Here are some sights and memories from our second day in China (December 28). We started off the day early, checking out of our hotel in Kunming and heading to the airport to check into our flight.
We were impressed by the amount of influence that Christmas has had here, decorations were everywhere and a Christmas tree was prominently displayed in the hotel lobby (as well as in several places at the airport). There were Santa Claus faces everywhere, but absolutely no nativity scenes, which demonstrates how commercialized/paganized is the version of Christmas that has “infected” China. Well, I guess you could make an argument that the Western version of Christmas is just as paganized (ask Taara, we’ve had that conversation every Christmas over the past few years), but it’s usually tempered by at least some of an emphasis on the Christ in Christmas. Not so here in China, they’ve only imported the materialistic and commercial version of the holiday.
As we checked out of the hotel I couldn’t help but notice a sign they had on the wall, letting travelers know what number to call in case they ran into trouble during their trip. What was curious was the wording on the sign, check it out below:
In case you can’t read that, it says “Dear Guests, we are always at your service if you need help while your legal rights are violated during your trip. Please call us at: (0871)96927.” Yeah, that’s right. While your legal rights are violated. As in, there’s no question of whether your rights will be violated or not, it’s a given! But hey, while it happens, please feel free to call this number and complain or request assistance. We’ll make sure our operators can’t speak a word of English, for your convenience (this last part is in Chinese characters, I’ve translated it for you).
The plan we had hatched the night before was to make the best use of our time that morning and still make use of the free breakfast vouchers we had received from the hotel. We would wake up at 6:00 AM sharp, check out of the hotel and check our bags at the airport by 7:00 AM, run back across the road to the hotel to scarf down breakfast, and then run back to the airport to board the plane. Taara thought we’d be cutting it close (and we were), but I knew that Dad Gamble would be proud of me as I held my ground on the free breakfast. As it turned out, we were in the security line (much less intrusive than any security check I’ve been through in the US…who’s the totalitarian rights-violating regime now?) when the boarding call came over the loudspeakers, but we made it just fine (and on full stomachs!).
Speaking of food, one of the generalizations that I’ve grown up with about Chinese people (especially in Brazil) is that they’re always the ones who have the corner fruit stands or booths at the produce market. Well, I expected those generalizations to be dashed upon arriving in China, but guess what I found in the airport on our way out:
Yep. And that’s not the only fruit stand that was there either. There were like 10. Ten fruit stands, in the airport. How much fruit can people eat on a one or two hour flight? If you shared my generalizations and you had misgivings about them, bask in the glow and warmth of knowing that they are true.
Aaron met us at the Guangzhou airport and we rode to his apartment in Guang Di in the Canadian School’s van. I’m amazed at the scale of things here. The architecture in Bangladesh is small and practical, there are very few tall buildings because of the shallow water table (buildings are only allowed to be 6 floors high but some contractors manage to bend the rules “somehow”). Here in China they have no such restrictions, and they build things to last a long time. For instance, check out the small little gateways to Aaron’s residential “estate”:
Impressive, huh? Not everyone can have their own personal Arc de Triomphe! I think Taara and I will have to build one of those at the entrance to our estate, when we build it.
Aaron kept us on our toes for the rest of the day, taking us to the local IT Mall (geek out on our first day!) and to the “Las Vegas Buffet.” Who knew they served dog meat in Las Vegas? It was actually quite good, too (tastes a bit like mutton).
January 5th, 2007 at 7:06 am
interesting and well written! Hope you are still enjoying your dog meat. Don’t forget do pick your teeth before coming to Brazil!
January 7th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
I had churrasco today! enjoy your dog while I bask in the glory of my cow.