Lotsa people wonder how much it costs. If you figure the air tickets out, you can live like a king in Andamans compared to costs in any city. Here are our costs/ person for the whole trip (Sat afternoon - Tue morning):
Air tickets (Chennai-Port Blair): Rs. 10,000
Stay: Rs. 2,500
Food: Rs. 1,500
SCUBA diving: Rs. 3,500
Local travel: Rs. 1,500
Misc.: Rs. 500
That's it.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Quja, the man from Helsinki
The previous evening we noticed a sign to "Kala Patthar" and wanted to check it out. We learnt that it had an elephant park. Hoping to spot elephants, we drove to another forest area. Walked for about a kilometer to discover yet another beach. Nice. Very nice actually. It had several uprooted trees, glorious sea shells and nearly isolated. Pradeep read. I swam. No elephants. However, on our drive back we did see four elephants - one of them chained but taking the royal piss.
We stopped again at El Dorado that announcing to all passersby: chilled beer. A bald, tatooed man was sitting quietly and sipping Golden Eagle beer. He was dressed in a colorful bottom wrap, a necklace, several piercings and nothing else. I learnt that he was from Helsinki and his name was Quja (you-ha). We seemed to have common tastes in movies. I think I've seen those absurdly melancholic Finnish movies by Aki Kaurismaki (there's one where every character's name is Frank). He'd been in India for 2.5 months (his third trip) and in Andamans for 2.5 weeks. He was into fishing and was so excited about the meter-long Barracuda that he caught a couple of days ago. While he freelanced now, he worked as TV producer and had done several gigs from website design to photography to writing. Of all the places he'd been (which are very many - he didn't have a count), he found Laos near Thailand to be the most honest and nicest. Quja told us about his unfinished 3-round kickboxing fight in Bangkok - the blood and sweat got him a Thai girl friend. He left her after three weeks to head back to Helsinki because he had work to complete. North of where he lived in Finland is the Lapland region (that extends from the Norwegian Sea to the White Sea and lies within the Arctic circle) and he said that that was the best place in the world for him - provided its summer and he was there when the sun never set for three pleasurable days.
We wrapped up Havelock with our lunch at Rony's - great cook! Hurried to the Jetty and barely made it to the ferry to Port Blair - we were the last ones to get on board. Later on the boat, I sat down and laid down and sat down again and laid down on the roof of the boat watching the blue sky, remote clouds, the passing water all around, a setting sun, a rising moon, and stars and constellations. Before long, Port Blair arrived. It was city.
We stopped again at El Dorado that announcing to all passersby: chilled beer. A bald, tatooed man was sitting quietly and sipping Golden Eagle beer. He was dressed in a colorful bottom wrap, a necklace, several piercings and nothing else. I learnt that he was from Helsinki and his name was Quja (you-ha). We seemed to have common tastes in movies. I think I've seen those absurdly melancholic Finnish movies by Aki Kaurismaki (there's one where every character's name is Frank). He'd been in India for 2.5 months (his third trip) and in Andamans for 2.5 weeks. He was into fishing and was so excited about the meter-long Barracuda that he caught a couple of days ago. While he freelanced now, he worked as TV producer and had done several gigs from website design to photography to writing. Of all the places he'd been (which are very many - he didn't have a count), he found Laos near Thailand to be the most honest and nicest. Quja told us about his unfinished 3-round kickboxing fight in Bangkok - the blood and sweat got him a Thai girl friend. He left her after three weeks to head back to Helsinki because he had work to complete. North of where he lived in Finland is the Lapland region (that extends from the Norwegian Sea to the White Sea and lies within the Arctic circle) and he said that that was the best place in the world for him - provided its summer and he was there when the sun never set for three pleasurable days.
We wrapped up Havelock with our lunch at Rony's - great cook! Hurried to the Jetty and barely made it to the ferry to Port Blair - we were the last ones to get on board. Later on the boat, I sat down and laid down and sat down again and laid down on the roof of the boat watching the blue sky, remote clouds, the passing water all around, a setting sun, a rising moon, and stars and constellations. Before long, Port Blair arrived. It was city.
Legal aliens on an island - the man at Powerfull restaurant
As dusk fell, we got back to our Village 5 or was it 3. Had dinner at El Dorado, another spot in another resort. Pradeep ordered the most amusing chocolate pancake I've ever seen. No chocolate but it had some crushed cream biscuits (cookies). I ate an Israeli Lafa - basically, a big roti with salad and fries on top.
I thought I didn't sleep very well that night for some reason but Pradeep said I snored through the night. I was up early and went to my favorite digs for tea. It was closed so walked a little further to a food shack called Powerfull (yes, the extra L is not a typo). Got back and read for quite a bit lying outside on the bench across our cottage. We returned to Powerfull later for breakfast - omelette and toast and a debate on Obamacare. The Bengali cook at Powerfull wore blue pants and a white vest. He had a somewhat large belly and an unshaven face that looked older than his years. He told us about changing regulations and how a food inspector now drops by unannounced and can shut the place down for hygiene if things weren't clean. I always asked people where they were from. People answer this question in different ways. Originally, he said, Andamans. When I probed, I discovered he moved here 28 years ago from West Bengal as a 12 year old boy. He had come to work, married a local Bengali girl and now has a family. He never went back to Kolkata but always thinks of going. He reminded me of V.S. Naipaul's family that moved generations ago to Trinidad and Tobago. It's the same thing. The Powerfull man's travails, needs are exactly the same as those I know who are in U.S. and mean to move back to India. His eyes looked at same distant past.
