天目湖 - part of the seminar that the customer organized. This was a nice lake, made a tourist attraction. I always appreciate a large water body, though the company of close friends and family would have made this lake more interesting.
Showing posts with label china. Show all posts
Showing posts with label china. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Xintiandi on a Saturday Night
Shanghai Xintiandi - The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaves
Took me an hour of hesitation, before deciding to come over to Xintiandi. A last minute meeting change resulted in my staying an extra few days out in Shanghai... and while I would have preferred to go home for the weekend, Shanghai for a few days ain't that bad either. And one of the draws was to experience the night life here... NOT. WIll pass clubbing and pubbing for a episode or two of Brothers and Sisters.
Got in touch with David (previous Shanghai "correspondence" was John) and we planned to catch up tomorrow. It had been two months since he had returned to Shanghai, after about a year in Singapore, and being close to our gang of friends. Now, without Facebook, it will be good to catch up a little with him, and find out how quickly he had gotten used to the life back in China.
The cafe is at a nice place to people-watch, and there are a lot of good-looking people around. Certainly better dressed than my t-shirt and jeans, but not that I am too conscious about my dressing. There is only so many pieces of clothings I could have packed for the work trip, with the cold weather and all. I wonder how cold Tokyo would be... I do not have my winter coat with me, and will probably miss it for the warmth and the stylishness. Probably reduced to wearing more layers of clothings, and risk mis-matching the business jacket with the down-winter wear. Maybe I should go shopping tomorrow?
Took me an hour of hesitation, before deciding to come over to Xintiandi. A last minute meeting change resulted in my staying an extra few days out in Shanghai... and while I would have preferred to go home for the weekend, Shanghai for a few days ain't that bad either. And one of the draws was to experience the night life here... NOT. WIll pass clubbing and pubbing for a episode or two of Brothers and Sisters.
Got in touch with David (previous Shanghai "correspondence" was John) and we planned to catch up tomorrow. It had been two months since he had returned to Shanghai, after about a year in Singapore, and being close to our gang of friends. Now, without Facebook, it will be good to catch up a little with him, and find out how quickly he had gotten used to the life back in China.
The cafe is at a nice place to people-watch, and there are a lot of good-looking people around. Certainly better dressed than my t-shirt and jeans, but not that I am too conscious about my dressing. There is only so many pieces of clothings I could have packed for the work trip, with the cold weather and all. I wonder how cold Tokyo would be... I do not have my winter coat with me, and will probably miss it for the warmth and the stylishness. Probably reduced to wearing more layers of clothings, and risk mis-matching the business jacket with the down-winter wear. Maybe I should go shopping tomorrow?
Sunday, October 4, 2009
moments before 32
spent the whole weekend watching 17 episodes of Brothers and Sisters... and when I finally went out for my first meal of this sunday (okay... 2nd, if you count buns and yogurt as brunch), I was also keen on taking a walk to move some of the lazy muscles.
it was only then that I realized the lake next to the hotel had a musical fountain with laser and hip-chinese music show. it was actually quite entertaining, and I like water afterall...
the bright spot in the top background is the moon on the 16th... supposedly at its roundest. Quality of the blackberry camera for night shot is poor, but at least the camera caught some of the moving lights.
Really could stay there and watch the dancing water jets, in the cool weather with the nice night sky. The laser show was quite good, reflected at various depths of water, rushing up, or splashing back down. If the music were different, and if there were good company, with a container of hot coffee, it would have been a perfect night. :-)
in China during their holidays
China's National Day... Mid-Autumn Festival... The adjacent festivities almost meant a standstill in China, since people are inclined to return home for a much deserved long break. In the past, this would be critical, as people needed to return home via rail, which could take days. Today, it is still important, as not everyone is rich enough to take the more expensive modes of transport.
Anyhow, despite the customer's plan to complete the work during this period, reality caught up, and there were insurmountable problems and hence delays. The result was the "burning" of holidays for many of the people around the project.
