Sleeping with the Enemy (Part 2)

No room at the Inn
It all started when Amy came to the sudden realisation that I was taking our laptop back to Australia with me in September. It had always been the plan (well, my plan anyway) to use this opportunity to upgrade all of my software from Australia while I was back, to avoid having to manage my way through the Mandarin language installs sent to PCs hooked to the pointy end of a Chinese IP address. For a moment it looked like there would be a showdown at 50 paces come August and you could cut the atmosphere with a wet noodle it was that intense. With only one home link to the real-time outside world there was already a problem most nights with all three of us wanting to catch up on our respective news sites and the like, but with only one front door to share it was time to look at longer term solutions. In the end it proved to be the catalyst for Amy getting her own laptop and journeying to the dark side into the realm of the Mac. While I intially took the opportunity to bag her out, she has by all accounts received great service from what is the only OFFICIAL Apple store in China, all the while I can’t seem to get a simple microphone fixed despite numerous attempts at both Australian and Chinese help desks. I've always been a PC fan myself though, and continue to watch out for clandestine attempts by the enemy to try and get me to join her in the Mac world where only half the free software works on your machine and you get into boring conversations with graphic designers about why Macs are better for their job than PCs. On a positive note it has provided us a quick bandaid fix to my own laptop microphone problem, and improved the quality of our Skype capabilities (which given China’s narrow pipes in to the country and the ever increasing use can’t be a bad thing).

While on the issue of internet pipes, I have been giving the country’s network a real run for its money recently in order to keep up with the Tour de France. It was with some trepidation (and palpitations) that I discovered a few months back the lack of any SBS-type coverage of the tour on the limited TV stations here. OK, maybe more correct would be to say English coverage (an SBS-type summary show is shown and commentated in Chinese). And while it hasn’t been all that good for the Aussies this year, at least the 2 hour difference between Canberra and here means that the race finishes at a more respectable hour (in the night time even, as opposed to after 1am for most stages).

In The Footsteps of Giants
Still on the bike riding front, I have had the opportunity since my last post to get out to the Olympic course here for another ride, this time with a lift out by car. After my 2nd visit out (which was by bike) I came to the quick realisation that I simply don’t have the fitness for the one and a quarter hour ride out on top of a lap around what is a very steep and relentless course. There isn’t much time for recovery - you either go up or down in most sections. Add to this the fact that the local government has not got it quite right JUST yet on the signage (no arrows) , and you tend to do alot of backtracking on your first few rides to find out which sections of track coming off a 5-way junction are actually part of the course. (Maybe they might be looking to do the same thing that Canberra TVE did with the Stromlo MTB course and revisit the entire signage design 3 times just to mix it up and keep it fresh).

Olympic track sign located, but with some intersectiosn leading off 5 different ways a few direction arrows would have helped.

Having done the course 3 times now (twice in summer and once just after the snow) I have a newfound respect for the riders who did multiple laps of it for the Olympics. Not only is it a very unforgiving course in terms of the sudden decrease and increases in elevation (giving little respite), the downhill sections are in a lot of cases fairly technical and do not allow for the rider to lower their heart rate before the cardio requirement of a 10% climb on loose shale shoots it up again. Over all this is the very big impact that the local weather has on the body as opposed to places like Canberra. In the 1.5hr ride/push I did last week I lost 2kg in the single ride through fluid loss (having weighed in before and after).

Riding the Olympic course can certainly be tough on the body, and it's not only the hills that make it so. This picture, taken from the MTB course media platform at the highest point of the loop, shows why it's not just the climbs that make it lung-busting.

On the more concerning side of things is the lack of helmets worn here when people do decide to go off-road. Sure I don’t necessarily agree with skipping the skid lid when you are just riding on the road, as a single accident can leave you very poorly off, but for God sake if you are going to purposely tear down a steep dirt embankment dotted with sharp protruding rocks and lined with erosion gullies at least wear a helmet. Case in point was the local guy we ran into on the ride. We spotted him on a fancy Merida bike as we were scouting for a good starting point and carpark, and we had only done the first section of the track before we had the guy tack onto the end of our 2-person convoy and start talking to us in Chinese. Now, here’s the funny thing that I’ve noticed in China. When someone speaks to you in Chinese and all you can say back to them in Chinese is “Wo Bu Dong, Bu Zhongwhen” (Mandarin for “I don’t understand. No Chinese") they take THIS as some type of contradiction, and think that you CAN actually speak the language. From that time on they continue to have deep one-sided conversations with you all the while you are looking at them with a dumbfounded look and likely not answering any questions they are asking.