I thought I didn't sleep very well that night for some reason but Pradeep said I snored through the night. I was up early and went to my favorite digs for tea. It was closed so walked a little further to a food shack called Powerfull (yes, the extra L is not a typo). Got back and read for quite a bit lying outside on the bench across our cottage. We returned to Powerfull later for breakfast - omelette and toast and a debate on Obamacare. The Bengali cook at Powerfull wore blue pants and a white vest. He had a somewhat large belly and an unshaven face that looked older than his years. He told us about changing regulations and how a food inspector now drops by unannounced and can shut the place down for hygiene if things weren't clean. I always asked people where they were from. People answer this question in different ways. Originally, he said, Andamans. When I probed, I discovered he moved here 28 years ago from West Bengal as a 12 year old boy. He had come to work, married a local Bengali girl and now has a family. He never went back to Kolkata but always thinks of going. He reminded me of V.S. Naipaul's family that moved generations ago to Trinidad and Tobago. It's the same thing. The Powerfull man's travails, needs are exactly the same as those I know who are in U.S. and mean to move back to India. His eyes looked at same distant past.
The swampy Elephant Beach
We were immersed in deep conversation with Adi on several things including the island life. At around 1.30, we headed for lunch at Cafe Del Mar, a restaurant that's part of the Barefoot resort in Village 3/ 5. It's cool. Laid back like everywhere else. You get Tiger and Frosters and a whole range of seafood. I ate and slept on the bench where I was eating. It was nice to do that. Felt life was really simple. I don't know how long I snoozed amidst other backpackers engaged in random conversation. Pradeep was writing on borrowed paper. After my siesta, we decided to go to the Elephant Beach on the way to the Radha Beach (Village 7), which turned out to be a totally unexpected, down-to-earth (literally) experience.
If you want to find signs to Elephant Beach, you'll never find one. You have ask and go - like everywhere else on the island. You take a right somewhere along the way to the Radha beach. The only indication is you might see a couple of scooters parked. We saw two paths - one to the left and another to the right. Wondering which one led to the elephant beach, we decided to take the one on the left which seemed more trodden. The path took us deep into the rain forest. It's green, bright and dark intermittently, birds chirping all around, crickets doing their thing, broken branches, animals rustling leaves and hooting. There was a sign from the department of forests that said, "Don't play with nature." They seemed right - when I played the fool with Pradeep, ants bit me? (where did they come from?)
The entrance to elephant beach appears like some place in outer space! It's dark grey sand and slush all around. Grasshoppers (or were they sandhoppers?) and several insect swarm the place. Dried trees show shamelessly display their bottoms. If you close your eyes and then open them - you'd feel you've landed on some martian moon! It's absolutely quiet except for the gentle gushing of the sea in the background, some birds and crickets chirping and bugs and insects quickly making their way through your feet. Wherever there were small puddles of water (really small), there would
We walked through the greyish-brown slush to find the beach. Were we on earth? I mean the whole place seemed so, so fragile that I felt compelled to throw back the sea shell that I picked up for keeps. Quiet. Tranquil. Very calm. Everything doing its thing. Nothing interfered with anything. Everything had its place and seemed to be there for some unknown reason but it seemed important that it was there. There was a tree - uprooted, whitewashed by the water. There was a dog that seemed interested in my Kindle. There were these little white spiders that popped up from burrows in the sand. They seemed really busy coming out, going in, coming out again. The water was lukewarm, salty, full of pebbles, shells and calm. It was nice.
If you want to find signs to Elephant Beach, you'll never find one. You have ask and go - like everywhere else on the island. You take a right somewhere along the way to the Radha beach. The only indication is you might see a couple of scooters parked. We saw two paths - one to the left and another to the right. Wondering which one led to the elephant beach, we decided to take the one on the left which seemed more trodden. The path took us deep into the rain forest. It's green, bright and dark intermittently, birds chirping all around, crickets doing their thing, broken branches, animals rustling leaves and hooting. There was a sign from the department of forests that said, "Don't play with nature." They seemed right - when I played the fool with Pradeep, ants bit me? (where did they come from?)
The entrance to elephant beach appears like some place in outer space! It's dark grey sand and slush all around. Grasshoppers (or were they sandhoppers?) and several insect swarm the place. Dried trees show shamelessly display their bottoms. If you close your eyes and then open them - you'd feel you've landed on some martian moon! It's absolutely quiet except for the gentle gushing of the sea in the background, some birds and crickets chirping and bugs and insects quickly making their way through your feet. Wherever there were small puddles of water (really small), there would
We walked through the greyish-brown slush to find the beach. Were we on earth? I mean the whole place seemed so, so fragile that I felt compelled to throw back the sea shell that I picked up for keeps. Quiet. Tranquil. Very calm. Everything doing its thing. Nothing interfered with anything. Everything had its place and seemed to be there for some unknown reason but it seemed important that it was there. There was a tree - uprooted, whitewashed by the water. There was a dog that seemed interested in my Kindle. There were these little white spiders that popped up from burrows in the sand. They seemed really busy coming out, going in, coming out again. The water was lukewarm, salty, full of pebbles, shells and calm. It was nice.
SCUBA diving in Havelock
Pradeep was already up by 7.30am when I got up the next morning. He was nice enough get me tea. With tea in my belly, I walked down to the beach behind Gold India. It was nice - small but nice. There were only some dogs around. Next, we went to the neighboring shack for breakfast - omelette and toast. Joy the taxi driver showed up early and asked what we were planning to do. We said we wanted to scuba dive. He said he knows exactly the right place and would make all the "arrangements." After our rather slow-breakfast which involved playing with a kitten, we headed to Village 1 (close to the Jetty) to find scuba diving place.
At the scuba diving place, we met Adi and his wife Vanessa who had just taken over 2.5 weeks ago. They moved to Andamans six months ago. Adi is a professional scuba diver and has been diving for six years in Goa, Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand. He was very knowledgeable and took us through everything in a systematic manner, explaining and answering all our questions. The whole experience was novel. For example, it was an aha for me to learn how to breath through my mouth from a 15 kg cylinder while my nose was shut inside a mask throughout. Very novel!
