Tee Designs by Eric Garcia

At least they gave us a snack...

So, I was scheduled to leave Beijing on Friday morning... all was running as planned. I woke up to a gray and much cooler morning than I had in nearly a week. I tossed my dirty clothes into my larger bag and gently layered my souvenirs and gifts in to a packable and expandable duffel bag that I brought with me. As best I could, I tried not to crush the fragile items. I checked out of the hotel as one of the staff members ran out to the main street to catch me a cab to the airport. The bus I took on the way in would have been cheaper but at this point of the trip, I was shorter on time than I had been a few days earlier. I asked the staff to request that the driver stop at the corner so I could squeeze in one last visit to a Chinese bakery; a treat that I guiltlessly allowed myself as often as necessary since my first 6am morning in Hong Kong nearly two weeks ago. With a $ 0.25 bag of pastries and a warm milk box (imagine a juice box) – that I in could not finish, (I can understand the whole “warm beverages are more easily digestible thing but, warm milk?) Anyway, I was off to the airport.

I had plenty of time to get checked in, push through airport security and find my gate. I was early so I found a seat and opened my book and tried to pay attention, as best I could, to the announcements (in Chinese mind you) and noted that after one particular announcement, there was a audible groan from my fellow passengers seated around me. You know the kind, it sort of sounds like the groans expelled when people realize that there flight has been delayed... yeah, that's the one. So, I left my bag at my seat and walked up to the departure gate attendant to confirm my suspicions. As I hawk-eyed my carry-on bag, I inquired about China Airlines flight CA 1109 to Hong Kong. without a beat the man behind the counter simply said “it's been delayed”. How long, I asked. “We don't know, he answered. Could be an hour, could be six, I inquired. “We don't know right now, we will make an announcement” was what I was able to decipher from our conversation. I checked on my baggage again and returned to my seat and back to my book. Normally, I would have been a been a bit frustrated, but I was still in vacation mode and I sort of shrugged it off. My connecting flight in Hong Kong wasn't until 10pm so I didn't have anything to worry about (so I thought), I had expected to spend the day in an airport anyway and it was only 12:45pm.

About an hour later two men with carts came in to my view. On the carts were ½ a dozen milk white boxes, like a common plastic storage box, stacked head high. From my seat, I could not tell what was in the boxes but as the second cart came in to view carrying crates of bottled water and coca-cola, I deduced that they must be bringing us a snack. I should have seen this as a clearer sign of what was to come, but I was distracted by my free meal of airline style Chinese noodles and pickled vegetables and therefore much less concerned by these events than I would have been back home. Outside The sky was gray and the fog was was thick. Visibility was close to nil.

By 4pm I had visited the man at the desk another time or two and was now starting to get concerned. I exited the secured boarding area, left my passport with a immigration officer and returned to the ticket counter to speak with my connecting airline about the increasing likelihood that I would miss my flight in Hong Kong. I could not locate a Singapore airlines counter so I had to make a phone call. This call was frustrating and unfruitful, the language barrier did not lessen this at all. I did manage to discover that Singapore Airlines has only 1 flight a day from Hong Kong and it leaves at 9:50pm. When I inquired about flying directly from Beijing to San Francisco I learned that If I wanted to pursue that as an option, I would have to fly to Singapore first and then to San Francisco thru Hong Kong. How's that for an alternative? Anyway, I spoke with a manager at the China Airlines desk and we agreed that the plane was not yet at the airport and by the time it landed, had been cleaned and we all boarded plus the flight time, “maybe” I would not make my connection. He was trying to be polite, but we both knew I was F*cked and I knew for sure that I was not going home that day.

By the time I landed in Hong Kong, made my way through customs and picked up my bag it was 11pm. I checked with the Customer Service desk hoping that perhaps the flight was delayed. In fact it did depart 25 minutes late but it had still departed without me. I stood in line with a group of folks who also missed their connecting flights and finally, around mid-night, confirmed a seat on the next night's flight to SF.