Photos from the park - day & night:
Thursday, October 1, 2009
China's 60th National Day
It is a big deal, the 60th National Day of China. The parade began at about 10am, and is still ongoing in Beijing, with a dramatic level of participation. There was military display, some group performances, and now, the parade floats are going around Tiananmen. There are mainly floats from the various provinces, but also includes (at least one?) foreign participants. The floats are quite elaborate, with iconic features of the provinces, rotating parts, people in various customers posing or waving to the people, and also large screens that show highlights from their regions. There is some more marching now, from the bands and other groups.
Wonder if they will be having fireworks in the evening? Should be an excellent display, if this morning's parade is anything to go by.
Of course, I am watching the parade in the hotel room in Heze. The same hotel room that did not have electricity from 2-6pm yesterday. The same hotel room that has questionable quality of water and questionable cleanliness of the towels. While I am fine with waiting for things to happen at the customer's site during this period, the local Chinese who are also supporting the customer are not the most excited bunch since they would probably prefer to be having their long-awaited long holiday.
A few more days to go...
Wonder if they will be having fireworks in the evening? Should be an excellent display, if this morning's parade is anything to go by.
Of course, I am watching the parade in the hotel room in Heze. The same hotel room that did not have electricity from 2-6pm yesterday. The same hotel room that has questionable quality of water and questionable cleanliness of the towels. While I am fine with waiting for things to happen at the customer's site during this period, the local Chinese who are also supporting the customer are not the most excited bunch since they would probably prefer to be having their long-awaited long holiday.
A few more days to go...
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
the 100th post - awake at 3+ am in China
Travelled to China after 1 month of enjoyable stay in Singapore. Almost looked forward to overseas work trips...
I'm awake at such a late hour, as dinner included too much alcohol. Upon returning to the room, I had only enough consciousness to bolt the door, remove my phone and wallet, before collapsing into the bed. That was about 4 hours of sleep? Anyhow, got up some time ago to do some work, and now preparing to go back to bed.
Thoughts on business dinners in China
Looking at it positively - chance to taste different delicacies, at company's or other's expense, free opportunity to drink alcohol, understanding another culture and history
On the flip side - too much of a waste of food, too much alcohol, and too much smoke
Why is there still a need to have too much food on the table? I hope that sufficient food that we can all finish will become the norm in the near future, but how do we promote this?
It doesn't help that I don't really fancy "delicacies" or alcohol all that much, so good luck to me for the next 5 days or so.
I'm awake at such a late hour, as dinner included too much alcohol. Upon returning to the room, I had only enough consciousness to bolt the door, remove my phone and wallet, before collapsing into the bed. That was about 4 hours of sleep? Anyhow, got up some time ago to do some work, and now preparing to go back to bed.
Thoughts on business dinners in China
Looking at it positively - chance to taste different delicacies, at company's or other's expense, free opportunity to drink alcohol, understanding another culture and history
On the flip side - too much of a waste of food, too much alcohol, and too much smoke
Why is there still a need to have too much food on the table? I hope that sufficient food that we can all finish will become the norm in the near future, but how do we promote this?
It doesn't help that I don't really fancy "delicacies" or alcohol all that much, so good luck to me for the next 5 days or so.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Journals from a week in Dushanzi
Journal log:18 July 1230hrs
Flight CA1901
Left Beijing this morning and took a little notice on how huge the airport is. It is pretty amazing from the vantage point I had.
Anyway, last night's news splashed on the bomb attacks at the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels almost simultaneously. It felt so surreal,especially since Iam heading for Urumqi en route to Dushanzi. What safety precautions can l fall back on, if something wereto happen? Not my most comforting moment right now.
Well, at least l'm entertaining myselt with my new Kohjinsha UMPC. Nice...
-----
Journal log: 18 July 2120hrs
Maitark Hotel 1006
Day 1 of "Disconnected from the world"
The trip to Dushanzi was uneventful, and on reaching the hotel, it became clear to me soon that there will be very few ways to be connected to the outside world. There is no internet, no connection on my mobile phones, even the local phones will not be able to make international calls. My only connection will be via my Beijing colleague, the Chinese agent and another Singapore colleague who has a China-registered number, by calling any one of them.
