling Winds
Did you know wind can really whistle through cracks in windows! It sure can at sixteen stories up in an exposed apartment. I awoke yesterday to a shrill whistle as the wind whipped outside and pushed its way through every nook and joint in this place.
A cold front came in overnight. Or it was still coming in. And contributing to a chill throughout the tiny flat I now call home. Tight construction is not a trait of the contractors here.
Reading the forecast, I had made my way back to Wal-Mart yesterday. I bought a heater and thicker blanket. Sure glad I had those this morning. My German friend, Ben, had told me a couple of weeks ago, that I better buy a heater before the winter set in. Somehow the Chinese don’t consider it necessary to have heat in homes. Sure they put three window air conditioners in the apartment, but no provision for warming. I guess that tells me I shouldn’t expect many cool nights. But sure glad I had it this morning.
It was to get down to 12° degrees. That’s Celsius. Okay, I know that isn’t so cold. Around 50° F. But with the wind and the change from the usual here, it is definitely a chill in the air. ……… Still a lot warmer than Denver’s 19 or Advance’s 37. You know, come to think of it, it is rather pleasant. Time for a walk.
17 Hours and 6 Movies
How do pilots stand these long flights in the cramped quarters of a cockpit? It’s bad enough in the back of a 747 crammed into an Economy seat. At least we can get up to walk around the section – don’t dare step into First Class or Business, mind you. But for seventeen long hours, there you are stuck in a narrow seat staring at every movie released in the last six months that doesn’t have too much violence, sex, or references to plane crashes.
Until you do it, you just can’t fathom how long it is to get across this planet to another side. Seventeen long hours in a plane. Wow! That just saps you dry. You leave one day, arrive a day later, and have a headache from the sleep depravation you’ve endured.
Sure, you try to get a few winks. In the Economy cabin that means sitting almost straight up in a narrow seat. Yea, it reclines a little, if you don’t mind the guy behind you banging his knees into the back of the seat. And why do the headrests jut out so far to crook your head downward? Soon ya find yourself falling over on the shoulder of your neighbor - hopefully someone with a soft shoulder who doesn’t mind.
The flight back on Monday was well over seventeen hours. It had only taken fourteen hours to go east with the wind. Returning to China puts you into the wind and slows down things considerably. We flew right up over those barren territories of Canada and over the Artic Circle before rolling back southward over Siberia and the bulk of China. Did you know the sea above Canada was known as the Beaufort Sea? How did we get a good Southern name up there?
I watched
Batman Begins,
Must Love Dogs,
Bad News Bears (boy was that bad), some poor international thriller with a James Bond like character , and napped as much as I could through two other movies. Of course, wouldn’t ya know it: I had just seen
Batman Begins. But it was good to finally see a good version
of Must Love Dogs. I had purchased the DVD of it here, and found it to be one of those hand recorded pirated versions. I couldn’t figure out what all the extra chatter was at first, until a big shadow of a person sat down and blocked the hand held recorder and thus, the image was totally lost on the screen. All you can get here are pirated movies, and with that experience I learned to never buy the newest releases. Better to wait and hope it is a copy of a real video versus a hand recording.
And why are plane cabins so cold. Every few minutes my neighbors were reaching to try to turn down the little nozzles of cool air. It didn’t seem to make any difference to the cabin. It was cold. At least they provide blankets on these long flights.
I was fortunate to not have a mate in the next seat of the return. There were several couples on their way to adopt babies in the cabin. But unlike the flight to the States of a few weeks before, with 14 babies, this one had none. Sure made for a quieter flight.
At least it was warm when I got into Hong Kong. Nice to not need a jacket. A good nights’ sleep and I was feeling better. Still not quite sure what day and time it is yet though.
At the foot of the Tian Tan Big Buddha on Lantau Island of Hong Kong. 
The view from Big Buddha, down across the Lo Pin Monastary. 
Young Monks doing Kung Fu demonstration. 
Up the steps to the Big Budha. It was over 200 steps to the top. 
Lobby of the Royal Lagoon, with choir singing and tree trimmed and decorated. 
Premier Furniture table enjoying the evening. 
Kids caroling at Pacific Place Mall in Hong Kong. 
Joining in on the toasts at our "Thanksgiving" dinner celebratarion on the "shortest day of the year". 
Christmas lights brighten the Hong Kong harbor from the buildings along Kowloon side. 
Passersby stare at bathrobed man shaving in street in Hong Kong near Tsim Sha Shui. 
Petals of tulip open from flaming candle to flowering candle. 
Decorations inside the lobby of the Grand Oriental Hotel. 
Gene and Vicky dancing with Welcome Santa. 
Associates gather round table for Edmund's birthday dinner at Grand Oriental Hotel. 
Christmas decorations in the Bryson apartment. 
New World Garden, Building 5, Christmas Tree. (Picture is not crooked, that's the tree.) 
