Pothole Season
Ah, it’s roadwork season in Dongguan. Yes, the hot spell ended with a flurry of typhoons, followed by that scourge of every road system, the pothole. And we do have our share here.
When it was raining for days on end (at least at seemed that way), the roads were taking a beating from the heavy truck traffic on water soaked asphalt. As is often the case, the water got under and loosened the tarmac enough for trucks and other heavy vehicles to pull out huge chunks.
Driving through one downpour to get home one recent night, my driver didn’t see one of the potholes. I sure felt it. The car sounded and felt like it had fallen into an abyss. The jerk of my head was strong enough to jar my teeth as they slammed against each other. The next day we could see the huge pothole, and several more along the highway.
So, China road crews have sprung into action. Repair work is underway up and down the highways. Only the safety element NOT employed at these construction repair sites is even more startling. Never a country to take up too much space to do anything that could hamper traffic; only one little area is ever consumed in any repair. It almost looks like there is a goal of not taking up more space.
The warning area in front of the repair work is usually limited to about 2 car lengths. What is the stopping distance of a car doing 80 km/hr when it sees such a barrier and has to move over? Let’s just say, I wouldn’t want to be a road crew worker out there in that little space!
This is full work area, and only barriers and warning for the construction in this lane. At least they put up the red flags at this one.
Labels: China roads, Dongguan, Life in China
Sunset over Harbour Plaza Golf Club at end of long day with the One for the Road Golf Society.
Labels: Dongguan, Golf, Life in China
A Winning Day of Golf
Nothing like a good round of golf, especially when you win. Even if it takes six hours.
That was the case last Friday. It was the monthly One for the Road Golf Society outing. And this one was at a new venue, the Harbour Plaza Golf Club in Houjie. It was a great time, as usually is the case with these little mini-tournaments. But the Harbour Plaza folks were even more gracious in making it a very hospitable and most enjoyable day.
The week had been incredibly stormy, so it was really a surprise we were able to play at all. But arriving at the course by chartered bus for the 30 minute ride, we found beautiful fairways under only partly cloudy skies. We did have to stop several times due to lightning, but it really didn’t dampen the mood. That just gave us a little more time to converse and share the beer from the Pub.
But by evening, our last group, me included, had to finish in the dark. We stumbled in with a bogey on the 18th when we couldn’t find but one ball hit to the green in our “scramble” format. Maybe one was in the cup and we never knew it. Oh well, we still won the tournament by several strokes.
These outings bring together an interesting mix of ex-pats from the Dongguan area. Fifteen teed up on this day. We had hoped for 25, but threatening weather and business commitments reduced the attendance at the last minute. It still didn’t dampen the mood for those of us that attended. It is always good to get together in such a jovial and enjoyable atmosphere to play golf. And as the day winds down, we all seem to make our way back to the Pub to share in more golf tales.
All in all, a very nice day.
Jimmy & Roger watch Carl sink putt for winning team (included me - I was behind camera).
Labels: Dongguan, Golf, Life in China
Delaware Senator with PKD Needs Kidney Transplant Too
I receive several alerts for news situations to help keep me informed about current events in this faraway land. As I’ve often stated it can be difficult to get the news here. Again today, (for example) I got to watch Samantha Brown climb to the top of the Cathedral of Seville, instead of the ABC Evening News,………. for probably the 200th time!!! [See previous posting.]
Anyway, a recent headline in one of my alerts really caught my attention: Senator Bunting Needs Kidney Transplant. As I read on, I found out that this was George Bunting Jr., a State Senator of Delaware. Of course, I had never heard of this state senator from Delaware, but the news of his situation is all too familiar. He too suffers from polycystic kidney disease and rapid deterioration has led to the urgent need for a transplant or at least dialysis.
I’m only a few years younger than the Delaware State Senator. I have not reached an urgent need for dialysis or transplant. However, I’m getting closer by the day. The news states the senator may have family members eligible to donate. So far no one has worked out for me. In his urgent need, I hope someone matches soon for him. I still need someone.
