E Episode 2: Beijing to Hong Kong

One of my first tasks is to always look up a Birkenstock store in every city I visit if I have the time pre or post cruise to see if I can find a pair. In the US, they are not only rather expensive compared with overseas, but I can rarely find my size, 35. I had little luck in Beijing with Birkenstocks. The prices were good, but the smallest I could find in the cute styles was 36, as in the US. So, with all the retail stores, I figured Hong Kong would have Birkenstocks. Doug came back from his morning coffee run with an announcement that he found a store. Not only were the prices good, but they had my style and I bought my trip quota--two pairs. That was it for my big purchases! We filled up our time in Hong Kong visiting some of the markets. The first night we went to the Temple Market. This was a flea market of sorts with everything from fortune tellers to knock off Rolex watches for $10. I bought a $5 pair of knock off D&G sunglasses and a Rolex for a friend. Aren’t I a good friend?! I wonder if it will keep time for the entire trip?

The next day we visited the jade market where they had some nice pearl and jade items ranging in price from $2 to well over $1000. Not knowing quality, I made sure I kept to the $10 range and bought a bunch of gifts for friends and one or two trinkets for me. I looked them up on the internet and they seem to range individually in the $50-150 retail range, so I feel good about what I bought.

There is also a bird market and a flower market on the Kowloon side which we wandered through as well. I gave in and purchased a set of 6 chopsticks (at 80 cents a pr) at the Ladies market on the way back to the hotel on Sunday.

Socially, Doug and I ran into some of our cruising friends at the jade market and had a fantastic dinner at the Intercontinental at their Asian restaurant with our cruise friends the evening of the first day. The second day, we wandered around a bit more to get a flavor of the city and headed over to the ship for lunch and unpacking. Somehow, I feel really stupid in a tropical climate with two ski outfits in my luggage. But, how could I resist them for only $38? They were my Beijing bargains.

The first day, we didn’t eat lunch until 4pm as we got got up in touring and ate a very light lunch at a VietNamese restaurant at the mall near our hotel and the cruise ship. The next day, we ate lunch on the cruise ship and saved a few dollars.

I had enough bling, noise, masses of people and shopping. It was time to stop reaching into my pocket and paying for overpriced items. I was looking forward to my all inclusive 16 day cruise where EVERYTHING was paid for. I only had one more stop before setting sail--to venture out to the crowded mall for an overpriced manicure and pedicure.
At least they were very sweet and did a fantastic job.

A few afterthoughts on China....

Hong Kong ethical and cultural fiber is not the same as ours. The local newspaper reported officials stated that financial corruption in Hong Kong skyrocketed in the first three months of 2009 as the city's economy has deteriorated. Corruption cases in the financial and insurance sectors surged 46 percent in the first quarter, contributing to a 23-per-cent overall rise in corruption.

Another article pointed out that nearly one-third of office employees in wealthy, workaholic Hong Kong keep their earnings secret from their husbands or wives. Thirty percent of office workers surveyed admitted they did not tell their spouses their exact earnings while almost half said they did not discuss office happenings at home. The researcher said some husbands said they kept their earnings secret because they feared their partners would ask for more housekeeping money if they knew how much they really earned. Other spouses, both male and female, said they believed they were entitled to privacy about their earnings even after they were married. Forty percent of office workers interviewed said the biggest strain on their married life was Hong Kong's notoriously long working hours.

As far as how we found the differences in Beijing versus Hong Kong...

Surprisingly, I found Beijing can be quite "Western." The city is sprawling and the highways were wide and jammed full of cars. It never seems to end. I found the people in Beijing warmer and less hurried. While embracing capitalism, they also embraced their freedom and had a lust for art, dance, singing, sports, laughing and just walking in their many parks. I never felt that anyone was out to take advantage of me. I never felt lust or greed. Cab drivers didn’t seem hungry for a fare. If they didn’t know a location, they would move on. If you were their fare and they were lost, they would turn off the meter. If you tipped them, they would be very grateful.