It's a beautiful world underwater. No amount of images on Discovery or National Geographic can ever make up for the real thing. I just couldn't believe that I was seeing fish above my head, next to me, below me. I couldn't believe the kinds of colors and corals I saw, the plants inside water. I hesitated but ended up touching several corals. The purple colored clams that closed shut when they saw us approaching - just amazing! Once we reached the bed of the sea, I picked up the soft sand. It was so interesting to see my hands touching all this. I just felt one with Nature and very complete. In the muddy dust, I saw a clam embedded into the surface. You wouldn't realize it until you approach it - it quickly opens and shuts when you do. I saw a plant - a lightish brown one with white spots (I don't know the biological names). I touched it with both my hands and felt the softness. It was more moist than merely being wet. It was like swimming in a forest. Imagine an exotic forest filled with water and you floating through it and figuring it out, looking up and down trees and the living things on them. In some other ways, you feel as though you are inside an aquarium. There were a zillion things, breathing, moving about, just living - I mean, all this stuff right next to us occupying three-forths of the planet and somehow, we have this perception that we are the only ones here and our lives are the only things that matter. We on earth are indeed very naive.
At the scuba diving place, we met Adi and his wife Vanessa who had just taken over 2.5 weeks ago. They moved to Andamans six months ago. Adi is a professional scuba diver and has been diving for six years in Goa, Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand. He was very knowledgeable and took us through everything in a systematic manner, explaining and answering all our questions. The whole experience was novel. For example, it was an aha for me to learn how to breath through my mouth from a 15 kg cylinder while my nose was shut inside a mask throughout. Very novel!
It's a beautiful world underwater. No amount of images on Discovery or National Geographic can ever make up for the real thing. I just couldn't believe that I was seeing fish above my head, next to me, below me. I couldn't believe the kinds of colors and corals I saw, the plants inside water. I hesitated but ended up touching several corals. The purple colored clams that closed shut when they saw us approaching - just amazing! Once we reached the bed of the sea, I picked up the soft sand. It was so interesting to see my hands touching all this. I just felt one with Nature and very complete. In the muddy dust, I saw a clam embedded into the surface. You wouldn't realize it until you approach it - it quickly opens and shuts when you do. I saw a plant - a lightish brown one with white spots (I don't know the biological names). I touched it with both my hands and felt the softness. It was more moist than merely being wet. It was like swimming in a forest. Imagine an exotic forest filled with water and you floating through it and figuring it out, looking up and down trees and the living things on them. In some other ways, you feel as though you are inside an aquarium. There were a zillion things, breathing, moving about, just living - I mean, all this stuff right next to us occupying three-forths of the planet and somehow, we have this perception that we are the only ones here and our lives are the only things that matter. We on earth are indeed very naive.
Enter Havelock
After lunch we headed to Havelock without any idea what to do or expect. We just headed there. It was a darn good decision.
We reached Havelock in the afternoon along with other backpackers - most of them European. I recall seeing a family with 4 little kids with long hair - thought they were cute. As you approach the island you see the surrounding water in various shades of blue, green and blue-green.
The laid back culture (I can call it that) was apparent when we asked a bus driver for a free ride instead of taking a rick. He simply nodded asking us to hop on. It was a private bus taking a group of Gujarati families into the island. We got off at the village's only main market. The market looked like a market from any small town in India - a cluster of shops, busy, people standing, sitting and doing whatever. I recall seeing a tourist sitting on a stool and reading her book in front of a shop.
We decided to rent a scooter. Pradeep purchased cheap sunglasses and toothpaste for us. The shop window had a display of the most curious condoms one would imagine. The rental guy wanted to no papers, nothing - he asked for a nominal deposit and gave us the keys. It's a little hard to believe. People in this village trusted each other and strangers by default. He just told us that we'd have to fix if he broke something. He also told us that if the scooter stalled somewhere to give him a call. That's it.
We headed to the Radha beach on village number 7. Whole of Havelock's villages are numbered - 1 through 7. Asking around we found a gas station. It isn't a gas station really. It's again a shop with an asbestos roof that stored petrol in a big container and sold it for Rs. 50 a liter. Amusing.
Village 7 is a longish drive (for Havelock yes). You cut through a forest and then finally approach a small market that signals the arrival of the beach. It was nearly sunset and we saw the yellow sky gently turning darker. Having decided to stay at the Barefoot resort, we walked through the tall, tall trees that seemed have been there since eternity. It was quite dark by the time we got to Barefoot. To our disappointment (which was great actually!), we found that Barefoot had no rooms left. A taxi driver that Pradeep befriended (Joy Fernandes from Trivandrum) directed us to the Gold India resort on Village 5. Alright, we said and we started to village 5 - both of us sweaty, hungry and a little tired. Gold India had rooms for Rs.600 a night; we took it, bathed and headed to the Venom bar for beer and dinner. I slept well and didn't know the passing of the night.
We reached Havelock in the afternoon along with other backpackers - most of them European. I recall seeing a family with 4 little kids with long hair - thought they were cute. As you approach the island you see the surrounding water in various shades of blue, green and blue-green.
The laid back culture (I can call it that) was apparent when we asked a bus driver for a free ride instead of taking a rick. He simply nodded asking us to hop on. It was a private bus taking a group of Gujarati families into the island. We got off at the village's only main market. The market looked like a market from any small town in India - a cluster of shops, busy, people standing, sitting and doing whatever. I recall seeing a tourist sitting on a stool and reading her book in front of a shop.
We decided to rent a scooter. Pradeep purchased cheap sunglasses and toothpaste for us. The shop window had a display of the most curious condoms one would imagine. The rental guy wanted to no papers, nothing - he asked for a nominal deposit and gave us the keys. It's a little hard to believe. People in this village trusted each other and strangers by default. He just told us that we'd have to fix if he broke something. He also told us that if the scooter stalled somewhere to give him a call. That's it.
We headed to the Radha beach on village number 7. Whole of Havelock's villages are numbered - 1 through 7. Asking around we found a gas station. It isn't a gas station really. It's again a shop with an asbestos roof that stored petrol in a big container and sold it for Rs. 50 a liter. Amusing.
