Hong Kong and Shenzhen (Mission Hills Golf)

The photos are all mixed up and I haven't been able to find out how to get them where they are supposed to go....anyway enjoy


Just a final wrap up from our sailing…..Ron made sure that everyone on the crew knew that there were no capsizes when he was at the helm…..well the reason that was true was that we were all doing our job and all he had to do was steer the damn thing…..see what bragging gets ya…hahahahaha

The Saturday night we went out to the bar…found out some interesting things…..Chinese don’t have much time for some foreigners….at least not when alcohol goes talking…almost got in a fight as one of the members in our party got in a yelling match with the singers/bartenders….the singer was a cute little thing….and she said that they were told to leave China during the Olympics….. interesting hey….that the entertainment and they were good singers, was asked to leave to make room for the Chinese to do their thing…Racism…actually got a chance to sing with them…..gave me the mike and I was able to sing Lying Eyes from the Eagles….Moncton revisited…well I won’t quit my day job…but they did play several as we were the major crowd at the bar…

After a weekend, it made me realize how many new people you can meet here…..there is someone who wants to play squash so I am going to look into that…one of the best racquet sports and I did bring 2 racquets here so might as well try them out….

Have been keeping tabs on the Riders and the U of S Huskies…looks like the west is ruling the roost in the CFL…really sad to see the passing of Ron Lancaster…....class act all the way…best colour man CBC had too…one announcer said it was a sad day in Saskatchewan and it was…..but the heroes of our generation are getting older… .Gordie Howe…how old is he?????geez

My teaching schedule is finally where it should be …I teach all morning and then have the afternoon for Athletic Director and CAS International Baccalaureate stuff ..lots of administration that will be used for years to come…2nd half might even be better we will see… .Reg is really trying to get me to stay…..we are up to 600 students and will be increasing a little for sure…..once the reputation of our school gets out and the US embassy opens near here….will change the dynamics of the school quite a bit

We had a Parents night here and the young guns were not sure what to do…hcck I was going to have my parents actually do the work that their kids normally do as they were on their kids schedule….but someone screwed up and the parents were off by a period and I had several in the wrong place so couldn’t have them do their exercises or dance or shoot foul shots ( with the rubber chicken)…actually had a good time with the ones that came….still want their kids to have fun and to learn…to hell with technology

Have been running MWF fro the ½ marathon here. I registered in a backward procedure if there ever was one and still don’t know if they have me registered…would be a piss off if they messed up…may run it as a bandit…..There was an incident here in China today…..a Canadian Citizen was arrested for running without a license…hahaha

Also have not decided if I will run in the Greek marathon….would be an interesting one …you start at Marathon and run to the Olympic stadium…would be run on the 9th of November and I have until October 19th to decide…Francis said I could have time off to do it but the sticker is the cost of the flight …almost $2000 for a week…

One eye has been dry in the mornings so I went to buy some eye drops at the local pharmacy…..well first of all, you can’t tell what they are and how many mls there is or what they do ..so you just point to your eye and hope that the attendant know what it is that you want…then they give you two bills which you take to the cash person and who gives you one of the bills back (after she has put her stamp on it) and then you go back to the attendant who gives you your drops and the bill…..keeps people employed
Was able to get to the Paralympics to see the Canadian Rugby team win the Bronze medal against England….was interesting and tough…a couple of upsets and some real faking and fast moves…2 goals is quite a big deal and we won by 6 I think….Americans beat Australia……I think we had the 2nd best team…crowds were really good …the Chinese actually did a very good job with this too… opening ceremonies and organizing was good

Went down to the Olympic store outlet for Canada and got a good deal on some clothes…..they were ½ price and were good quality….made in China…also bought the 5 mascots for the Olympics for the grandkids….hmmmm… 5….hmmmmm

Got some more purses and stuff off to home again….hope my selections are good…..my purse eye is good but some of the choices were just a shot in the dark…actually had a couple of the girls at the store upset with me as I went to another cubicle to get better buys….but it keeps them honest….

Ron and I had planned a weekend at the biggest golf course in the world and it just so happened to be close to Hong Kong so I killed 2 birds with one stone as Kylie and Jocelyn Barnstable live there and had invited me to spend a while there so it was a quick 4 days in southern China….

Hong Kong is far more western than I expected….lots of English around and many Philippine people there….English is their second language…high rises all over the place and packed in one island…
So where do they go when they get out of their apartment…well they crowd into the narrow streets…..the night time was just packed..and Mong Kok was a hoot for bargaining and lots of people and action and smells and languages and noise and people and people and people…we really had a good time…..Kylie and Jocelyn are a fine couple and showed us more than the tour guides could have…up on travelators….escalators that take you up the mountain…trolley down….bus ride that has you looking over the edge…taxi rides on the wrong side of the street legally…remember it used to be owned by the British…a little more expensive than Beijing but not overly…. Actually, Ryan (Kylie’s brother) bought a 1997 Audi with 60,000 km on it for about $3500 Canadian and it was in good shape…Kylie said that they had 12 people in their apartment watching the Riders game on day…must have been like the streets….close quarters ….just like at a Riders game

Ron and I went to a massage parlour...he had the foot massage and went to sleep....I had a body massage and did not....it was the worst beating I have taken since I came here...the lady was a real strong lady and she bent me and beat me bad....I was sore all over...thought it would get better but it didn't.. a real learning experience....Ron said that when she came down from the room, she sort of flexed her muscles like she had just beat up on some one....AND SHE HAD

Just another experience getting out of Hong Kong and back into China proper...we had to go through customs and have our passport looked at....there was supposed to be shuttle to the golf course....of course there probably is somewhere but not where we were and how the heck do you ask if you do not know the language.