Unfortunately for this guy he was about to have a very quick silencing moment, as he tore down the last descent of the Olympic course directly behind me. I was heading for what is a big mid-descent jump and bailed rather ungracefully. This left the local guy with no other option than to veer right, directly into the area where the rain had left some deep erosion nasties and he didn’t even make it to the end before his front wheel folded inwards and kicked him over the bars. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to react fast enough, with his forehead taking the brunt of the force and the forearm and wrist taking the remainder.

One of the trickier descents on the Olympic course. This section was beefed up prior to the Olympic race when the powers to be determined the course to be too easy. No problems now.

Sailing the Sea of Segue
Speaking of broken stuff (and still aiming to beat Anna Coren's Today Tonight segue record), we have spent a bit of time at the electrical store of late with not-so-robust appliances. Both times when I returned them I had 2 people initially at counter when I went up, after which 4 others came around to see what was going on all the while trying to get me to sit on a stool that would have my forehead peaking just over the counter in a very Dicky Knee style. Fortunately both times we ended up with repaired products. We have learnt to always buy the extended warranty, and also that things made for the domestic market are just not as robust as those that are exported.


Pay Dirt
After spending 6 months updating our own blog of travel stories we are stoked to be able to hear of other people’s experiences as they migrate from God’s Country to other parts of the world - many years of long hours finally paying off in the form of some big breaks. With good friends of ours recently moving to the Big Apple to take up work we are enjoying the emails we are getting of their adventures as they go about exploring their new (albeit temporary?) home. I reckon though if they could be encouraged to whack some photos in then this would get the reading masses even more excited and they would get visitors even faster (now what type of web tool allows you to post up stories of your adventures with some piccies to really give your friends the travel bug?)

Operation R-E-L-A-X-A-T-I-O-N
While July started fairly slow for us (Maddy holidays, and too hot to venture too far) the end of July is tending to be exactly the opposite. On top of preparing all the stuff I need to do when I am back in Australia (good old tax) we have decided to make a last minute dash for the border to escape the heat and to see some blue sky and blue seas. We had planned to go to Tibet but were curtailed due to current travel restrictions for some visa types. We then decided to look at an Inner Mongolia trip instead a few weeks later, but that clashed with some key dates for Amy’s work. With a cultural trip of China looking too difficult to juggle we have decided to take a more relaxing approach and join some friends for a week at a resort further down south in Thailand, which is proving to be just the thing to make us forget all about the Beijing special flavour cloud hanging in the sky on most days. It does mean that Madeline is missing some of her holiday program (which cost us an arm and a leg), but I don’t think she will mind all that much.

As a warm up to this we have been making use of the rare cooler days to head out and make the most of the limited blue skies, even going so far as to indulge in a bit of Molkky with friends in the park, much to the amusement of the locals. For those unfamiliar with the game (as we were), our Finnish friend described it in the usual Nordic simplistic way of ‘traditional Finnish summer game of throwing a piece of wood at pieces of wood’. Wikipedia provides a more detailed description for those who are really keen, but it did make for a great afternoon with wine and music and the group swapping between Molkky, badmintion, having a throw of the Juggling sticks and generally just trash-talking the opponent to try and beat one of the guys who seemed to have a knack for throwing the small log of wood at another specific log of wood 30 feet away.

Andrea getting alot of air on the molkky pitch at Ritan Park, while Amy looks on for inspiration and Maddy gives the juggling sticks a go. In the forground the day's Molkky champion Mikko assesses his opponents.

Maddy standing on one leg, in celebration of her molkky throw going more than 2 meters. She certainly got the hang of it as the day wore on.