Let's see how my sanity holds with so much difficulties to be connected.
-----
Journal log: 19 July 0810hrs
Maitark Hotel Room 1006
Day 2 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.4kg
7 hrs of sleep! Without much to do, and not wanting to work at those outstanding but non-urgent issues, without any TV shows that is worth watching, I slept more than I did for months. And I am looking forward to sleeping more tonight.
While strolling the streets last night, I noticed that the indoor lightings are always quite dim... dim compared to the lightings used in Singapore. Perhaps I am too used to the clarity with bright lights back home. And with regards to street design, the roads at Dushanzi are flanked by trees. It looks nice, but I must comment that the design was not well done. The branches of the trees were too low, and these trees are planted over pavements ... pavements that are now inaccessible by people taller than 1m. Duh...
-----
Journal log: 19 July 2205hrs
Maitark Hotel Room 1006
Day 2 of "Disconnected from the world"
It is really wierd, not having phone connections while mobile. There is no need to take my phones out, and that feels really strange... Will I get used to this?
I jogged around part of the town, and took some nice photos of the nearby mountains. It is not every day that I get to stay in a town near a snow-capped mountain, with some broad expense of green plains. The Dushanzi town consists of very new buildings, nice new estates, older style estates, as well as slums. The contrast of this small city/town is amazing.
-----
Journal log: 20 July 0715hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 3 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.9kg
Going back into the plant in the morning. Hope the progress will accelerate, but I understand that in this line, it is more likely for delays to occur. I wonder how I can handle this upset in the original plans.
-----
Journal log: 20 July 2150hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 3 of "Disconnected from the world"
Probably getting fatter due to the heavy lunches and dinners. This is despite the morning 5BX that I have started to do. Perhaps I will remain fit after this trip? Well, I plan to skip dinner tomorrow in favour for a jog... think this is going to happen?
-----
Journal log: 21 July 0752hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 4 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 67.3kg
Another day here... hope things smoothen out at work. But I also look forward to having a day off to go touring. Hmm...
-----
Journal log: 22 July 0800hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 5 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 67.0kg
Not so much as disconnected from the world now. I could receive phone calls on the blackberry and the contact engineer also got me a local number for my use. But internet connection is still not there and I still cannot make international calls. Hope the government will decide to resume connectivity.
There is a solar eclipse taking place right now. Wonder if I will see it on the way to work later?
-----
Journal log: 22 July 2147hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 5 of "Disconnected from the world"
Just came back from a swim at the next door public pool. Nice, though there is way too many people. But swimming does provide some much needed exercise. Dinner is going to be a Dove chocolate bar, yoghurt and oats cereals. Hmm...
-----
Journal log: 23 July 0757hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 6 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.4kg
Work is to begin today. Let's hope things go smoothly!
-----
Journal log: 23 July 2216hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 6 of "Disconnected from the world"
Loading started, but with all the problems that I had previously envisioned. and we hanged around waiting for things to happen such that I only returned to the room around 9+. And my colleagues tried super hard to reach me with this one-way comms situation... so grateful... well, let's hope for a more smooth day tomorrow.
-----
Journal log: 24 July 0757hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 7 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.0kg
Light breakfasts and dinners over these 2 days have resulted in some reduction of weight. Guess I should continue to only have light dinners, though next week may not be in my total control.
-----
Journal log: 26 July 0952hrs
Flight CZ317 - Beijing to Seoul
Left Dushanzi yesterday, and was finally "connected" in Beijing, at the pretty good Crowne Plaza Hotel near the airport.117 emails for the 8 days of disconnection, with a myriad of issues to handle, some within the next 3 days. Oh dear... Hope I can get through these without too much pain.
-----
Flight CA1901
Left Beijing this morning and took a little notice on how huge the airport is. It is pretty amazing from the vantage point I had.