While the Hong Kong folks often referred to the extraordinarily wealthy mainland Chinese that were changing the face of Beijing and Hong Kong, I didn’t find a coarse attitude in those who lived in Beijing. I did, however, find an ugly underbelly in Hong Kong that was quite visible at the surface.

That doesn’t mean that the underbelly doesn’t exist in Beijing. While I never saw any slums, I know Beijing has poor people and that there isn’t much of a welfare system to take care of its multitude of poor. One of my friends said that she, in fact, saw through the trees the slums in the outskirts of Beijing and it wasn’t a pretty site. I do know that a few years ago, as part of China's preparation for the Olympics, Beijing launched an unrelenting demolition campaign that targeted the pockets of slums nestled among the spiraling skyscrapers and gleaming residential complexes. In the eyes of the authorities and well-off, these slums were hotbeds of crime and a disgrace to a modern capital about to host the world's most prestigious sporting event. In 2005, the authorities launched a "reform plan" for the slums and 171 areas were singled out for demolition ahead of the Games. All the slums near the venues have been removed, and residents who refused to go saw their houses taken down anyway without compensation paid.

Beijing is designed in Rings. Many slums only now remain along the outskirts of Beijing outside the Fifth Ring Road, and most of those within the Third Ring Road have  disappeared. Some shabby cabins and brick houses within the Third Ring Road have survived, but they are hidden behind the newly painted buildings along the main roads.

So, Doug and I never really saw the “other side” of Beijing--only the glossy side stands on display for the tourists, where Hong Kong lets it all hang out. It would take more than 7 days for me to really understand more of this unique culture than I’m sure I have a grasp on. I’m sure I have misinterpreted ever so much. But an impression is an impression. Beijing was successful perhaps in fooling Doug and me and Hong Kong less successful. Only a return trip or further analysis will help us get a better understanding. What is a slap in the face for an American is the vast wealth in Asia and the realization that they are the new dominant power. This former communist society, now has more than one foot in communism and one foot in capitalism. It is capitalism gone awry--at its worst. We are becoming more socialistic building an economic system based on taking care of the masses and China has a capitalistic society based on every man for himself. There are few social programs of any type in China, save for education. If your family doesn’t take care of you, you have nothing. I noticed most of the folks in Beijing who were 50 plus were not into style and were still wearing Mao outfits. The younger folks were very western and were very hip. The parents shared that young girls are more into their careers than getting married, which is a concern. The Chinese are driven to get ahead and leave their culture behind.

The Chinese newspapers still have an interesting innocence. Headlines from the China Scene: Con Woman gets 14 years for duping online lover; Enlightened traffic offender starts up blog; Woman climbs pole after fight with hubby; Man goes undercover to save love lover from scammer; Woman kills self after man sees her naked; Boy, 17, leaves home after mother curses him; Yaks run amok as sleepy driver crashes truck.

Nevertheless, as American as they want to be, it is a culture banning travel, banning Facebook, banning travel for education abroad unless your grades are of a certain level, and allowing sweat shops. It is not a culture based on Judeo-Christian ethic. I was told their culture wasn’t based on a religion but on a philosophy--Confucionism. In the US and Europe, whether you are religious or not, our culture is based on Judeo-Christian ethical standards. The Chinese culture is a culture that has been denied the pleasures for many years. It is a country of many nationalities that had been governed by war lords by many centuries and was thrown in chaos until Mao unified the nation. It is not America. I have to wonder what will America be like as more and more of America is owned by this highly aggressive and capitalistic culture?

I contemplated much of this during our restful sea day on the ship. It was just easier to throw oneself into simpler tasks. So, we’ve washed our clothes, caught up with friends, eaten too much, played cards (pooch), played trivia and really done a lot of nothing to fill up an entire day. Tomorrow’s excursion is called Hanoi and Shopping. Haven’t we had enough of shopping? Shopping or not, it will be another culture to tackle and try to get our arms around.

It will be a long day. Time to go to bed.