Village 7 is a longish drive (for Havelock yes). You cut through a forest and then finally approach a small market that signals the arrival of the beach. It was nearly sunset and we saw the yellow sky gently turning darker. Having decided to stay at the Barefoot resort, we walked through the tall, tall trees that seemed have been there since eternity. It was quite dark by the time we got to Barefoot. To our disappointment (which was great actually!), we found that Barefoot had no rooms left. A taxi driver that Pradeep befriended (Joy Fernandes from Trivandrum) directed us to the Gold India resort on Village 5. Alright, we said and we started to village 5 - both of us sweaty, hungry and a little tired. Gold India had rooms for Rs.600 a night; we took it, bathed and headed to the Venom bar for beer and dinner. I slept well and didn't know the passing of the night.
Enter Andamans
I'm sitting in a ferry back to Port Blair with sleeping passengers all around. The heat makes everyone sleepy. I can't believe that Havelock is gone - it seems like a long and short trip - both at the same time.
48+ hours ago, we landed in Port Blair's small international airport. I was quite amused at how immigration officials filtered passengers based on skin - brown, go here..white, go get a permit. Without checked in bags, we were free to step out in five minutes and were approached by several taxi and auto rickshaw drivers. We selected a lanky man with glasses who indicated that bargaining the Rs.80 for 10 min down was impossible because they had to pay Rs.25 for parking themselves.
Our driver, Alok turned out to be very interesting. Like several of his townsmen, he hopped on a ship and came to Andamans several years ago. He noticed the very many cultures and how everyone lived peacefully and thought, "What's this? This is unlike Kolkatta!" He said he saw his vision of India here - 28 states and even two more countries (Nepal and Bangladesh). He liked it so much that he got a livelihood and settled in Port Blair.
Port Blair itself is an interesting city where people give right of way for pedestrian crossing and wait a full foot away from the stop sign at the signal -- very unlike anywhere else I've seen. He pointed us to a small corner lunch spot and we had a thali meal, which was functional.
48+ hours ago, we landed in Port Blair's small international airport. I was quite amused at how immigration officials filtered passengers based on skin - brown, go here..white, go get a permit. Without checked in bags, we were free to step out in five minutes and were approached by several taxi and auto rickshaw drivers. We selected a lanky man with glasses who indicated that bargaining the Rs.80 for 10 min down was impossible because they had to pay Rs.25 for parking themselves.
Our driver, Alok turned out to be very interesting. Like several of his townsmen, he hopped on a ship and came to Andamans several years ago. He noticed the very many cultures and how everyone lived peacefully and thought, "What's this? This is unlike Kolkatta!" He said he saw his vision of India here - 28 states and even two more countries (Nepal and Bangladesh). He liked it so much that he got a livelihood and settled in Port Blair.
Port Blair itself is an interesting city where people give right of way for pedestrian crossing and wait a full foot away from the stop sign at the signal -- very unlike anywhere else I've seen. He pointed us to a small corner lunch spot and we had a thali meal, which was functional.
Monday, May 18, 2009
China - The center of the universe
I will try to summarize my observations this past week and make comparisons with US and India where relevant. Overall, China impresses.
Infrastructure
Beijing has got its basic infrastructure in place. There are toilets everywhere you go - reasonably clean for a city and very clean for a developing country. Unlike US, you don't need to search for a McDonald's; unlike India, you don't need to hold onto your bladder. It has an excellent public transport system that everyone actively uses. Tickets are issued automatically much like the West and people know how to use it! You don't end up sweating and smelling if you travel by the subway or by the bus. There's enough room left on the roads for people to cycle. Several of them do. Unlike in India, it isn't the urban poor or middleclass but quite a few people cycle. 3 million people ride taxis everyday in Beijing and taxis proudly claim that they take 90 million passengers every month. Nearly all of them gave me a printed receipt.
Architecture
There are countless big buildings which easily highlight the "developing status" of New Delhi or Mumbai. Beijing desperately wants to stand out. In order to do that it attracts architects from Holland or elsewhere to create their stamp and give Beijing its unique structure. The CCTV tower is one of the more recognizable structures in downtown and is jocularly referred to as "the pants" or the underwear or whatever - am sure the architect isn't happy about that. The buildings appear very solid and stable -- reminds you somewhat of DC.
Immigration desk
The immigration officers are extremely courteous and polite and do not behave the way their US counterparts do. While at the US desk, I get the feeling that am already making some mistake and I'm looked at in ways that I'm not supposed to be here. The Beijing immigration desk has an instant-feedback system, which I simply loved. As soon as the officer is almost done with you, it blinks asking you to give feedback -- extremely unsatisfactory, unsatisfactory, satisfactory, very satisfactory -- including smilies. I gave satisfactory both times - my entry and exit. I'm sure they were even smiling beneath their Swine Flu protection masks but I couldn't tell.
Hotels
There are no tips in China except at big, western-styled restaurants. My hotel (the Quandrangle hotel in Deshengmen -- #42 in Xinghua hutong) had excellent service but they wouldn't take tips! It was an amazing experience.
People
People are the same everywhere. I found myself feeling connected with nearly everyone I met. They are warm, friendly, balanced, trusting and forthcoming in their outlook. Family is a very important social element. Unlike the US where it's common to see people grabbing a bite on the move or on their own, in Beijing people always seemed to share their meal and eat in groups. India is getting to where US is. People in the hutongs, at shops always sat around the table and dipped into common bowls of food. It somehow seemed to bring everyone together and brought a sense of solidarity and stability in the social order.
Compared to their Indian counterparts, I found Beijingers surprisingly less conservative and more forthcoming. At the Temple of Heaven park, people including several elderly people were learning to dance Salsa. If I'd see something like that in a park here in Mumbai, there would be a larger group standing and hooting.
At Tiananmen square, I saw a well-dressed gentleman paying his respects to the monument. I can't recall seeing anyone do that at Indian or American monuments -- it would be odd. They would do so at temples in India but not at monuments that symbolize the country (e.g. the Ashoka pillar).