Anyway, last night's news splashed on the bomb attacks at the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels almost simultaneously. It felt so surreal,especially since Iam heading for Urumqi en route to Dushanzi. What safety precautions can l fall back on, if something wereto happen? Not my most comforting moment right now.
Well, at least l'm entertaining myselt with my new Kohjinsha UMPC. Nice...
-----
Journal log: 18 July 2120hrs
Maitark Hotel 1006
Day 1 of "Disconnected from the world"
The trip to Dushanzi was uneventful, and on reaching the hotel, it became clear to me soon that there will be very few ways to be connected to the outside world. There is no internet, no connection on my mobile phones, even the local phones will not be able to make international calls. My only connection will be via my Beijing colleague, the Chinese agent and another Singapore colleague who has a China-registered number, by calling any one of them.
Let's see how my sanity holds with so much difficulties to be connected.
-----
Journal log: 19 July 0810hrs
Maitark Hotel Room 1006
Day 2 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.4kg
7 hrs of sleep! Without much to do, and not wanting to work at those outstanding but non-urgent issues, without any TV shows that is worth watching, I slept more than I did for months. And I am looking forward to sleeping more tonight.
While strolling the streets last night, I noticed that the indoor lightings are always quite dim... dim compared to the lightings used in Singapore. Perhaps I am too used to the clarity with bright lights back home. And with regards to street design, the roads at Dushanzi are flanked by trees. It looks nice, but I must comment that the design was not well done. The branches of the trees were too low, and these trees are planted over pavements ... pavements that are now inaccessible by people taller than 1m. Duh...
-----
Journal log: 19 July 2205hrs
Maitark Hotel Room 1006
Day 2 of "Disconnected from the world"
It is really wierd, not having phone connections while mobile. There is no need to take my phones out, and that feels really strange... Will I get used to this?
I jogged around part of the town, and took some nice photos of the nearby mountains. It is not every day that I get to stay in a town near a snow-capped mountain, with some broad expense of green plains. The Dushanzi town consists of very new buildings, nice new estates, older style estates, as well as slums. The contrast of this small city/town is amazing.
-----
Journal log: 20 July 0715hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 3 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.9kg
Going back into the plant in the morning. Hope the progress will accelerate, but I understand that in this line, it is more likely for delays to occur. I wonder how I can handle this upset in the original plans.
-----
Journal log: 20 July 2150hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 3 of "Disconnected from the world"
Probably getting fatter due to the heavy lunches and dinners. This is despite the morning 5BX that I have started to do. Perhaps I will remain fit after this trip? Well, I plan to skip dinner tomorrow in favour for a jog... think this is going to happen?
-----
Journal log: 21 July 0752hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 4 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 67.3kg
Another day here... hope things smoothen out at work. But I also look forward to having a day off to go touring. Hmm...
-----
Journal log: 22 July 0800hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 5 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 67.0kg
Not so much as disconnected from the world now. I could receive phone calls on the blackberry and the contact engineer also got me a local number for my use. But internet connection is still not there and I still cannot make international calls. Hope the government will decide to resume connectivity.
There is a solar eclipse taking place right now. Wonder if I will see it on the way to work later?
-----
Journal log: 22 July 2147hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 5 of "Disconnected from the world"
Just came back from a swim at the next door public pool. Nice, though there is way too many people. But swimming does provide some much needed exercise. Dinner is going to be a Dove chocolate bar, yoghurt and oats cereals. Hmm...
-----
Journal log: 23 July 0757hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 6 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.4kg
Work is to begin today. Let's hope things go smoothly!
-----
Journal log: 23 July 2216hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 6 of "Disconnected from the world"
Loading started, but with all the problems that I had previously envisioned. and we hanged around waiting for things to happen such that I only returned to the room around 9+. And my colleagues tried super hard to reach me with this one-way comms situation... so grateful... well, let's hope for a more smooth day tomorrow.
-----
Journal log: 24 July 0757hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 7 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.0kg
Light breakfasts and dinners over these 2 days have resulted in some reduction of weight. Guess I should continue to only have light dinners, though next week may not be in my total control.
