WE TAKE THE WEEKEND OFF AND GO TO CHINA...


TOMB-SWEEPING WEEKEND... ROYALTY...  CANTON... WE'RE 8!...  MACAU...
Tomb-sweeping fever gripped Chinese society over the first weekend of April as the CHING-MING Spring Holiday provided a great excuse for everyone and their dog to take the long weekend off. This is generally the time when families head off to their hometowns for a visit to their ancestors' tombs, rather a silly reason to spend most of your day in a freeway traffic-jam just so that you can wipe a bit of dust off Grandpa's masoleum. While this was all happening, Laeititia and I were doing other things.  Quite sensibly too, if you ask me. We went to China.

More visas cluttered our passport pages as we joined our Boss's family for a few days in mainland China and Macau. We flew to Macau, then crossed the 'border' into China proper, staying for the night in Zhu-Hai city, a showcase special economic zone which is full of interesting things, one being the Youan Ming Palace, a spectacularly-restored Ming Dynasty complex where we spent Saturday.
 

A royal time...Laetitia and I got the chance to try out some interesting places to sit, one being the traditional sedan chair (as used by the Emperor) and the other being the considerably less bumpy Imperial Throne. She was also roped in to a huge pageant performance at the main amphitheatre there and was 'crowned' the new Empress of China, complete with dozens of dancing handmaidens and stern pony-tailed blokes waving large spear things. Fun - at least that's what the 4000 people in the audience thought, though L wasn't paying much attention to the adoring crowds, preferring to focus on the small matter of trying to understand what was going on on a stage on which she was chosen as the Empress by the troupe despite the fact that she was also the only person who couldn't make head or tail of what was supposed to be happening re stage directions etc. We did get a videodisc made of the occasion, though, so she's already had the chance to see the ceremony as everyone else did. That night I met a Taiwanese friend and we hit the town. Oh. Remember those films in which a lone foreigner visiting China wanders around a really INTENSE dance club and stares in amazement at the Chinese Military Police in full parade gear patrolling the sweaty crowds of dancers? It happened. To me. Really.


 

WE VISIT YUAN MING PALACE IN ZHUHAI, CHINA
YES, THEY DO HAVE CARS TOO.
WE COME UP IN THE WORLD

Gaungzhou was the next stop on our travels. This huge city is generally known as 'Canton' to English speakers. We stayed about 30 floors above the traffic (which helped a lot), though we had to tread carefully at ground level, 'cause the hotel foyer was being renovated and we had to carry cases etc through the middle of this damned construction site. Still, we DID get a discount on the room....
 
 

Our 8th wedding anniversary was spent in another city near the Coast, Shenzhen. This is a major port and special economic zone just across the bay from Hong Kong. We had a pretty decent Thai dinner to wrap up a self-indulgent couple of hours in a Chinese massage/reflexology palace. One thing about China - it's not THAT cheap, but the coffee should be. It's dire. The country itself is certainly worth another visit, provided you've got some basic Chinese under your belt. Laetitia tried to chat up one of the locals (see pic) but didn't get very much in the line of a response. Must have been her accent...

THE VIEW FROM THE 30TH FLOOR OF OUR GUANGZHOU HOTEL...
THESE INSCRUTABLE CHINESE TYPES ARE TOO MUCH!!!
Macau was (until December'99) part of Portugal and was returned to Chinese rule as some sort of 500 year late Xmas prezzie. We arrived from China proper at about 9pm on Monday night, just in time to get throught the gates before they closed for the night, but not too late for Laeitita to have a nervous breakdown when the Chinese officials started quizzing her about whether she supported Taiwan or China etc etc. The day was saved by my reminding everyone that "South Africa is a great friend of China" and that "the Chinese are fortunate to have such a great country". The prison doors did NOT in fact swing shut on us and we were cheerfully informed that we'd be welcome back anytime!. We strolled from China into...erm...China and booked in at the Hotel Fortuna in the casino area. As we were there for only a few hours (excluding kip time), we couldn't do much except grab a late supper in a lovely Portuguese restaurant near Selgado Square and then wander around in happy amazement at the European-style parts of the old city. Luffly. Another time, definitely.... LARGO DEL SELGADO SQUARE, WHERE WE STROLLED HAPPILY...
NOT A TEMPLE...MACAU POST OFFICE MUSEUMNOT YOUR AVERAGE CHINESE RENAISSANCE CONCRETE STYLE...
But now, with about 25 different countries visited, we're back in Taiwan, and the only thing on the calendar is work, work, work - and a plan to catch a live gig by former Duran Duran bassist John Taylor in Taipei next Saturday 15th. Provided, that is, that we don't have another concert-cancelling earthquake of the ilk that nuked the SUEDE concert here last September...

Remember that we're always keen to hear from old friends, even if you are a lazy old fart who can't be bothered to write a letter. Just click here and say "Hi". Go on...

JOHN TAYLOR COMES TO TAIPEI...BUT WILL I?
NEWS FROM EARLIER THIS YEAR...  BACK TO OUR HOMEPAGE