I also hope Senator Bunting will use his position to bring some more information to the public to understand the great need for transplant donors, and the need for more people to at least sign up as a donor. Please give it thought and read the informative websites in the right column on what and how to be sure you are a donor. Help Save A Life!
And Good Luck Senator Bunting.
Labels: kidney donation, kidney transplant, PKD
A Big Challenge
Yes, China has a lot to learn and improve. The news seems to relish the bash China reports lately. There also seems to be a lot of fodder for it, toys, tires, food.
At least a few positive reports are getting through. The other day ABC had a nice report about a teddy bear vendor that goes through extensive efforts to assure good products. My company does what it can for assuring high quality, safe products too. But this is a big, poor country. One has to realize how big this place is to imagine the challenge. The US is not perfect, and went through similar growing pains in past centuries. China is just catching up and has a lot to improve.
Just remember too, that Japan was one considered to be a major producer of cheap products. It reversed that paradigm to be considered the world’s foremost producer of quality products. China is similarly challenged now. Will it embrace and do the right things. Only time will tell.
Labels: China Business, Toy Recall
Let's Go This Way!?!?
I’ve often mentioned how driving can be quite adventurous here in China. It’s hard for me to believe myself sometimes, but I’ve practically become immune to the crazy driving. However, every once in a while you just come upon something that just shows how crazy it can really be.
The car in the picture above met an unfortunate fate with a piling the other morning. Only the piling was in the pedestrian crosswalk area of a traffic island between the straight lane and a right turn lane. Why the car decided to use the pedestrian area is anyone’s guess. But for whatever reason, it ended up on top of the stone piling.
Here you can see one of the pilings on the right. The car ran over the other one. It's sitting up on part of it.
To Visit Wal-Mart in China
Coming to visit Dongguan? I enjoy having visitors here. But my co-workers just can’t seem to understand why I take foreigners to Wal-Mart. The locals enjoy the place, but don’t see why I would ever want to take an American or Frenchman to a big shopping store. But to any visitor that has made the trip with me will tell you, it is a worthwhile destination!
Where else can you really see how China is progressing? Where else can you see thousands of shoppers at one time? Where else can you find almost anything of interest to a Chinese consumer? Where else can you not only buy cheap goods, but taste tea, get a shampoo and haircut, or try unique foods of the region?
Wal-Mart went through a big learning curve to understand the local consumer. They tried frozen foods, packaged foods, and big home items. They learned they had to go with fresh meats and fishes. Now you can scoop your fish right out of the massive tanks. Live crabs are available. In five minutes I can whisk someone through the meat and produce area and give them a real flavor of the local foods.
MSNBC has studied Wal-Mart in China closely, and provides a great insight into the phenomenon in a recent new article. (Click here for What's on the Shelves in China's Wal-Marts.) Be sure to also check the slide shows and videos associated with the posting.
Labels: Life in China, Wal-Mart
Chinese Valentine's Day
Even in China, the florists and shop owners get their way with holidays. All over this weekend, all you keep hearing is that it’s Valentine’s Day! In August? That’s what they say! Chinese Valentine’s Day.
Seems they really just get an extra day for this and that. Every so often, almost out of nowhere, suddenly you hear of a duplicate holiday, with the extra due to the different Chinese calendar.
Today on TV and with the new phone spam, advertisement after advertisement hailing the lovers day is being broadcast to sell a few more of every imaginable item. It doesn’t matter: homes, flowers, cds, lingerie, cars. They all are advertising the day to sell a little more of all kinds of items.
For me, August just doesn’t seem right for Valentine’s Day. It’s sorta like celebrating the traditional winter holiday in Australia. For today, you see, it is extremely hot again. Sepat, the typhoon, made landfall north of us and skirted our region last night. In fact, it brought us a pleasant day, but with increasing heat. It will easily crest 100°F with incredibly high humidity. At least the morning was nice for an early round of golf.