When someone says "homeland" -- I suspect it would stir deeper passions in China than in some other countries. There's perhaps a reason for this. Without a religious upbringing, there's nothing more unifying or a higher-level platform than "country" for China.
People are also quirky - I loved the way they obsess taking pictures. You can tell that this is a new passion -- perhaps 5-10 years old -- of clicking, clicking, clicking. But isn't this everywhere.
There's this energy that I observed amongst the people -- they want to get somewhere regardless of anything. They don't care what the world thinks...it's not their headache...they need to focus on getting China ahead and they are doing it with a pace and a sense of urgency that I haven't seen elsewhere.
Expats
Expats would easily feel more comfortable in Beijing than they would in Indian cities. This is in spite of the language. Beijing has created a reasonably comfortable environment that is commutable. I got oriented in a day. I felt I could get by on my own and anywhere in Beijing the next morning. I don't believe Mumbai offers that kind of comfort for foreigners. You can't simply hop on the train - it would confuse you...more over it's too crowded in Mumbai. The night life is more open. You get beer almost everywhere and it's not looked at like some activity reserved for dinners. You are thirsty, you can have beer and that would be okay. In that respect, it even differs from US.
Religion
It's very unique to China that it has no religion. After the cultural wipe out years, most young Chinese people have been brought up with no-religion. So I was confused to see people worshiping at the Lama temple. I was told that people do worship when they are in trouble. If you are member of the Communist Party, you definitely cannot follow any religion because communism by itself is a religion. As a citizen you can hold public demonstrations that are religious in nature - the law curtails you. You cannot build temples and of the like without sufficient permission from the party - you may not get it.
Lack of religion does not mean lack of values. People have their values. These are deeply embedded within their culture. Core among them is respect to elders, respect to authority. These values are more Confucian in nature. People also have rituals. G's wedding was an elaborate Chinese ceremony. No one clearly seemed to know the origin of these ceremonies whether it was shooting the arrows or the jumping the fire. If you think about these -- yes, there seems to be underlying reasons of respect, love, worship and so on. But people will not clearly know.
China left religion alone to get more modern. If you see China today and compare it to the China of yesterday, one would feel that it's more modern. However, I doubt very much if dropping religion has been the reason.
Internet and TV exposure
There's no Youtube in China (there's of course www.youku.com). Google is a modified version so are several other websites that form part of normal living in US or India. There was CNN, National Geographic and several traditional Chinese soap operas running on TV. The only amusing thing I recall seeing on TV were ads for bras that made things look bigger.
I found this type of interference and control a little difficult to digest. Someone explained to me that China considers that the websites have sensitive information and does not like its citizens to have access to it. Because TV is state controlled, people go to the Internet for entertainment (that tells something there).
People seemed to have a lot of freedom up till a certain threshold -- as long as it didn't interfere with what the state considers sensitive. For e.g. one can't imagine having a demonstration on Tiananmen square. One might easily do it just about anywhere in India. I feel comfortable getting up right now and mobilizing one if I wanted to. I feel the same in US. It's impossible without ending up in trouble in China.
Mao and the government
I asked several people this question: what is your opinion of Mao? The responses were amazingly consistent -- these were people from different backgrounds -- well educated management professionals, businessmen, middle-class, tour guides, shop keepers and so on...the response went like this after a little bit of hesitation:
"Oh, Chairman Mao...he is great man, his work is well appreciated but he's also human-being"
My follow-up question after a few minutes: does everyone feel the same?
"about 70%"
I wondered how could everyone quote the number 70%. They seemed to say it in response to how many people like him, how much did he do right etc. 70%. George later explained to me that that's the official number/ line on Mao.
It seemed to me that people have been wired this way through countless conversation within closed family walls, within schools etc. etc. He is "also human being."
**
Ask the desis what they think of Nehru or the Americans on Roosevelt...you might get a million answers.
Piracy and ethics
When I saw the soldiers on Tiananmen square, I felt they exhibited a sense of strength that made you want to respect authority. You feel that way everywhere -- you generally feel the citizens respect authority. The Michigan girl sitting next to me at G's wedding said, "It's in China's culture to respect elders - like their father. They consider in some ways the govt. to be an elder and they respect it."
If that's the case how come piracy is so rampant. Check out Meize M8 - a nice, open copy of the iPhone. I was taken to a "secret place" in Beijing. This was in an upscale apartment complex called Soho. In a building 8, on some high floor...it looked like a nice apartment. When we rang the bell, the door opened to a regular apartment. The lady bowed and took us inside. Then she opened another door which led us to a bag store -- that had all the designer labels one can imagine -- Prada, Gucci, Hermes...you name it. A Hermes bag that might cost $2,700 costs $120 in this store. It looks like the real thing and I do think I have a decently keen sense to tell the difference. It's very possible that the suppliers to this secret store work Mon-Fri for the label's factory and sat-sun for themselves. I saw in action how piracy theft occurs. Silk Market is full of examples but not at the same level of sophistication as the secret store.
On my flight back to Korea I was reading the latest Forbes Asia. It talked about the Goodbaby brand and how it struggles to sell on its own brand in spite of being the supplier for all the big US and European brands. But of course, I thought. How can China expect to sell the fakes and also be a brand leader. It would be impossible for China to have the cake and eat it too. I see this on the political issues -- for e.g. it's taking offense to the Japanese PM visiting the Japanese soldiers memorial and it's taking offense to French PM visiting with the Dalai Lama -- how divergent, how opposite.
I'm sure China realizes this. It's easy. If it was apparent for me as a visitor of 5 days, it should be dead-apparent for the country's leaders.
**
Final words
I learned more about China in the last 5 days on the ground than I did during my 6 week class in Michigan. Coming from a developing country and market like India, I recognize the challenges and constraints of developing economies and I must say I'm amazed and bowled over by China. How quickly they've scaled and how vast despite the many challenges. It's impressive by any standards. The environmental and other issues are being brought to light because of the intense scrutiny that China is in. No other country is under so much of scrutiny. The West has a lot to worry about as far as China is concerned and therefore everyone wants to point out what's wrong. All of a sudden, everyone wants China to take more responsibility because they've grown so much -- in other words, China is indeed considered by the world as a leader. That's in fact what China also wants....only if it can avoid costly responsibilities.
