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Post by douglaslam on Jun 28, 2010 1:44:48 GMT -5
Thanks Joe and tyuti1668 for the help and encouragement. I have much to catch up just to the basics. To post photos with caption, I need my children to walk me through it, step by step and in writing. Our home PC is a bit of hit and miss lately, which restricts my usage. It is filter problem with the phone line or something like that I was told. Don't know how to overcome it.
More of my observation next time, or when the PC is in a good mood.
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Post by tyuti1668 on Jun 28, 2010 3:34:02 GMT -5
filter problem with the phone line or something like that I was told. Don't know how to overcome it Report to ISP & get the answer by "pros" that is NOT their fault 1st. If not the isp problem, it's something inside ur house : 1. the non hard wired line (w/ 2 Rj-11 head) tends to break/oxdanized from time to time. (Test it by a phone) / LAN cable. 2. Replace the filter w/ working one. A new filter is cheap as chips in ebay Us$0.99 shiped to ur address
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Post by douglaslam on Jun 29, 2010 1:47:41 GMT -5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Throughout my time in Hoiping, I stayed at my wife's cousin's flat. Cousin alternates his time in HK with his family and in Hoiping. He has a small garment factory here, making jeans to specification for the export market. Kwan, his good friend maufactures electrical goods. Kwan's family is in Boston. He is not new to me, I met him about six years ago on my first trip to Hoiping. Back then, his family just emigrated to the US. Kwan landed and turned around almost immediately to attend to his business. He sees his future is in China. Kwan's family moved to Boston on the long tradition of chain migration, and meeting the quota. Kwan flies to the US once or twice each year. His family also flies out at various times. Cousin and Kwan are very good friends, they see each other just about everyday for meals and recreation. With my arrival, I became a willing partner in crime. They are late risers, so we usually combine lunch and breakfast together. The evening meal we eat out at various venues. No soon had we finished our dinner, they plan where to go for supper. Life is just one round of eating after another. Back to cousin's garment factory. It is housed in one of the purpose-built factory, completed in the early '80s on what used to be farm land. It has three storeys, only the ground and first floor are used. Even so, it is under-utilised. There is plenty of room for expansion. The dock is big enough for two or even three container trucks calling at once. The problem is lack of capital and shortage of labour. The labour problem is further aggravated by China's successful stimulus spending, Many migrant workers just won't come to Guangdong for semi-skilled or unskilled jobs. Factory owners and managers had to plead with their workers to return after the Spring Festival. I was at the factory one afternoon, and I saw a little toddler was there with his mother, and other female workers also doting over the little boy. I thought this is a neat arrangement, putting a human face to the work place. And I let cousin know, and commended him for his understanding. Cousin gave a wry smile and said he had no choice. If he had a harsh word or reprimanded the worker, she was likely to walk off the job. Only condition is that he accepts no responsibility for any mishaps. He needs everyone of his workers. Later on more school age children arrived to be with their parents. It really brightens up the place, and puts a human touch to the work place I endorse what my cousin is doing. He is small enough and flexible enough to accommodate the needs of his workers. The workers are not robots, they need family support and appeciation what they are doing. It reminds me of stories I read of family laundries, restaurants, corner shops which many of us are familiar with. The family unit is so important for its success and longevity. What goes on at cousin's factory completely won me over. I endorse. I thoroughly endorse. On the other extreme, there is this monstrosity of a large multi-national employer and its antics. Please judge the two for yourselves. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn
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Post by douglaslam on Jul 1, 2010 1:08:44 GMT -5
We all know China has the world's largest number of smokers, every tobacco company large or small in the world wants a piece of the action. Tobacco advertising on TV is officially banned, but there are no warning labels or graphic images as we have in Australia on cigarette packets. As I observed, smoking is still the accepted norm. We see smokers in every restaurant, there is no segregated section, Even in hospital wards, smoking is common when medical staff are not present. A safe heaven is the staircase, there, you are likely to see smokers puffing away without a care in the world.
