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.

Conquering Mount Taranaki

Upon receiving notification of my posting to New Plymouth, I googled and Wikipedia-ed my future place of abode to have an understanding of what to do in the region.

Mount Taranaki, from a distance

The most prominent landmark, without a doubt, would be Mount Taranaki, a 2,518m high volcano towering over the entire region, and in my mind, I was sure I would conquer this mountain, regardless of difficulty.

I'd done quite a bit of hiking in Norway back around 200-2009, and in Asia, I climbed Mount Ophir and Kota Kinabalu in 2012. Mentally, I knew that I would be able to do it in my current state of fitness, but the actual effort exerted was beyond my imagination.

The Puffer

The trek started with a loose concrete path known as the Puffer, which took about an hour to complete. This brought us to the only public toilet before the remainder of the treacherous journey. Close by the toilet was an antenna station as well as a lodge for hikers. Apparently its called the Puffer due to the way you end up puffing for breath after the route's completion.


The Lizard

After the Puffer, the route appeared more straightforward as the Mountain was clearly in sight (though quite a distance away). It was still around 0700hrs in the morning and the sun was just rising above the horizon. As we moved to the next section, known as the Lizard, mist and cloud started to form around the mountain. Looking downwards the ground was beginning to be shrouded in mist, but the peak ahead remained a clear objective to be conquered.

The challenging terrain of loose rocks throughout The Lizard

The terrain was difficult to manage. It consisted of rocks of varying sizes, often giving way under my weight. I had to use my hands for support for a large part of this section, as each step upwards resulted in a half step slide downwards. I tried to step on larger rocks for support, only for them to sink inwards, disrupting my balance. I was struggling, and decided to fall behind the pack, retracing the steps taken by my hiking mates, knowing that these footprints would have borne the weight of others before me and hence, more stable to support my weight.

I also learnt that an old sports injury would finally affect my hiking performance. My right ankle felt weak, and incapable of adapting to the sinking rocks with each climbing step. This slowed my progress considerably, as every step upwards with my right leg would be about half the height achieved with my left.

Reaching the Peak

Closer to the peak, the loose rocks became more firm, and I was using quite a bit of upper body strength to pull myself upwards on the large steps, almost like rock climbing, without a harness.

The crater was filled with snow and ice, where every step taken would require a hand for support to prevent slipping on the ice. This descending down the crater and climbing to the peak took about forty minutes.


Looking down the crater

I was exhausted when I reached the top. I was the last in the group to arrive, probably a good 20 minutes after the first in our party. I was in survival mode. I was more concerned about hydrating, consuming some food, and keeping warm. It was probably a good 15 minutes when I popped out my camera to take pictures and a video of the surroundings. After which I fished out a bottle of Asahi to reward myself for the effort.


Standing on the peak - frowned upon by the Maori

Descending

Going down the mountain took around 3.5hrs, which I felt was a lot less stressful than going up, contrary to what many other climbers experience on this hike. There was lots of stress on the knees and quadriceps, and thankfully, I was better able to cope with that stress than to rest my weight on my right ankle during the ascent. At times going down the loose rocks reminded me of skiing, and I knew that I would be able to skip and slide down the slopes if I'd a stronger right ankle.



Lush valleys at the base of the mountain

Back at the carpark, we stripped down to dry clothing, and had another beer to celebrate a hike well done.

Many thanks to Marco (Italy), Tugdual (France), Nataliya (Ecuador), Kewen (Singapore Kiwi), Arnold (Dutch), and Arnan (India?) for organizing, motivating and making this a fun and memorable journey.

Lessons learnt

- Slow and steady gets you there. It's not a race
- It's not important if you take the left or right route, as long as you are heading up
- Plan better - at the end of my hike, I still had 4 apples, a box full of chocolate peanut energy bars, and 2 litres of isotonic drink. That amounted to around 3.5kg of extra weight carried for 7.5hrs
- Pack ALL equipment the night before. I was sure I did that, but somehow left my jacket hanging by the door on the way out. Thankfully it turned out a blessing in disguise - my fleece and raincoat were adequate
- Another successful trek with SAF boots
 

Moving to New Plymouth, New Zealand

5 March 2014.

The date I arrived to New Plymouth for my assignment as a Finance & Admin Manager for my employer's New Zealand office.

I've taken an approximately 15% net pay increase to relocate to one of the more remote placecs of the Earth, to leave my family, friends and Ben's Den, in the name of career progression. Personally I think its a crap deal financially, but I'll try to take things positively and see where this assignment takes me on an experiential basis.

 

 I'm writing this one month plus into the assignment now, and here are some points I'd mention (good,  bad and neutral).

- I stay in a 2 bedroom house with a deck with a seaview, which is larger than Ben's Den. Being a rental property, it lacks the character of my apartment in Singapore. My company pays less rent than what I am charging for Ben's Den in Singapore.

My outdoor "dick"

- I now drive a Ford Focus, which is serving me a lot better than my second hand Fiat in Singapore

- It's windy over here! Temperature is cool between the teens to low twenties, and frequently switching between rain and shine is not uncommon.

- The city centre is quiet on most evenings, and locals usually hit the clubs after 11pm on weekends. The latest nightspot closes at 3am.

- There are quite a number of Asian eateries here, but the food does not taste the same as back in Asia. Not disgusting, but just not as good.

- There is one mall in the city centre the size of I12 Katong Mall in Singapore. Specialty shops are further away (located in the Valley). New Plymouth (or New Zealand generally) is not known as a  shopping heaven.

- I've registered as a member of Peringa Football Club, and training twice a week now in a bid to improve on my fitness. I'm eligble to play for their games on weekends in the Taranaki Premier Division, but I think I'll work on my fitness first before risking limb and life for this club.

- I've bought a mountain bike, and it has abused me (cycling in the Redwoods of Rotorua).

- Kiwis tend to pronounce their "e"s like "i"s. So my name is often called as "Bin", and people like to have barbecues outside on their "dicks"

It's been quite an adventrue settling in and feeling my way around. It is a small town vibe, but at the same time it does not lack anything. There are amazing beaches along the coast line, and the natural landscape around the region is breathtaking.

I will continue to post memorable travel experiences as they arrive.

The old chimney with Mt Peritutu on the left