Here or there?
Our last language lesson saw us head off to the Capital museum for a look around the place. Aside from being a top spot to take visitors, the translations this time had us both laughing and concerned about the possible existence of transportation wormholes around the place. The evidence for this Sudden Onset Astral Projection was the following sign, which we think may have been missing a map to put the statement into context. It did seem to hint that swine flu, SARS and bird flu is the least of the Government's problems (imagine the confusion that could result from 19million people thinking they were in a different place to where they were standing –that could really blow holes in the migrant worker visa system).

Nice to know that you are where you think you are.

While I was successful in a few of my job hunting expeditions, my application for the role of World Expo mascot did not (for some reason) lead to anything. I JUST don't know why they haven't called me in for an interview. This little character is out the front of the Beijing Capital Museum.

One of the more endearing museum statues. (not to say that the "Pi symbol with arms" above isn't - just 'different')

Sleeping with the Enemy (Part 1)

The All-Weather Icebreaker

It’s HOT. On top of that, the air has been so sticky and polluted over the last few days that you almost need to take a pair of goggles and a snorkle out with you because you’re swimming in it rather than walking in it. This dreaded Beijing Summer that I’d heard so much about (which I thought we had met a month ago but was just the pre-cursor) has finally arrived, wielding flaming nunchucks and bodybags for the unseasoned westerners like us. For the last two weeks the average maximum during the day has been around 37deg, and catching glimpses of blue sky through the smog has been the exception rather than the usual (I guess we were spoilt with blue sky days during the winter months and leading into Spring).

From what I have been told by the old-hand expats, the Beijing weather patterns can be forecasted and explained by two simple rules:

1. Every time it rains in winter, it gets colder and drier.
2. Every time it rains in summer, it gets hotter and more humid.

I'm not sure about the 1st one, because to be honest we didn’t see too much precipitation around the place in winter (notwithstanding our blog on the snow fall, which was instigated by the Government through cloud seeding to relieve the drought). The 2nd rule though has certainly proven to be the case, and when it does rain in summer it REALLY rains. All up we have had around 5 real bouts of the wet stuff since the mercury headed north, 3 of which have been Darwin summer-like thunderstorms that has resulted in overfilled gutters and another being so serious that it turned day into night and even reached as far as the news in Australia (check out the ABC news footage here filmed at 11 o'clock in the morning). Number 5 just so happens to be going on while I’m writing this in between (of all things, ironically) sessions of the Ashes delayed by rain. It’s cooled the air significantly now, but as I’ve learnt here in China it’s not only blessings that come in disguise. And as the heat is my enemy, trying to sleep in it some nights even with the aircon is like trying to sleep having rolled in a tub of coke beforehand.

It's not to say we haven't had the odd spectacular blue day and great evening skyline though, as the random shot and pic from my test run of the camera tripod below can attest too.

One of the few True Blue skies we've had recently. Looks almost like a Canberra skyline.

Beijing by night, from the back balcony of our apartment.

Artistic Crime on Limited Time

Outside of the very ordinary weather there has been a few big developments since our last post. Maddy is currently on her big school holiday break which spans for 7 weeks, four of which will be spent at holiday camp while the other 3 we have either been keeping her busy or will be finding ways to do so. The apartment compound has organised a roster of parents to take kids in activities, so I did the only natural thing and put my name down for leading a session of the paper mache (for those who witnessed the “Yellow Submarine Incident” and have been trying to forget, apologies for wasted repression therapy. For those who were lucky enough to be spared, know that there is a God and he has looked out for you. Except for the fact that I have included a picture below ;-).

Apologies to the others in the photo who I couldn't cut out.

Given the 3hrs I have set aside for wrangling the paper mache padawans I don’t think we will get to the scale of pumping out any minature naval defence subs, but I will admit I am looking forward to it (and probably a bit too much for an adult, but hey, everyone needs to have some form of ‘artistic’ outlet).

Whilst this will provide a great respite from my usual hectic life, it is about to get even busier as I have managed to score a job here managing the budgeting, corporate planning and reporting for one of the department offices located in China, as well as looking after their process improvement initiative (something dear to my heart). I had gone for a another job in the office which would have given me the opportunity to travel to Mongolia a few times a year, but on the positive side this one gives me the opportunity to travel to Australia instead which can’t be a bad thing for my lungs. Plans are to start the job a few weeks before I head back to Oz, and now incorporate some training back at head office while I’m in Canberra for my first week.