Last part of our trip was the golf and we arrived in time to have some driving range practices….my woods sucked as usual but my irons were really doing good …a bad omen….it was warm and we were sweating even before we hit the links…...we had no idea what to do where to go first, who to see, how you got your cart, caddies, which courses….they could use a little organization or at least have someone there for the rookies…..but you have to realize these course are for the rich…more on that later…

Anyway we got our cart and our bags placed on the cart and the caddies…and I think we got the prettiest of them all and they knew their golf and we had a blast with them….they did know some English….we joked about their hats and my poor golfing and our poor Chinese and generally had a good time which is what we came there for….Ron shot a reasonable round….I lost at least 6 balls ( and they were all Ron’s cuz I didn’t have any) and shot 105. We were paired with two women who only played another 9 holes as they had already played 18 before us… The course was the VJ Singh course and it was surrounded by water and was challenging that way but not overly pretty….it was a good course for sure.. They last holes went fairly fast and we ended up playing the last hole under the lights…and I screwed up my only picture under the lights..and didn’t notice it…until it was too late…

Had a late supper and then went to the bar just to see what it was like….it was a lounge bar….and now tor the rich and famous…

In what I thought was the epitome of snobbery sitting by himself was a middle aged man with his red wine, lobster or whatever and the airs of a tycoon who thinks he is something else….he would eat a little piece of food, chew it for about 10 minutes, pick up his glass of wine, swirl it around and sniff it and look at it and take a ml of a drink and set it down so deliberately and really look important….maybe he was but the urge to go over and kick him in the ass was tempting… Then he got up and got a cigar…brought it up to the table and all this is deliberate and painstakingly slow just to add more pompousness to the ceremony…he light it up and takes a long draw on it an tilts his head back and slowly blows smoke up in the air And puts it down by his plate and does this all over again I tell you it was everything that I would dislike about these rich turkeys who have probably written all of the expense off as a business expense and have made their millions on the backs of workers and have little regard for the little guy…that was my impression and man I shook my head and said these guys must really live exciting lives …it was a lifeless bar and if this is how some of these people get their kicks…. I am sure glad that I don’t have the money….or the prestige or the power or whatever it is that makes this sterile environment …what a made up world this is….that you have to make this up…and put on airs of importance

I had a massage as I wanted to see how the other half lives…well it costs you that is for sure….one hour for 230 rmb…we get 2 and ½ for 120 rmb….but we don’t have the ambiance….right…but we laugh and have fun and don’t need the arrogance of it all…my impression of the actual place was one of spoiled kids who had too much money and didn’t know how to act around real people so they impress you with their richness…wow I was impressed…..you need to get a life…

I went out for a jog in the morning and I saw the other half of the China we are visiting....the poor side...after getting out of the compound where guards saluted you as you jogged out, I turned right and was out for about 5 minutes....there you see the poor side of town...the streets are dirty and busy and contain all the people who are working in all aspects of the work world...in a typical scene, a large truck that would be suitable for carrying cattle with e sides barred, was picking up workers to probably go to work at a construction project or a field...men mostly but some women...the streets were busy even at 600 in the morning...lots of place were getting the food ready ...not your posh setting that I just ran out of....lots of construction and destruction and this is not unusual in China....a place of contrasts....and there is a definite need for the fences.....

Next day was bright and early and we were still a little late for our tee off but our caddies were there and the procedure for getting the golf clubs, the expense sheets and all was done and we were off…we had a wonderful day of golf…still lost another 6 of Ron’s balls but found a few as well….actually shot better off the tee but didn’t putt worth a hoot….the caddies were having fun again…got to wear their hat and took several pictures of the course and the game…..shot poorer but still was a great experience…..we had a few extra hours and probably could have done another round but may have been pushing it as our plane ride was at 2000 so we would have had to hurry to make it…

Yvonne, a business assistant, showed us over to the tennis centre…they have 51 courts and have a tennis academy just like they have a golf academy….and she was trying to sell us a membership in the golf course for a mere 500,000 rmb…..I shudder to think what the townhouses and other stuff costs if that is a cost of the membership…anyway she was not able to get a firm commitment…..Ron and I commented that maybe we could take out a joint membership with about 50 guys each paying for it….the plane ride back was good on Shenzhen airline…I think there must be a dozen airlines in China…..and we arrived to cooler weather than we had in the south of China…in fact the next day it rained….

Went out for my morning run…this time twice around Chaoyang park as I am trying to get ready for the ½ marathon….my time was good and I felt ok after that….Ron and I and Reg went to the massage parlour that night and I was sore all over….guess my body had taken a real beating over the holidays….maybe a time to rest…