What will you eat? Beijing Post #3

We all enjoy a good feast and regular readers of this Blog will know that there are a few local foods I try to avoid. Durian in particular is to be avoided at all costs.
Mind you I am not too fond of Vegemite or baked beans.
But there are always challenges when you arrive in a new place and try to find something local you may enjoy. In Hong Kong we love Yum Cha. But with a twinkle in our eye we sometimes like to order some chickens feet so we can watch the face of a newly arrived guest (they are actually better than you may expect, but not particularly nice).
So heading to Beijing with a determination to eat locally there were challenges ahead.
As for eating locally we failed miserably on our first night going Italian for Pizza. Our local meal near the Great Wall for Monday lunch was not munch, especially when given a bill for 350 Yuan for three very ordinary dishes (always ask before you order is the tip) Needless to say they considered our European faces a potential Gold Mine, especially when the people at the next table ordered considerably more and handed over 100 Yuan and got change! So after an interesting discussion the bill was lowered to 200 yuan (still way too much).
That evening we considered a few restaurants and decided on one that looked OK. We used the point to anything in the menu and what came back was a large bowl (more like a wash basin) filled with all sorts of delicious things to eat and covered in giant chillies. Yes it was spicy, but it sure was nice (and 1/4 the price of lunch)
The next evening after visiting the Forbidden City and the sights of Beijing we headed for some markets and ate what I thought were delicious Chinese version of kebabs, although I was the only one who thought so. Rob disappointed not to find a restaurant serving Dog decided to make do with a SEA HORSE! All part of the Beijing experience

Mobile Phone Miracle?

A recent survey by Reader's Digest, set out to find out which are the honest and which are the dishonest countries when it comes to handing back lost mobile phones. You will have to look elsewhere for the results of that survey, but I note that China wasn't tested! At least as far as I can make out.
I have heard so many stories of frantic searching for lost phones in China that when I left mine in a taxi in Beijing on Monday night, I began to think about how I would now survive. You see its more than a phone it is a Treo! Purchased though the kind gift of a friend.
It is a Palm Pilot as well as a phone. It has my Diary, several translations of the Word as well as commentaries, for my daily Special Times. It also has a word processor and does service as an MP3 player. Now I know what your thinking .... he shouldn't be attached to Worldly Goods, and I guess your right, but I knew I would miss it.
But Wednesday morning I had it back. No one could believe it! Now ask any of my kids or my wife .... I am famous for losing things. My Wallet lost in a pub in Australia, My camera lost twice in quick succession in various crowded places. But the MD has been gracious and each time they have been returned.
But this time I knew I was pushing the limits.
We went out to visit the Silk Markets. A 15 Yuan trip from where we were staying. For the return I showed our driver a map showing where the Hostel was. And I guess the map wasn't to good, because when the meter hit 20 Yuan I realised we were headed for the Airport. I pulled out my phone and talked to the manager of the apartments. After a few phone calls and 50 Yuan later we were back 'home'. But I had my phone out and it must have slipped off my lap and it was morning before I realised.
Thankfully the manager had the drivers mobile number and talked to him. It was Tuesday, his day off and he lived 70km from Beijing. So after little negotiation, we arranged for him to drive us to the airport. He returned our phone and we paid him a little extra for his trouble.
A miracle I ask You?

4 days in Beijing # 1 The bargain hunter

With most of the mob back in Sydney, we took a few days off with Rob and Benson to see Beijing.

Rob got right into it as the video proves. Here he is bargaining for a hip flask with a Hammer and Sickle on it that took his fancy in a street market. Rob and Benson loved the markets. He got it down from 200 yuan to 30 Yuan (A$5)

The Mob in town

Over the past few weeks we have an influx of people from our Oz Club visiting, to Join Sue & I, Marnie and The Harrison family here in Hong Kong. First there was Alison and Claire, then shortly after they left our son Rob came for a month and with him came six others for various lengths of time, to help out at Crossroads.
So our weekends and after work activities have seen us taking people for all the tourist things around Hong Kong. The weather has been kinder than usual.
Please come and join us in Hong Kong some time.