-----
Journal log: 26 July 0952hrs
Flight CZ317 - Beijing to Seoul
Left Dushanzi yesterday, and was finally "connected" in Beijing, at the pretty good Crowne Plaza Hotel near the airport.117 emails for the 8 days of disconnection, with a myriad of issues to handle, some within the next 3 days. Oh dear... Hope I can get through these without too much pain.
-----
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Snowfall @ Daqing; Scene from Tokyo
Saw my first heavy snowfall in the morning. Was quite a fantastic looking sight...
Of course, i was again underdressed for the cold. Oops. No thermals, no ear muffs. Super freezing...
And from an earlier visit to Tokyo, I had tried to hold a fresh perspective on the surroundings, and found that the city did look very vibrant and interesting, despite not having gone on a leisure walkabout... yet.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
1st snow? underdressed for the weather...
Saw my first snowfall on Monday, in Daesan, South Korea... Actually, it was just small snow flakes falling for a short duration of time, so maybe the super tiny flakes I saw in March 2007 (also Daesan) would be the more accurate "first snow"... was i expecting to see a snowstorm as we see so often on movies and TV?
Anyhow, was at Harbin last night and took the opportunity to go to the 哈尔滨冰雪节 (http://www.harbin-ice.net/). When we were asking the concierge, the immediate comment was that I was underdressed... clothings too thin, shoes not appropriate... Nonetheless, we were brave (read: dumb), and decided to go ahead. Before leaving the hotel, the concierge commented that I'd better get some more protection, and immediately offered me a cape, ear muffs (this was an essential).
Anyhow, was at Harbin last night and took the opportunity to go to the 哈尔滨冰雪节 (http://www.harbin-ice.net/). When we were asking the concierge, the immediate comment was that I was underdressed... clothings too thin, shoes not appropriate... Nonetheless, we were brave (read: dumb), and decided to go ahead. Before leaving the hotel, the concierge commented that I'd better get some more protection, and immediately offered me a cape, ear muffs (this was an essential).
It was pretty amazing... amazingly cold, walking among the ice and snow. The feet were suffering, and the shoes were also unsuitable for stable walking (fell once, and nearly fell N times). In the end, we travelled between the "safe havens" quickly, to save our feet. The ice buildings certainly look great, with the inner light tubes. There was also a bar (see above), which we did not enter, and slides, which we did not play. Guess getting a cold butt, or the risk of getting stuck on the way down wasn't appealing at all.
Today, at the customer's site in Daqing, more than one person commented that what I was wearing was absolutely insufficient for the weather. And not one commented about my boss... was it because I look positively vulnerable? Maybe I should really invest in some winter wear better suited for this -22°C weather condition.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
weekend in Changzhou (again?)
i'm back in Changzhou again!
so much to do recently, that i feel so drained everyday. and finally had a puking session after getting too much to drink lats tuesday. that did not feel good. (duh...) it was after 3 glasses of 白酒 and a glass of beer. and i did manage to puke only when i returned to the room. however, my aim wasn't great, and the drainage of the bathroom sucks... btw, this happened in Heze and not Changzhou.
with the current toxic milk scandal, I wonder how much melamine I had already ingested from my first visit till now. but i really like milk and diary products... and how about the milk in coffee? oh good grief... anyhow, i still had my cereals with milk this morning. the waitress was pretty funny, when i asked her candidly if the milk they served (this is the Traders Hotel) was safe, and she smiled sheepishly, saying "最好还是不要喝".
well, i really should get some work done, before going to town for dinner later. should really do things to bring my spirits up, instead of mopping around in the hotel.
so much to do recently, that i feel so drained everyday. and finally had a puking session after getting too much to drink lats tuesday. that did not feel good. (duh...) it was after 3 glasses of 白酒 and a glass of beer. and i did manage to puke only when i returned to the room. however, my aim wasn't great, and the drainage of the bathroom sucks... btw, this happened in Heze and not Changzhou.