Now what, I've got about 22 Hours to kill and I'm in the Hong Kong airport, about 30 min. from Kowloon. Can you imagine spending all night and all day in an airport? Me neither. Conveniently there's a 4 star hotel right there in the airport. Could I afford to stay the night in the airport hotel, I asked myself. I was leaning towards sleeping in the terminal, but the idea of sleeping on the floor or sitting upright in a chair did not sound adventurous, it sounded dreadful. Somehow I remembered reading a document that suggested I had travel insurance through my credit card for tickets charged on it. So I loaded my Tmobile sim card in to my phone and called the 800 # on the back. I was able to get confirmation that “flights missed, canceled or otherwise interrupted” were qualifying events and that I was entitled to up to $1500 worth of reimbursable expenses. This was the best news I had received all day. With renewed enthusiasm toward how I would spend the next 20 + hours, I pushed my baggage cart to the hotel which is in fact connected to the main terminal via a causeway. At the desk, I learned that lucky for me they had a room. But there was a catch. The room rate was $430 US plus 13% service charge. Your Kidding me, I asked the clerk. I'm sorry sir this is the rate we have available, he replied faining an apologetic tone. I looked at my watch, 1:32 am, and lowered my head as I slid the card across the marble counter. We have a suite available, I could upgrade you, he said as swiped my card. OK, thanks, I said as I exhaled and began the process of winding down for the night.

I've never stayed at a $400/night hotel before so I didn't have much expectation except that it had better be nicer that a room with a bed and a TV... I was not disappointed. As I surveyed my temporary new digs, I discovered the suite had a living room and a bed room, each with a flat screen TV, a glass shower and a jacuzzi tub and a BOSE iPod sound system If I were checking out in the morning I would not have even cared much, a simple bed would have sufficed. However, since my flight was not until 10pm the next day (now – this day), the clerk authorized a late check out; I could stay until 6pm. Nice. Needless to say, I took full advantage of all the amenities, the tub, the sound system... I pretty much sat on every couch and chair in the place. I wanted to get my money's worth. In fact, this was working out to be not such a bad deal. Not getting home when expected sucked mind you, but this was working out to be quite a luxurious and restful layover. I was still in vacation mode.

6pm came and I checked out but not before I realized someone had eaten at the hotel cafe and charged a $50 tab to my room. I spent the next half hour trying to convince the clerk and manager that I not visited the cafe and that the charges needed to be removed. They even brought in the waitress from the day shift to verify whether I was the man she had served. Apparently, she told the manager that she did not recognize me and they finally removed the charge. One of the manager was still giving me the stink-eye however, I guess she thought I was getting one over on them. Whatever... I was heading home. I would arrive in San Francisco, 2 days after I had left my hotel in Beijing.

From Sports Cars to Fried Chicken...

I found Beijing a pleasant and friendly city, despite the sometimes aggressiveness of the street vendors and bar and nightclub touters, often grabbing you by the arm or tugging at your shirt “Hello, have a look... What do you like? I've encountered some aggressive street merchants in my days but I'll be placing those of Beijing atop the list, for now. I do understand their pleas... competition is tough. In most market places there are a hundred or so other vendors most selling very similar if not the same wares. Sometimes it can all make simply browsing the stalls quite awkward and the pressure to buy if you actually spot something of interest can be intense.

One thing I've notice from visiting China's three most populated and economically prosperous cities; there sure does seem to be a whole lot of capitalism going on. Hong Kong has it's high end retailers: Fendi, Armani, Gucci, etc, and any given day you're likely to spot a Ferrari, perhaps a few. Shanghai, has new restaurants and bars popping up all over town. Startbucks is in all three towns as is KFC, and of course the Golden Arches are ever present. You can even shop for a new Mercedes while you attend next year's Olympic games in Beijing. I don't really know what I expected to find, and I must admit I'm quite reacquainted with 7Eleven after this trip. I suppose I thought I would find more overt signs of communism here in China. Or, at the very least, fewer Starbucks and KFCs . But who doesn't like some fried chicken skin every now and again right? And those biscuits, come on.

China has been a warm (if not hot) and inviting country to visit. It sure has been an adventure. I definitely could not have had such a great time if were not for the friends, acquaintances, hotel staff, and strangers on the street who helped me get along, feel welcome and stay well fed. Xiexie (Thank you all!).

"Know when to Hold'em... "

Wondering around Beijing on foot is not for the weak of sole. The site of the 2008 Olympic Games is much more spread out than the previous two cities I have visited in China. While Beijing does offer public bus and subway service, I found that Taxi's were the most efficient way to get around the city with fares averaging around $1 - $3 us. Pretty reasonable for a mode of personal transport generally regarded as a luxury.