August News

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

1. Its so hot 2.We don’t like to mention, 3. Berowra Influx 4. Food & a future for the poor & hungry 5. Zambia crazy for you, 6. Only in HK (cont.), 7. Your partnership with us. Appendix: positions vacant

1. It is so HOT
Every one knows it’s hot in summer in Hong Kong. But this year, our 5^th in Hong Kong is different. For well over one month now we have had a sustained period of Sunny rainless days. Normally at this time of year we experience day after day of rain and cloud. But not this year! And no typhoon has even come close! But as a result we have much hotter days than normal, 34 or 35 degrees. The humidity has dropped off a bit but still pretty sticky.

But next week, the weather bureau is promising thunderstorms and rain, so I guess the normal summer starts next week.

2. We don’t like to mention
Last month we mentioned that the first time in a number of years we are experiencing a down time in our support. In fact to get us back on track we really need a good influx of funds to see a return to normal levels. If you have been thinking of supporting us, now would be a great time.

3. Berowra people influx.
How wonderful to see a stream of people from home. At times I wonder how many people are left in our Berowra Club! It is already so great with the Harrisons and Marnie joining us this year. Already this month Alison and Claire have come (in fact are here right now!) while in a few weeks our son Rob arrives for nearly a month! With him for the first few weeks will be Benson, Amanda, Dev and Pete. At the same time our old friend Kenny arrives for a whole month!

4. Food and a future for the Poor & Hungry
A very special shipment was sent early this year. The mandate of this organisation is simply to "help the poor and feed the hungry". They regularly distribute food and clothing to the needy in their community on the outskirts of Kerala, as well as supplying school books, bags and school uniforms for children from poor families so that they can attend school. Through their work, Love is shared with these people in both word and deed.

Concerned by the number of children living on the streets in their neighbourhood, they have now opened a small orphanage, providing shelter, food, care and education for 30 girls. These children now have access to a "hope and a future" they did not previously know.

Within the next year, this organisation sees a need to increase the capacity of its orphanage and has requested building materials as well as furniture and furnishings for the current facilities.

Many women have also benefited from specialist training in tailoring, embroidery or computer skills provided by the centre. Often, these ladies have been able to find employment as a direct result of the training provided, making a real difference in their families' lives.

As well as the materials to furnish the new extension to the orphanage, we have sent sewing machines and computers for the vocational training courses, clothing, school books, kitchen equipment and crockery, stationery supplies, sports equipment and educational toys. Our desire is to see the Body in Kerala built up and strengthened.

5. Zambia: Crazy for You
Our recipients in Zambia take in the lost, abandoned, broken and the hurting. They take in drug addicts, alcoholics, criminals, and the misfits and rejects of society that have no place and that no one wants. They then love, care and provide for them, school them, and train them in the way they should go. With skills for life, they are then able to make a living, provide for others, and because of the blessing they have received, they too, can be a blessing to others.

Currently they have the capacity to accommodate 500+ people, but with the gift of 1000 hectares of new, fertile land, with a fresh water river near by, they will be able to accommodate for a vast increase in that number. “We want to build hundreds of houses, each with 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living area. Each house will have a mother figure, probably a widow herself, and will look after three orphans. The idea is to get away from the stigma of growing up in an orphanage. We will need to find a sponsor for each home, though. Each home will have a patch of land to work. This will allow them to provide for themselves, and make some money. “We have done this before and it worked well,” Flemings said confidently.

Crossroads was delighted to be able to supply much needed science equipment for the new science labs at the school, as well as school desks and chairs. Now, the year 12 students can have their own desk and chair when they sit exams. Also in Zambia, power cuts are common. For this reason, the generator we sent them has been a huge blessing. It has resulted in a large increase in the number of people registering for evening education programs, because they know there will be no power disturbances. We also sent other items, such as tools and equipment for building, gardening, and landscaping as well as music equipment, school bags, manual typewriters and computers, among other things, in the 40-foot container.

6. Only in Hong Kong . . .

….. funny but this last month has been most unlike Hong Kong. As the song says, “who took the rain?”

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