with the current toxic milk scandal, I wonder how much melamine I had already ingested from my first visit till now. but i really like milk and diary products... and how about the milk in coffee? oh good grief... anyhow, i still had my cereals with milk this morning. the waitress was pretty funny, when i asked her candidly if the milk they served (this is the Traders Hotel) was safe, and she smiled sheepishly, saying "最好还是不要喝".
well, i really should get some work done, before going to town for dinner later. should really do things to bring my spirits up, instead of mopping around in the hotel.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Beijing weekend
i was planning grand things for this trip: get the wedding suits tailored, meet up with the soon-to-be-weds, go to the Great Wall...
Tailoring was done last night, and I was supposed to check it out this morning, in case there are corrections to be done. My friend and her husband-to-be had a home BBQ and I joined them and their two friends at their appartment. After getting lost on the way there, and 6 flights of stairs in darkness, I found them, and had a great time with food, red wine, and whisky... and cigars for two of them. By the time I was back to the hotel, I was tipsy and a bit too happy for my usual self.
anyhow, i tried to do some work and drank my routine cuppa coffee before turning in at about 2 am. and I had set an ambitious 6.30 am to wake up. well, i woke up at 2pm, destroying all my plans... Rushed to get out of the room to check out the clothes, which fit okay. Perhaps it is cos I was easy. Now, the only thing left to do is to get a luggage (cos mine just died) and maybe do some sightseeing before 6pm. It is now 3.25 on at Saripon's Pizzeria at Xiu Shui Jie...
--- ---
the above was written while having breakfast/lunch/tea... I did get a luggage (not a great price, but hey, not as if I have much of a choice at this moment), and only got to go to the Beihai Garden. Dinner was pleasant, but the usual tourist stuff was not accomplished at all. Oh well, there will be other times in future. Meeting up with friends was entertaining, so I do not regret oversleeping this morning. Less than 20 days to their big day.
Tailoring was done last night, and I was supposed to check it out this morning, in case there are corrections to be done. My friend and her husband-to-be had a home BBQ and I joined them and their two friends at their appartment. After getting lost on the way there, and 6 flights of stairs in darkness, I found them, and had a great time with food, red wine, and whisky... and cigars for two of them. By the time I was back to the hotel, I was tipsy and a bit too happy for my usual self.
anyhow, i tried to do some work and drank my routine cuppa coffee before turning in at about 2 am. and I had set an ambitious 6.30 am to wake up. well, i woke up at 2pm, destroying all my plans... Rushed to get out of the room to check out the clothes, which fit okay. Perhaps it is cos I was easy. Now, the only thing left to do is to get a luggage (cos mine just died) and maybe do some sightseeing before 6pm. It is now 3.25 on at Saripon's Pizzeria at Xiu Shui Jie...
--- ---
the above was written while having breakfast/lunch/tea... I did get a luggage (not a great price, but hey, not as if I have much of a choice at this moment), and only got to go to the Beihai Garden. Dinner was pleasant, but the usual tourist stuff was not accomplished at all. Oh well, there will be other times in future. Meeting up with friends was entertaining, so I do not regret oversleeping this morning. Less than 20 days to their big day.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
20 RMB and charity?
Was walking back to the hotel after a nice dinner when a family of 3 walked past me and then spoke from behind me. The man asked if I could spare some money to buy some food for the child. There was a very young child in the woman's arms, and my heart immediately went soft. "Okay", and I went ahead to the convenience store nearby.
Of course there was some thought in my head that these people might not be genuinely in need, but what is a little money for food gonna hurt? Instead of following me into the convenience store, the man was shy and asked me to just get anything. I insisted, so that he could choose the food for the child. It was nice that he wasn't expecting much, and kept apologizing. Even when I wanted to get some food for him and his wife (I had assumed their relationship as a family unit), he kept saying that it would be enough to just have food for the kid.