People in the country in general have respect towards their leaders and Mao because whatever it is that they did or are doing -- it seems to be working. Most people have a better life and better opportunity than their parents did. China is at its peak and it's growing at a pace that the world hasn't seen before.
Everyone there is bound to think China is the center of the universe because it is. If I were viewing it from a person born, brought up and living in China, I wouldn't know any other way. I wouldn't have that much exposure of the world (because the TV and Internet and other media are state controlled) or what the world thinks of China and therefore why would I care. Moreover, from the Australian PM who speaks fluent Mandarin to the US asking China to hang on to those US Treasury bonds, everyone seems to be courting China in one way or the other. Everything converges at China. Hey, it's bound to be the center of the universe.
Infrastructure
Beijing has got its basic infrastructure in place. There are toilets everywhere you go - reasonably clean for a city and very clean for a developing country. Unlike US, you don't need to search for a McDonald's; unlike India, you don't need to hold onto your bladder. It has an excellent public transport system that everyone actively uses. Tickets are issued automatically much like the West and people know how to use it! You don't end up sweating and smelling if you travel by the subway or by the bus. There's enough room left on the roads for people to cycle. Several of them do. Unlike in India, it isn't the urban poor or middleclass but quite a few people cycle. 3 million people ride taxis everyday in Beijing and taxis proudly claim that they take 90 million passengers every month. Nearly all of them gave me a printed receipt.
Architecture
There are countless big buildings which easily highlight the "developing status" of New Delhi or Mumbai. Beijing desperately wants to stand out. In order to do that it attracts architects from Holland or elsewhere to create their stamp and give Beijing its unique structure. The CCTV tower is one of the more recognizable structures in downtown and is jocularly referred to as "the pants" or the underwear or whatever - am sure the architect isn't happy about that. The buildings appear very solid and stable -- reminds you somewhat of DC.
Immigration desk
The immigration officers are extremely courteous and polite and do not behave the way their US counterparts do. While at the US desk, I get the feeling that am already making some mistake and I'm looked at in ways that I'm not supposed to be here. The Beijing immigration desk has an instant-feedback system, which I simply loved. As soon as the officer is almost done with you, it blinks asking you to give feedback -- extremely unsatisfactory, unsatisfactory, satisfactory, very satisfactory -- including smilies. I gave satisfactory both times - my entry and exit. I'm sure they were even smiling beneath their Swine Flu protection masks but I couldn't tell.
Hotels
There are no tips in China except at big, western-styled restaurants. My hotel (the Quandrangle hotel in Deshengmen -- #42 in Xinghua hutong) had excellent service but they wouldn't take tips! It was an amazing experience.
People
People are the same everywhere. I found myself feeling connected with nearly everyone I met. They are warm, friendly, balanced, trusting and forthcoming in their outlook. Family is a very important social element. Unlike the US where it's common to see people grabbing a bite on the move or on their own, in Beijing people always seemed to share their meal and eat in groups. India is getting to where US is. People in the hutongs, at shops always sat around the table and dipped into common bowls of food. It somehow seemed to bring everyone together and brought a sense of solidarity and stability in the social order.
Compared to their Indian counterparts, I found Beijingers surprisingly less conservative and more forthcoming. At the Temple of Heaven park, people including several elderly people were learning to dance Salsa. If I'd see something like that in a park here in Mumbai, there would be a larger group standing and hooting.
At Tiananmen square, I saw a well-dressed gentleman paying his respects to the monument. I can't recall seeing anyone do that at Indian or American monuments -- it would be odd. They would do so at temples in India but not at monuments that symbolize the country (e.g. the Ashoka pillar).
When someone says "homeland" -- I suspect it would stir deeper passions in China than in some other countries. There's perhaps a reason for this. Without a religious upbringing, there's nothing more unifying or a higher-level platform than "country" for China.
People are also quirky - I loved the way they obsess taking pictures. You can tell that this is a new passion -- perhaps 5-10 years old -- of clicking, clicking, clicking. But isn't this everywhere.
There's this energy that I observed amongst the people -- they want to get somewhere regardless of anything. They don't care what the world thinks...it's not their headache...they need to focus on getting China ahead and they are doing it with a pace and a sense of urgency that I haven't seen elsewhere.
Expats
Expats would easily feel more comfortable in Beijing than they would in Indian cities. This is in spite of the language. Beijing has created a reasonably comfortable environment that is commutable. I got oriented in a day. I felt I could get by on my own and anywhere in Beijing the next morning. I don't believe Mumbai offers that kind of comfort for foreigners. You can't simply hop on the train - it would confuse you...more over it's too crowded in Mumbai. The night life is more open. You get beer almost everywhere and it's not looked at like some activity reserved for dinners. You are thirsty, you can have beer and that would be okay. In that respect, it even differs from US.
Religion
It's very unique to China that it has no religion. After the cultural wipe out years, most young Chinese people have been brought up with no-religion. So I was confused to see people worshiping at the Lama temple. I was told that people do worship when they are in trouble. If you are member of the Communist Party, you definitely cannot follow any religion because communism by itself is a religion. As a citizen you can hold public demonstrations that are religious in nature - the law curtails you. You cannot build temples and of the like without sufficient permission from the party - you may not get it.
Lack of religion does not mean lack of values. People have their values. These are deeply embedded within their culture. Core among them is respect to elders, respect to authority. These values are more Confucian in nature. People also have rituals. G's wedding was an elaborate Chinese ceremony. No one clearly seemed to know the origin of these ceremonies whether it was shooting the arrows or the jumping the fire. If you think about these -- yes, there seems to be underlying reasons of respect, love, worship and so on. But people will not clearly know.
