Traveling in Beijing is a pain in the arse: not only are you stuck in traffic everywhere you go, but the underground system is slow and outdated (there are no ticket machines – only two ticket counters), the airport staff completely void of any useful information, and the train stations are more reminiscent of the annual Pamplona bull run. It is, in short, a real shambles for what is the capital of an increasingly important, and rich, country.
To enter Beijing West Railway Station (北京西火车站), where one takes the train direct to Hong Kong, there are two entrances only: both are so overcrowded you’d be forgiven for mistaking the stampede for a protest demonstration and wondering when the tanks would come. The hold up is due to security implementations – fair enough, better safe than sorry, but they should deploy more than just two X-Ray units for such a large crowd. Once in the station, expect to find nobody at the Beijing to Hong Kong ticket booth around 1pm; the lady would likely be at lunch and no, nobody would have thought of shifting in a replacement either. Here’s a tip though: if you’re traveling to Hong Kong from Beijing by train, turn up more than 45 minutes before departure. And if you ARE narrowly later than that (since you only need to board the train 20 minutes before), and don’t already have a ticket (since you can’t even get one till one week before and from one place in all of Beijing only), tell the lady at the counter to stop arguing and just hand over the damn ticket.
If SHE delays you by 10 minutes, you WILL miss the train.
As for me… it’s off to the airport tomorrow instead now. I expect when I arrive to find ridiculously long queues, a tour guide lining up on behalf of 20 others, people trying to go air-side without a boarding pass (“what? check in?”), passengers shouting at staff who aren’t able to help them – ahh yes… the joys of being in the bureaucratic capital of the world.
Thankfully ShenZhen (深圳), Hong Kong, followed by Sydney will be a nice breath of fresh air. Beijing red tape – see you again in May!
… let the beach come to you!
This is two days old now, but early on in the week huge swarms of dust descended upon Beijing leaving everything coated in a layer of sand, reportedly from the North West of China. It was the worst sandstorms since 2001, and seemingly an indication that the government’s tree planting efforts have yet to bear fruit.
Pollution is a huge problem in China – particularly in the large cities, including Beijing. Despite local government efforts to promote more environmentally friendly fuels and to relocate factories out of the cities (though this only moves the pollution elsewhere ; sadly not enough effort is made to force factory owners to clean up their output), the air has cleaned up notably in the last year, but is still dirty enough to make most visitors choke on arrival.
General |
Posted by Terence
Apr
17
2006
Time and time again I get pestered on IM by people whom I don’t know – time and time again, they also don’t get the hint that I prefer to be left alone. Below is an excerpt of such a conversation (mostly in Chinese).
What impresses me is the persistence of such people – not to mention limited English vocabulary (in this case, ‘hi’). This all presents a rather worrying case for the future of our present youth, some of whom really need to get off their backsides and do something useful with their lives.
(14th April)
1:30:10 PM other guy: hi
1:37:51 PM other guy: hi
7:59:26 PM other guy: hi
10:33:32 PM other guy: hi
(16th April)
3:19:15 PM other guy: hi
3:19:38 PM me: hi
3:19:58 PM other guy: 你好
3:20:54 PM other guy: ?在做甚麼
3:22:49 PM me: 在办公室…. 这几天特别忙
3:23:09 PM other guy: ok
3:36:47 PM other guy: hi
3:38:11 PM me: ?
6:37:08 PM other guy: hi
6:43:57 PM other guy: hi
6:44:32 PM me: hi….
6:45:20 PM other guy: ?你做咩工作
6:47:18 PM me: 做網站
6:48:04 PM other guy: 哦
6:48:47 PM other guy: 你幾多?歲了
6:54:31 PM me: 24
6:57:23 PM other guy: 你在家
6:58:56 PM me: no… in office
6:59:36 PM other guy: 復活節無假嗎
7:04:48 PM other guy: hi
7:07:30 PM me: 我係北京工作…. 呢度冇復活節
7:08:18 PM other guy: 哦
7:08:58 PM other guy: 你香港人來
7:11:56 PM me: yes … 香港來既
7:12:10 PM other guy: 哦
7:12:15 PM me: 做咩時時 hi 呀? hi 係未開始偈先用既
7:13:08 PM other guy: 你做咩工作
7:15:13 PM me: 妳問左我 lor….
做網站啊….
That’s right, there’s now an organisation called Business for Diplomatic Action whose goal it is to “see the day when America is once again admired as a global leader and respected as a courier of progress and prosperity for all people” – admittedly a big goal considering that much of the world’s poverty and chaos only exists becuase of failed self-centered America-centric foreign policies by the US government.
Amongst the focuses of the organisation are attempts to dispel the stereotypical view of foreigners that Americans are (and I quote) : “arrogant, loud and unwilling to listen, and a threat to their national cultures”.
I believe that’s a bit harsh : not all Americans are loud and obnoxious, although you will find a fair share of them backpacking around Europe and Australia… and you probably don’t have to look hard. Just a few quick tips from me: we’re not blind nor deaf nor thick – you don’t have to glow, shout, or be blunt. We may speak with funny accents but heck so do you, so get over it. And finally, yes, some people have two taps – now for crying out loud it’s not the end of the world. Things may be done differently abroad and that doesn’t make you superior.
If you can handle that then you’re doing good. Now just remember to bring wads of cash, and spend it on our economies.
China |
Posted by Terence
Apr
04
2006
Upon hearing the announcement that my flight from ShenZhen (深圳) to Beijing (北京) was delayed by over three hours, the tannoy helpfully explained to us that “the flight has been delayed due to an aircraft delay” .
As usual in China, thoroughly useful information.
General |
Posted by Terence
Apr
03
2006
MobHappy reports on a new initiative by the Lewisham Borough council to adpot a system of reporting graffiti and general eye-sores via MMS.
This is a great idea. Although not free (the sender will be responsible for the usual charge levied on MMS), and I am not too familiar with the Lewisham area, most of the major cities in the U.K. could certainly do with such initiatives to keep its streets clean.
In Hong Kong graffiti is a relative rarity (though it can be found), so not having grown with it I generally don’t appreciate such random scribblings. Although some graffiti can really be works of art (and quite creative too), sadly most of it is just utter crap – and in public places, it really does lower the tone of the area.
Hopefully this MMS initiative will extend to other areas too. The only question is : how active are local councils going to be in taking action on the information sent to them.
Owner Luigi of diserio.com has voted Hong Kong as having the best skyline in the world. With 43 buildings over 200 metres tall it is, afterall, quite impressive – and he’s not wrong to note that the hilly backdrop makes this even more special.
Having spent most of my life in Hong Kong, I have grown to love the city skyline. Although I have admired many others on my travels, I still believe that nothing compares to that at home – the hills in particular. It’s nice to see i’m not the only one who thinks this.
The bottom of Luigi’s page also has a link to a more impirical ranking of the world’s skylines.