Nature for the Masses, and Chinese Construction Management 1A

One of the few holiday program activities that Maddy and I have done so far was an organised hike down the Long Quan Yu Gorge last Tuesday. Around 2hrs drive NW of Beijing, the hike required us to do some serious climbing over rocks as well as climbing up along the walls of the gorge on a few occasions. The most ‘fun’ part was the traversing of a very dodgy stick bridge that had been bodgied up to get hikers across a gap between two rocks, leaving only the side of the cliff to grab onto. Maddy was a few positions ahead at this stage, and was over and down the even dodgier ladder by the time I had to summon all my balancing skills to shimmy across.

Fellow hikers test out the first part of the gap bridge, before reaching the final challenge. Our final assessment on the structure? ...

...FAIL.

The last bit of the trip also provided a bit of excitement and randomness, with the path ending at a spot giving us two options for proceeding. Option 1 was to take a very dicey path along the edge of the elevated cliff, and then finish off the crossing of the water hole through knee deep water. The 2nd option involved jumping into the water from the start, and included a neck-deep section requiring me to carry the camera and other backpacks above my head. After trying the first option to the half way point Maddy and I both decided to take the swimming option, knowing that we would be cooling off anyway.

Everyone took the opportunity to cool off in the cool water at the end of the hike, while the local in the right of the picture continued to collect sand from the bottom of the pool.

What was obvious though from the rubbish lying around was the little regard that the locals had for their limited nature areas. Whereas in Australia most nature-loving people abide by the “take out what you take in” rule, in China it seems to be a “take in what you don’t want any more” rule. There was litter lying along the track from walkers before us, and the various water holes littered on the top with floating rubbish. A lot of sites in China come complete with various locals collecting rubbish for recycling money, but this spot must have been too secluded for that particular activity.

Near death experiences and Ian Kiernan withdrawals aside it was a great day out, with some GREAT scenery and the hike ending at a large relatively clean swimming hole where we were able to cool off while we waited for the bus to come and pick us up.

Maddy taking the more adventurous route along the track.

The path most trodden, judging by the rubbish. A look back up the gorge.

That trail looks good enough to mountain bike on, if only it wasn't for the REALLY rocky and wet sections.

Human Trafficking
On the human import and export front, we are looking forward to the arrival of my cousin early next month for 8 days on her return from a trip to US (assuming we didn't send her scrambling to the flight cancellation and refund desk with our first paragraph). The process of getting her through the Chinese Visa hoops has certainly highlighted some new visitation requirements from the Chinese Government, which is good as it makes the process for my parents a bit clearer as we go about helping them sort their paperwork for their visit in mid Sept when I bring them back to Beijing.

I'm also counting down the days for my return to Oz, to check out the MTB Worlds at Stromlo and to catch up with family and friends (and now to do some job training). I'm a bit worried about this one on the fitness front, with all my old riding buddies telling me stories about their new-found riding fitness and zest for the exercise.


In between entertaining Maddy and organising travel we both continue to be very busy with our extra-curricular activities. Amy has some mystery meeting every morning at 5.30 with someone called Jim and comes back red and sweaty, and is also enjoying wushu with me on Monday evenings. I’m currently between seasons in the Beijing International Darts League and the Ten Pin bowling (the latter of which I was going to pass up next season, but am finding it fun) as well as getting back into the language lesson on Thursday and Tai Chi on Friday. I am also looking to get back on the bike in the next month so I can at least keep up with my riding mates on the Canberra MTB trail climbs when I head back, including a few planned trips out to the Olympics course (having done a 2nd one last weekend, but more of that in the Part 2 of the blog).

As you have probably guessed this is Part 1 of a 2 part blog, and although I'm slack on this front I do have the 2nd part half written so hopefully will be up sooner rather than later (covering our continued adventures in the orient and even a few more not-so-well translated signs).

On a final note (if you haven't noticed it already) Amy has started a new section of our Award Winning** blog, which you can get to via the little sidebar to the right of this post. We hope you enjoy it.

** Disclaimer: Awards may or may not be recognised outside of our apartment in the People's Republic of China.