China left religion alone to get more modern. If you see China today and compare it to the China of yesterday, one would feel that it's more modern. However, I doubt very much if dropping religion has been the reason.
Internet and TV exposure
There's no Youtube in China (there's of course www.youku.com). Google is a modified version so are several other websites that form part of normal living in US or India. There was CNN, National Geographic and several traditional Chinese soap operas running on TV. The only amusing thing I recall seeing on TV were ads for bras that made things look bigger.
I found this type of interference and control a little difficult to digest. Someone explained to me that China considers that the websites have sensitive information and does not like its citizens to have access to it. Because TV is state controlled, people go to the Internet for entertainment (that tells something there).
People seemed to have a lot of freedom up till a certain threshold -- as long as it didn't interfere with what the state considers sensitive. For e.g. one can't imagine having a demonstration on Tiananmen square. One might easily do it just about anywhere in India. I feel comfortable getting up right now and mobilizing one if I wanted to. I feel the same in US. It's impossible without ending up in trouble in China.
Mao and the government
I asked several people this question: what is your opinion of Mao? The responses were amazingly consistent -- these were people from different backgrounds -- well educated management professionals, businessmen, middle-class, tour guides, shop keepers and so on...the response went like this after a little bit of hesitation:
"Oh, Chairman Mao...he is great man, his work is well appreciated but he's also human-being"
My follow-up question after a few minutes: does everyone feel the same?
"about 70%"
I wondered how could everyone quote the number 70%. They seemed to say it in response to how many people like him, how much did he do right etc. 70%. George later explained to me that that's the official number/ line on Mao.
It seemed to me that people have been wired this way through countless conversation within closed family walls, within schools etc. etc. He is "also human being."
**
Ask the desis what they think of Nehru or the Americans on Roosevelt...you might get a million answers.
Piracy and ethics
When I saw the soldiers on Tiananmen square, I felt they exhibited a sense of strength that made you want to respect authority. You feel that way everywhere -- you generally feel the citizens respect authority. The Michigan girl sitting next to me at G's wedding said, "It's in China's culture to respect elders - like their father. They consider in some ways the govt. to be an elder and they respect it."
If that's the case how come piracy is so rampant. Check out Meize M8 - a nice, open copy of the iPhone. I was taken to a "secret place" in Beijing. This was in an upscale apartment complex called Soho. In a building 8, on some high floor...it looked like a nice apartment. When we rang the bell, the door opened to a regular apartment. The lady bowed and took us inside. Then she opened another door which led us to a bag store -- that had all the designer labels one can imagine -- Prada, Gucci, Hermes...you name it. A Hermes bag that might cost $2,700 costs $120 in this store. It looks like the real thing and I do think I have a decently keen sense to tell the difference. It's very possible that the suppliers to this secret store work Mon-Fri for the label's factory and sat-sun for themselves. I saw in action how piracy theft occurs. Silk Market is full of examples but not at the same level of sophistication as the secret store.
On my flight back to Korea I was reading the latest Forbes Asia. It talked about the Goodbaby brand and how it struggles to sell on its own brand in spite of being the supplier for all the big US and European brands. But of course, I thought. How can China expect to sell the fakes and also be a brand leader. It would be impossible for China to have the cake and eat it too. I see this on the political issues -- for e.g. it's taking offense to the Japanese PM visiting the Japanese soldiers memorial and it's taking offense to French PM visiting with the Dalai Lama -- how divergent, how opposite.
I'm sure China realizes this. It's easy. If it was apparent for me as a visitor of 5 days, it should be dead-apparent for the country's leaders.
**
Final words
I learned more about China in the last 5 days on the ground than I did during my 6 week class in Michigan. Coming from a developing country and market like India, I recognize the challenges and constraints of developing economies and I must say I'm amazed and bowled over by China. How quickly they've scaled and how vast despite the many challenges. It's impressive by any standards. The environmental and other issues are being brought to light because of the intense scrutiny that China is in. No other country is under so much of scrutiny. The West has a lot to worry about as far as China is concerned and therefore everyone wants to point out what's wrong. All of a sudden, everyone wants China to take more responsibility because they've grown so much -- in other words, China is indeed considered by the world as a leader. That's in fact what China also wants....only if it can avoid costly responsibilities.
People in the country in general have respect towards their leaders and Mao because whatever it is that they did or are doing -- it seems to be working. Most people have a better life and better opportunity than their parents did. China is at its peak and it's growing at a pace that the world hasn't seen before.
Everyone there is bound to think China is the center of the universe because it is. If I were viewing it from a person born, brought up and living in China, I wouldn't know any other way. I wouldn't have that much exposure of the world (because the TV and Internet and other media are state controlled) or what the world thinks of China and therefore why would I care. Moreover, from the Australian PM who speaks fluent Mandarin to the US asking China to hang on to those US Treasury bonds, everyone seems to be courting China in one way or the other. Everything converges at China. Hey, it's bound to be the center of the universe.
Day 5: Temple of Heaven, Silk Market
I got up the next morning early. I had retired early despite the wedding bhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifecause the weather got to me and my nose, ears blocked and with a hurting throat....so I left a little earlier than I thought I would. So the next morning I took Hao's other reco and went to the temple of heaven, which was more interesting than Forbidden City.
What I loved about it - more than the structures, which all seemed to intermingle in my mind by now -- was the people. There were so many local people doing so many different things. It was Sunday morning and people were out in the sun -- singing, dancing (salsa and traditional), exercising, playing jianzi, a sport where you play shuttle-cock with your foot - nice fun! People seemed very extroverted, open and forthcoming. People volunteered to sing and it was all so interesting. I lost track of time before rushing to make it back to the Quandrangle hotel for lunch at noon.
At lunch, I tried frog legs, scallops and squid all for the first time - all for fun. Frog legs I thought tasted like Checkers' fries.
**
Silk market was chaos. You can hone your negotiation and bargaining skills well by spending time there. You can find the most unbelievable deals usually at the 1/10th the price they originally quote. It's erstwhile Fashion Street in Mumbai -- only that many times bigger. The vendors spoke better English than most vendors in the rest of Beijing.