Anyhow, I went ahead and got them a little food and drink, without thinking very much. After thanking me, and before I left, the lady went on to ask if it was possible for me to get them a cheapest room, so that they can stay for the night to wait for their family to turn up tomorrow. The man said not to bother me anymore, and it was good enough that they had food. I did not think it was appropriate for me to do anything more, and who knows if the "charity" would escalate. But as I left them to eat, my heart did go out for the kid...
To take the nice and heart-warming moment away, closer to the hotel, a lady and her kid approached me too, asking for money to buy food for the child. Deja vu? I was not too keen to bother this time round, especially when the kid was doing a fake whining cry. But after they bothered me for some distance, I decided to just give them 5 RMB. Small amount, but anything to get them off my back.
On reaching the hotel, I went to talk to a few hotel staff at the concierge. There were two ladies there, and when I asked if it was normal for people to be asking for aids on the streets, they told me that these people were most likely just cheats. And the kids may not even be their own (gasp!). Another female staff joined in, and we started chatting, and one of them elaborated on the locations where this sort of situation was even more prevalent. Oh well... as long as the little child gets to have some food, it really doesn't matter if the "parents" cheated or not...
Of course there was some thought in my head that these people might not be genuinely in need, but what is a little money for food gonna hurt? Instead of following me into the convenience store, the man was shy and asked me to just get anything. I insisted, so that he could choose the food for the child. It was nice that he wasn't expecting much, and kept apologizing. Even when I wanted to get some food for him and his wife (I had assumed their relationship as a family unit), he kept saying that it would be enough to just have food for the kid.
Anyhow, I went ahead and got them a little food and drink, without thinking very much. After thanking me, and before I left, the lady went on to ask if it was possible for me to get them a cheapest room, so that they can stay for the night to wait for their family to turn up tomorrow. The man said not to bother me anymore, and it was good enough that they had food. I did not think it was appropriate for me to do anything more, and who knows if the "charity" would escalate. But as I left them to eat, my heart did go out for the kid...
To take the nice and heart-warming moment away, closer to the hotel, a lady and her kid approached me too, asking for money to buy food for the child. Deja vu? I was not too keen to bother this time round, especially when the kid was doing a fake whining cry. But after they bothered me for some distance, I decided to just give them 5 RMB. Small amount, but anything to get them off my back.
On reaching the hotel, I went to talk to a few hotel staff at the concierge. There were two ladies there, and when I asked if it was normal for people to be asking for aids on the streets, they told me that these people were most likely just cheats. And the kids may not even be their own (gasp!). Another female staff joined in, and we started chatting, and one of them elaborated on the locations where this sort of situation was even more prevalent. Oh well... as long as the little child gets to have some food, it really doesn't matter if the "parents" cheated or not...
Monday, March 17, 2008
a great time in Shanghai
Decided to pop by and stay in Shanghai for a night, in between the China and Taiwan legs of this current work trip. I always have problems switching from work mode to fun-travel mode. So why did I decide to go to this exciting city instead of staying back in Changzhou where I could get more work done?
it was only the chance of meeting up with a friend whom I made last August (see previous entry) -Tianxiang-ge ( :P sounds intimate, right?) that had me decided on going to Shanghai the saturday that just past, instead of staying in Changzhou where I could be getting more work done.
Eating along the river, strolling at the river for the afternoon view and later the night one, joining the crowds in the subway, prowling the streets of xintiandi, sipping coffee/tea lazily in the afternoon, walking in the cool air of the night along Nanjing Street... the company made the day most memorable.
Thanks John. Hope to see you in Singapore some time.
it was only the chance of meeting up with a friend whom I made last August (see previous entry) -Tianxiang-ge ( :P sounds intimate, right?) that had me decided on going to Shanghai the saturday that just past, instead of staying in Changzhou where I could be getting more work done.
Eating along the river, strolling at the river for the afternoon view and later the night one, joining the crowds in the subway, prowling the streets of xintiandi, sipping coffee/tea lazily in the afternoon, walking in the cool air of the night along Nanjing Street... the company made the day most memorable.
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Thanks John. Hope to see you in Singapore some time.
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