But a hot day in August just doesn’t seem like Valentine’s Day. But they say today is: Chinese Valentine’s Day.
Labels: Holidays, Life in China, Valentine's Day
Another Scene from Dongguan
The Golden Spoon Taiwanese restaurant below my apartment. And yes, those are toadstools in the garden.
The most interesting thing is that a guy sits out front all night in a large wingback chair in the parking lot. I guess he is security for the place.
Labels: Dongguan, Life in China
Chinglish - Definitely Interesting Translations
Chinglish. You hear a lot about it from time to time here. It made a lot of news a couple of months ago, when Beijing started making a big effort to clean up bad Chinglish around the city in anticipation of the Olympics.
So what is Chinglish? Well, Wikipedia says Chinglish is a portmanteau of the words Chinese and Englishand refers to either (a) English interspersed with English language errors common to those Chinese persons who are learning English or (b) Chinese interspersed with English, such as used by westernized Chinese (e.g. American-born Chinese) who are not fluent in Chinese and codeswitch English words into speech when they can't think of the correct Chinese word.
The examples can be rather hysterical and / or embarrassing at times. That is why Beijing has made such an effort to cleanup and improve the bad examples around the city. They hope to get corrected prior to the Olympics in 2008.
Often you can tell that someone has tried to use a computer dictionary to translate Chinese to English. The results can be rather bad.
I just came upon an interesting photo in another blog of a great example of Chinglish. Click here to see for yourself.
Let’s hope the English we translate to Chinese isn’t creating as many embarrassing mistakes.
Labels: Chinglish, Life in China
U.S. Homeowners Influence China Too
How could mortgages in the US have such an impact in China? Well, I think most of us know it does now. Last week, markets worldwide took a beating due to the interconnectivity of finances around the globe. The news here was riddled with the concerns over Americans ability to pay mortgages.
I’ve been actually hearing this for months. HSBC, is a major global bank, which was founded from Shanghai and Hong Kong banks. Several of their past few financial reports have focused on concerns over their extensive holdings in mortgages in the US and their volatility. So it had been in the news before, but it took hold as a concern throughout the world last week.
Daily you can see container after container leave ports here for US and markets around the world, so it is easy to understand the importance of China in the supply chain of products. It is a little harder to see that chain of finances from mortgages in the US, but the world is certainly linked to the success of American homeowners too now.
Labels: China Finance, US Mortgage
Typhoon Brings Some Relief........ But No News
Finally a break in the heat! A typhoon! I never thought I would be so happy to be near a typhoon! But this one is bringing cooler temperatures, even though the humidity has gone up dramatically, it is a lot better than its been, particularly with the added wind. And besides, it doesn’t look like it will materialize into too severe of a storm, just be good for some wetter weather, and milder temperatures.
Which is great relief, considering I have not been in the best of spirits in the mornings lately. Seems the News networks must not be in favor with the Chinese lately. The ABC and CBS Evening newscasts (which show here in the mornings) have been pre-emptied most days lately.
I am getting pretty tired of Samantha Brown climbing the inclined walk to the top of the Cathedral in Seville. Or the Rocco versus Jeffery saga on The Restaurant. You would think that they are the only two shows the local networks own here. They don’t show any other broadcast when they cancel the newscast. And I mean they show the very same two shows, not another show from either series. Just the same show every time they pre-empt the news. So in the last two months, I bet I’ve seen Samantha climb to the top of that Seville Cathedral over a hundred times! I’M SICK OF IT! Can’t she go to another city?
At least it’s cooler! Only 90° F!
Labels: China Weather, Dongguan, Life in China, Newscast
Another Scene from Dongguan
I've often shown the view from out my apartment, well this is the view out the back side of the building. It looks out across New World Garden apartments for about as far as you can see. Many expats live here. Not bad for China.
Labels: Dongguan, Life in China
A Kidney Transplant Joke?!?!!