That night we ate dinner at the place called "The Place" - a mall with a huge LCD roof that displayed all kinds of things -- from flowers, to kids, to outerspace stuff...it's a great place to get buzzed and lose track of time and your mind.
What I loved about it - more than the structures, which all seemed to intermingle in my mind by now -- was the people. There were so many local people doing so many different things. It was Sunday morning and people were out in the sun -- singing, dancing (salsa and traditional), exercising, playing jianzi, a sport where you play shuttle-cock with your foot - nice fun! People seemed very extroverted, open and forthcoming. People volunteered to sing and it was all so interesting. I lost track of time before rushing to make it back to the Quandrangle hotel for lunch at noon.
At lunch, I tried frog legs, scallops and squid all for the first time - all for fun. Frog legs I thought tasted like Checkers' fries.
**
Silk market was chaos. You can hone your negotiation and bargaining skills well by spending time there. You can find the most unbelievable deals usually at the 1/10th the price they originally quote. It's erstwhile Fashion Street in Mumbai -- only that many times bigger. The vendors spoke better English than most vendors in the rest of Beijing.
That night we ate dinner at the place called "The Place" - a mall with a huge LCD roof that displayed all kinds of things -- from flowers, to kids, to outerspace stuff...it's a great place to get buzzed and lose track of time and your mind.
Day 4: Lama temple and the wedding
Hao, the Michigan alum recommended that I visit the Lama Temple. After the Great Wall trek to Simatai, I was greatly satisfied. I had done whatever I wanted to in Beijing. I mean here was the greatest wall and longest and highest wall in the world...so narrow that I could drop off on either side into the valleys...so beautiful that I could've just stopped and stayed there...I didn't feel the need to see anything more.
But I went to the Yonghe temple or the Lama temple. I took a cab and had a nice "Lost in Translation" moment. I was very impressed with the temple. It's bang in the middle of busy city roads and yet so peaceful and quiet inside. There were two bronze lions, several versions of Buddha....very much like Buddha's Indian counterparts....the mudras, the postures...very similar. Devotees purchased incense sticks outside the temple and burned them in front. People were not required to remove shoes to go inside.
What took the cake was the Maitreya Buddha - an 18m tall statue that was carved out of a single piece of sandalwood. The statue takes its place in the Guiness Book of records for being the tallest statue made out of a single piece of wood. While Buddha is mostly depicted for His equanimity, his meditative postures and his laughter...this Buddha seemed super human or rather a super God...someone who ought to be feared. You can't help but gape at the statue in awe at its magnificence. I was thinking of Michelangelo's sculptures and this one...who is to say which is greater. I loved it.
**
The wedding was lovely. The bride and groom looked so lovely in their traditional and modern attires. We went in rickshaw to the lake. The groomsmen and the couple went on a boat to the wedding place. They took the lake that was near Bar street (where I ate bean curd stir fry the other night). Max and I continued in the rickshaw to the wedding place.
The wedding area glowed in red - bright, beautiful red. From the boat, George came on a horse and his bride in a red palanquin. He rode around the area with trumpeters making their sounds. The local tourists in the area went crazy. When he got back to the wedding site, the marriage party was the stop him and ask him for money. He had a bag of coins from the Mardigras and he threw it all around him -- tourists went crazier. It was fun.
Then BeiBei got out of her palanquin - veil and all. The groom removed the veil with the veil-stick. And then there was this MC who directed them in Chinese what to do, what to say. He teased them, made them bow to each others' parents, to each other. Then they had tea. Then they ate dumplings, which are supposed to taste "raw" -- so the crowd would ask, "Is it raw?" and they would respond, "Yes, raw" -- which also has a double meaning that they would deliver babies. Then they jumped on the fire (fake one) and George had to fire arrows to the earth, to the sky and at his bride.
Very nice!
But I went to the Yonghe temple or the Lama temple. I took a cab and had a nice "Lost in Translation" moment. I was very impressed with the temple. It's bang in the middle of busy city roads and yet so peaceful and quiet inside. There were two bronze lions, several versions of Buddha....very much like Buddha's Indian counterparts....the mudras, the postures...very similar. Devotees purchased incense sticks outside the temple and burned them in front. People were not required to remove shoes to go inside.
What took the cake was the Maitreya Buddha - an 18m tall statue that was carved out of a single piece of sandalwood. The statue takes its place in the Guiness Book of records for being the tallest statue made out of a single piece of wood. While Buddha is mostly depicted for His equanimity, his meditative postures and his laughter...this Buddha seemed super human or rather a super God...someone who ought to be feared. You can't help but gape at the statue in awe at its magnificence. I was thinking of Michelangelo's sculptures and this one...who is to say which is greater. I loved it.
**
The wedding was lovely. The bride and groom looked so lovely in their traditional and modern attires. We went in rickshaw to the lake. The groomsmen and the couple went on a boat to the wedding place. They took the lake that was near Bar street (where I ate bean curd stir fry the other night). Max and I continued in the rickshaw to the wedding place.
The wedding area glowed in red - bright, beautiful red. From the boat, George came on a horse and his bride in a red palanquin. He rode around the area with trumpeters making their sounds. The local tourists in the area went crazy. When he got back to the wedding site, the marriage party was the stop him and ask him for money. He had a bag of coins from the Mardigras and he threw it all around him -- tourists went crazier. It was fun.
Then BeiBei got out of her palanquin - veil and all. The groom removed the veil with the veil-stick. And then there was this MC who directed them in Chinese what to do, what to say. He teased them, made them bow to each others' parents, to each other. Then they had tea. Then they ate dumplings, which are supposed to taste "raw" -- so the crowd would ask, "Is it raw?" and they would respond, "Yes, raw" -- which also has a double meaning that they would deliver babies. Then they jumped on the fire (fake one) and George had to fire arrows to the earth, to the sky and at his bride.
Very nice!
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