Traffic Jam

I had heard of the massive traffic jams in China during the Chinese New Year festive period, as well as during major public holidays, when the government removes highway toll fees all over this massive country.

I had also read in the news that the Shenzhen government was trying to control the number of cars in the city by only granting persons to buy cars by ballot.

Lastly, my friends told me to avoid heading to the beaches in Shenzhen during weekends, especially during the summer.

My feet; litter; Chinese people - @ XiChong beach

Somehow the above advice did not register, and I thought it would be a fantastic idea to head to 西冲beach (rated #1 in Shenzhen, and #8 in all of China) on a Sunday.

BIGGEST mistake made in China

We left at 0900hrs in the morning, and the journey took 2.5hrs to get to the beach. The last 500m to the car park took an hour.

Our first view of the beach. It got more crowded with each pasing minute

The beach was busy. Not packed like on Labor Day or National Day weekend, but bad enough that there were constantly people walking past us and staring at my girlfriend.

There was also lots of litter about. The sanitation facilities have not been setup to accommodate the crowds as yet.

Crowds picked up. All are happy

The water was clean, though the waves were too strong for swimming, and there were way too many people for surfing safely. At least everyone was having a good time having waves crashing on their backs.

We got bored within 2 hours (and the weather got cloudy), so we thought we could beat the crowd by leaving the beach early at 1300hrs.

Time line as follows:

1330hrs - still in beach carpark - managed to walk out to buy food and walk back to the car. We moved 20m in 10 min

Yao chicken. Delicious chicken and herbs baked in an earth oven

1400hrs - just left beach carpark. It started to rain, which gave scant consolation that we left the beach at the right time

1500hrs - stuck in a jam on the highway. We probably moved less than 10km



”坐我的车，听我的歌！“

1600hrs - we are bitching to our friend in Hong Kong about the jam. Candy tells me we could have flown to Thailand and be on a better beach.

1700hrs - we try to sleep with little success. Our driver is blaring rather irritating Chinese music, singing about "being one's apple", and "get in my car, listen to my songs"; we almost wish for death.

1830hrs - we arrived back in Shekou. Exhausted. Frustrated. Hungry. And Candy has to pack her stuff and make it back to Macau by ferry by 1930hrs.

Total journey time - 5.5hrs

There - I documented my worst weekend in China.

I Found Love (in a Hopeless Place)

To be honest, I never wanted to be associated with China from the time my dad lost his life savings in a failed business venture in his hometown of Hainan Island (Hainan is in China). My impression of Chinese citizens had not been good, thanks mainly to his business failure, mainstream media and subsequent experiences with women from mainland China (both personal and witnessed through friends).

China has developed and evolved rapidly since my dad lost his business, but I always thought that despite its progress, I could live a life where I did not have to interact with mainland Chinese. It seems ironic that I became the only eligible employee in my company to take the post of finance and administration manager for China operations. And so I moved to Shenzhen, and with a positive mindset, made the best of my time there.

I would not have imagined that my first girlfriend in 7 years would be from China (well, technically Macau, a Special Economic Zone of China) - Calvin Harris's "We Found Love" keeps ringing in the back of my mind (hence the title of this post).

Having been posted from New Zealand to Shenzhen, I was still trying my luck with mobile dating apps scanning the region for new friends. I found greater success compared against my previous country of residence, and became acquainted with ladies from Hong Kong, Macau and surprisingly, China (one of the apps requires logging onto Facebook, which is banned in China).

Some went smooth, some went terribly, but eventually I met someone whom I felt totally at ease with; who could tolerate my pickiness over food and sleep habits; and enjoyed our time whether we were hiking up a mountain, stitching a leather bag or doing nothing.

Candy has been the sweetness in my life since moving to China, and I hope this continues for a long, long time to come.

 

Leaving New Plymouth.... for Shenzhen!

November 10 2014

I am officially transferred from my company's New Zealand office to setup the China office in Shekou, Shenzhen. It is now past 2 months into my assignment in China (finally subscribing to a VPN service to bypass the Chinese firewalls, allowing me to surf the internet "normally"), and I reflect on the contrasts between New Plymouth and my new home till June 2015.

Food diversity
I was amazed (and still am) at the food options available in Shekou, an expat village. The main dining district is called SeaWorld, which houses at least 50 eateries built around a grounded vessel. Cuisines available include Mexican, Italian, Thai, Brazilian, German and Chinese amongst other western fare.



German shnitzel

Mexican tacos

Japanese sushi

Burger



Seafood broil in a bag



Dead Guy Ale from Oregon


















Being my first time living in China, it has been a wonderful experiencing the different types of Chinese cooking styles - Shanghai (rich and flavorful), Szechuan (spicy), Cantonese (light-flavored), and its a real struggle not putting on weight with so many things to try.


麻辣香锅

烤羊排

虾蟹粥







牛肉粉

上海菜



肉夹馍













I'm comparing this to New Plymouth where the opening of a new eatery would be the talk of the town.

Population explosion!
New Plymouth - approximately 56,000 (based on Wikipedia)
Shenzhen - approximately 15,000,000
 That's like 268 times more people, which will result in lots more malls, shops, restaurants, places of interest, and a lot less personal space in China.


Tourists admiring the musical fountain at SeaWorld, Shekou

View of Shekou from Little Nanshan










Thankfully Shekou is not too populous, and most people in Shenzhen are concentrated in the Futian and Luohu districts.

Time difference resolved!
I am finally back to the same timezone as my friends and family. Chatting online with friends in Singapore and the rest of the world is possible again.

Different definitions of success/happiness
I would like to apply this to the laws of attraction between the opposite sexes here, where a woman's partner selection criteria might be:

In Shenzhen - job; international exposure; looks

In New Plymouth - physical attributes; facial hair; tattoos

To be honest, I feel more successful/happy here.

Getting around
I enjoyed zipping around New Zealand in my Ford Focus along one-lane roads for hours on end, stopping for every pedestrian with a friendly wave.

In Shenzhen, as I am not allowed to drive without a Chinese driving license, I now have a chauffeur to take me around the city amidst the heavy and noisy traffic, where horning and excessive use of the high-beam is commonplace. Cab rides are always an adventure though, as I admire how these drivers zip through traffic with reckless ease.

The lifestyles are drastically different, and I am thankful I can adapt to both ways and find pleasures within my means.