Now this is a first I've ever seen:
A kidney transplant joke(Click on the line above to get to the joke.)
Still Scorching HOT Weather!!
We finally got a break in the weather! It’s only around 96° F!! And there is some wind. Better yet, humidity is even under 50%!
We have had practically no rain in weeks. Usually you can count on a typhoon or some disturbances building to give us some breaks in the heat.
The reports are that this is the longest continuous period of high heat. Hong Kong has set records for longest “Very Hot Warning” period. Shanghai has set several records of temperatures over 40° C or 104° F. We may still reach that later this week…………. But at least the humidity is down.
Here is a little comparison between nearby Guangzhou and Advance, NC:
Notice how the temperatures tend to drop down at night in NC. It only drops to around 80° F here!! Not much relief!
Labels: China Weather, Dongguan, Life in China
Another Scene from Dongguan
This bull appeared in front of my apartment building a few weeks ago. By some other nearby signage it looks like a Beef Bar restaurant is planning to open at the site. Interesting features like this are getting common on the street. More photos of other nearby establishments soon.
Labels: China photos, Dongguan, Life in China
Just a Note of Interest Elsewhere
Years ago, and I mean a lot of years ago, I worked in a blimp hanger. Yep, a real blimp hanger. But no, I wasn’t making blimps, at that time it was a kitchen cabinet factory for Westinghouse outside Elizabeth City, NC.
I recently looked up the site on Google Earth, and was intrigued to find a blimp in the satellite photo. The former WWII base is now home to a radar balloon company. They used to be located in the wooden hanger on the property near our metal building, which looks like a big Quonset hut. But the wooden hanger burned to the ground a couple of years ago, and the company bought the metal hanger to set up operations. Now all that stands where the wooden hanger resided are four large double columns that provide some interesting shadows from the Google Earth satellite photo.
Anyway, I posted this to a website that specializes in strangeand interesting “things” on Google Earth.
Click here and see Blimp Base or go direct to http://www.mapofstrange.com/
Be sure and give it a vote.
Labels: Google Earth, North Carolina, Strange
Motorcycles in Dongguan
Today is the last first day of a month that motorcycles can legally ride the streets of Dongguan. Come September 1 they are banned. It wasn’t a good start for at least one rider.
There were two major wrecks along the way to work this morning. At least we stayed out of harm’s way. One truck had plowed into a light pole with major damage. In the other, a motorcycle was under the wheel of another truck in a more serious accident. I’m not sure how the driver fared, but id didn’t look good.
September 1 all motorcycles, and even the e-bikes – those pedal and stored energy types – will be banned from the highways here. That should cut down on these accidents. And the way they drive – carefree and reckless – I won’t miss them.
I wonder what all the motorcycle taxi drivers will do. Did you know that you pretty much barter the fare on those rides? And they can often cost more than an regular taxi! Because in congested traffic, they can scoot through and get you to a location quicker. Just not necessarily safer.
The motorcycle taxi drivers do wear helmets. Seldom do you see anyone else wear a helmet. But, by the way, passengers on a motorcycle taxi never get a helmet. I just can’t quite imagine jumping on a motorcycle with a half crazy driver wearing a helmet, when I would not be given one!
And speaking of accidents, I came very close to being in one this past Saturday. Coming home from work, I was almost asleep in the car, when my driver came to a rather abrupt stop at one traffic light. It startled me a little and I looked up to see that we were at a stop light. Not a big surprise there. But then……….
I heard something squeal to our left. Looking past my driver, I saw a large transfer truck was braking and bouncing rather hard on an angle to our side. As I looked back out the rear of our car, I could see that his long flat-bed was in our lane! And he was practically at an angle over our car!! He must have not expected us to stop and probably wasn’t planning to stop himself. When we stopped, it took all his power to use the lane to the left of us to stop and just avoid us only because he was over us!
At least we were lucky on this one! All in a day’s fun of riding the roads of Dongguan!
Labels: China, China roads, Dongguan
