Vicious Rants of an Angry Yellow Man

Now that you have had a good laugh at my expense, it is back to analysis of world importance! Not really, but hopefully this will answer some of your questions about China.

It is true that China is making a great effort to improve its service sector so it would be more impressive next year at the Olympics. But most of the effort is aimed at Bejing where the Games will be held. As I said, Bejing has improved greatly with people much more friendly and the transportation system expanding rapidly. Ten years ago there were 4 subway lines, today there are 9 and by next year, 13. The level of English has improved a lot in the city but surprisingly at our hotel we found a bellhop who was more knowledgeable than people at the reception desk. Overall I think Bejing will be ready next year. It may not be as westerner friendly as Sidney was but I think it will be better than Athens and will have less snafu than Atlanta had.

The same cannot be said for other cities which are not holding the Olympics. Shanghai is supposed to be the past and future financial center of China, replacing HK. But I find the servce level below that of Bejing and nowhere as good as HK. The level of English is also behind Bejing. Even at the Bund where westerners congregate you don't sense any excitement. There are still people selling fake merchandise in the open in Shanghai. There were street vendors laying their goods right on the ground. This was hardly seen in Bejing and Canton. With the history of foreigners dominating in Shanghai's past, you would expect the government to be sure it looks more impressive now. But this does not seem to be the case. In another city Hangzhou the reception desk practically speak no English. My wife tried to ask where the pool was and they had no idea in English or Mandarin. Well, her Mandarin may not be great, although she got by elsewhere. But the woman actually thought she is telling her that there is something wrong with the water in the room!

Now Canton, being so close to HK, is probably the most prosperous of all the Chinese cities. Yet as I mentioned the reception desk fouled up our check out, causing us to be late and desperate for any cab. With all the business Canton gets from HK, many from non-Chinese based in HK, you would think that they would be better educated in English and services. The large number of non-Cantonese speakers is unsettling. Also the view from HK people, such as my wife's friends, that Canton has a lot of crime, particularly against foreigneers, is alarming. This may not be an accurate perception, but it would still be damaging to China. I did not get robbed as my wife feared, but the fact that a visitor think that it is a distinct possibility would not be good for the city. The incompetence of the cab drivers certainly would not leave a good impression to visitors.

Also while foreigners are able to move about anywhere in China now, they require a visa everytime you enter and reenter the country. There is a fee for each entrance of course. But more aggrevating is to have to apply at all. Going to HK, for example, requires no visa, just your passport. It is little things like that that still makes China not as visitor friendly as HK.

I never did try out the public toilets in the streets. Fortunately my illness affected me the worst in the morning while I was in China. So if I did not eat the rest of the day I was able to make it back to the hotel. I was more sick the first day in HK and I stayed in the hotel all day. I got sick probably from using a lot of hot sauce at a restaurant in Shanghai where we boiled our own food in a pot of hot water. The hot sauce was not refrigerated which we didn't think of at the time. My wife and older son also got sick, though not as much as me. The other three didn't use the sause so they were fine. If the timeline doesn't make sense, it is because we went from Shanghai to HK for one day as part of the tour and then we had to go back to Canton to get a picture of my wife's ancestor in the old house they used to live in. This is where the whole fiasco occurred. By the time we were back to HK I was almost back to normal. So I don't think I was more of a couch potato than while I am in the U.S. Although don't ask my wife that.

Next time I will talk about HK.