Over the past few days I visited a number of well known Tourist sites: White Cloud temple, Tianemen sq., the Forbidden Palace, and the Great Wall. I enjoyed walking on these ancient grounds. It was easy to get lost in my recurring daydream of contemplating daily life in Imperial China. What was it like then, would I have been a peasant or a soldier, or of some higher rank in the Emperors court. Would I have been the Supreme Ruler? Probable not. I'd wonder how old I would have been when I died? Would I have had a wife, children? These type of thoughts would flow in and out of my consciousness as I strolled (camera ready) through ancient courtyards and stumbled on the same stone pathways as millions of people before me and now doubt, millions after.

Mostly, I was attentive to my camera. At times, I became fixed on getting that elusive “perfect shot”. These photos are rare (in my experience) and many a day can be consumed searching, waiting, and contriving an image that one believes to be worthy of the pursuit. Perhaps the quest is the exciting part, it keeps me coming back... like winning a decent hand at Black Jack. We're not likely to walk away from the table satisfied that we won a “good” hand and then move on to another game or take in a show. No, most of us will want to stay and play-on. We like to ride it out and see if we can get better as we go. For many of us, the taste of something like a pretty-good shot or a winning hand keeps us in the game. Luckliy for me, I'm not much of a casino gambler. Though I must admit, in life, learning to “Know when to Hold'em and when to Fold'em” is not an easy lesson learned.

Key Travel Tip: GSM + local SIM...

Monday 10/22 I traveled to Beijing. I arrived in late afternoon without directions to my hotel, not a smart idea when you don't speak the local language. I guess I had been spoiled in Hong Kong where there's a bit more English spoken and in Shanghai where I had a westerner as my host. Anyway, I took the bus in to town but had no idea where to get off. So, I just followed the locals and got off where most of them did. Then I caught a taxi, the first refused to take me. Lucky for me, the second driver, with a quick phone call to the hotel (here's an absolutely key travel tip: use GSM phones when traveling abroad and buy a local SIM card when you land, you'll save tuns on roaming charges and have easy access to local numbers not to mentions you have a local number to give out when you meet other traveler's or locals, or simply get lost.) delivered me to my cozy Beijing digs, where I'd stay the remainder of my nights in China, before heading home that Friday. At least that was the plan.

The Tianxiang hotel, is an old courtyard style home and a protected cultural heritage site. The hotel grounds has three separate beautifully decorated traditional courtyards with rooms and suites located around each central yard. The I found this style of hotel by accident when looking for alternative to standard western rooms. When I was in Tokyo a few years back , I stayed at a traditional Japanese Ryokan (complete with tea set and sliding Shoji doors and evening futon turn down service), I enjoyed it so much that I thought I'd look for something comparable in Beijing. I am quite happy with my stay at Tianxiang. In the mornings I'd wake to birds chirping from their hanging cages near my window and in the evenings I'd wind down each day's adventure with a tall TsingTao (approx: 3.50 Yuan = .50 us) while sitting in the dimly lit courtyard until dinner time rolled around.

Hot Pot is King...

Shanghai has been such an amazing city. Over the years I have visited a number of great cities and have had epic adventures in all, London, Bangkok, Tokyo, Amsterdam... but there's definitely something special about Shanghai.

Perhaps this morning I'm feeling a bit pre-nostalgic simply because Shanghai is here and now... maybe it's the amazing food ( I had a very special treat to a local style Hairy Crab dinner the other night, I was accompanied by 2 Shanghainese women and a friend of their's from Mexico. The crab was delicious and the company exceptional. - I forgot to take any pictures though. Obviously, my attentions were elsewhere). Maybe it's the people who have been so kind and helpful and generous of spirit that have helped generate such fond feelings for this expansive and densely populated city. Could it be that Shanghai feels a bit like home? There are many similarities between the two: congested roads shared by autos, cyclists, and pedestrians, mixed cultures eastern and western, landmark architecture (Shanghai has definitely got us there), a conscious effort to stay in the city, and thrive in the city – by so many of us. Likely it's all of that and more.

A great host has also played a key role in my successfully enjoying this time in Shanghai. I could not have gotten along so well and with such ease were it not for the efforts of my host. For that I am most grateful.

Here are a few random shots from around the city.

Just in case you were'nt sure if that
would be a good thing to do.

The ever popular Mahjong





Communist era bric-a-brac









Local fruit vendors. I'm sure we'll see this
look in Milan and Paris this fall.





Mmm, Street food.





???





An evening at Barbarosa




Yuyuen Garden