I must say I did try smoking myself. It was a male thing back in my younger days. I even brought back two bamboo water pipes or bongs with me to Sydney back in 1975. That, with the raw, unblended tobacco really gives you a kick. fortunately for me, I was never hooked on nicotine. At worst, I was a social smoker, I used to accept cigarettes offered to me by friends, and no more. It was one way traffic.
It was common to see a water pipe passed around by the men like a native American pow-pow. Nowadays, I see fewer and fewer people smoking the bamboo pipe. Gone too are people rolling their own cigarettes. which are aptly called coffin nails because of the shape. Locally made cigarettes cost as low as 3 RMB/ pack, they are certainly a very affordable bad habit to support. There is no age restriction on tobacco sale.
Binge drinking, alcohol related violence and alcoholism is a big social problem in Sydney, and Australia-wide. Alcohol outlets and retailing are tightly controlled. By contrast, alcohol is freely available from any shop. There does not appear to be special licensing needed. Minors are likely to buy liquor for adults, no questions asked. I can't see a need to regulate all that. I have not met one hard drinker in all my travels. My walking tour guide Ma Gor ( see earlier post), though he likes his hard liquor, he drinks to moderation. It is to do with our physiological makeup that we do not hold alcohol well. That is a blessing in itself. But I do read of people under pressure, drinking themselves to death in banquets. This is something entirely different.
I am still struggling with posting photos, an unreliable internet connection does not help.
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Post by chansomvia on Jul 1, 2010 6:21:10 GMT -5
hi douglaslam, My friend in Canberra (capital of Australia!) had problems with his internet connection and solved this by changing his ISP, he had to wait months for his new broadband connection. His children bought him a new computer and with his new ISP now he inundates all his friends with tons of pictures, forwarded jokes and blogs. We find your posting full of apt comments and a wonderful insight of life in China, do not let the bottlenecks of internet connections deprive us of the pleasure of reading your experiences of this adventure.
Joe
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Post by chansomvia on Jul 1, 2010 6:34:05 GMT -5
Hi douglaslam, You mentioned " filter problem with the phone line", my understanding is that filters fitted to the telephone line are put in the line before the phone, fax and possibly the alarm and Sky TV. The line going to the computer modem is not filtered as data signals for the internet needs a pure direct connection. The filters are used to cut out the hiss, noise and interference from the computer modems when a voice tone is needed. I hope this helps.
Joe
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Post by douglaslam on Jul 1, 2010 8:49:14 GMT -5
Thanks Joe.
The internet seems to be working OK for the moment. I unplugged a cordless phone from an extension socket, and things seemed to improve immediately. I hope that was the source of the problem.
I am never impressed by the high-rise buildings or the glitzy shopping malls in China. Why travel half the world to see something you are familiar with? I like to compare how things used to be and as they are now. I like to see the common people in mundane daily dealings, and things of human interest to me. There is so much to write about China with each visit. I can never get tired of going back again and again, each time is like returning home, to my spiritual home.
Yes, there is much of the world I want to see, affordability is a big consideration. Take going to the US., travel insurance alone can cost almost as much as the airfare. I'll be going to your part of the world one day. I have a very good friend there, he and his family have a big place at Manukau ( spelling?), in Auckland. My friend has been expecting a visit from me for years.
Douglas
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Post by tyuti1668 on Jul 1, 2010 18:52:22 GMT -5
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Post by douglaslam on Jul 2, 2010 0:08:13 GMT -5
When in Guangdong, my preferred mode of transport is by boat where possible. Now, that is no longer possible. The Pearl River and its tributaries, once teeming with all manners of river craft are largely empty. Take Kee Kong or Qijiang at Shekki, or Tam Kong Tanjiang at Hoiping, from boh river banks, not one passenger craft, sampan or tug-boat-and barge was seen. They are lifeless. The highways and tollways have replaced the waterways as the arteries of the thriving regions. Gone too are the boot-dwelling communities. Much of the colourful past is now just fading memories. I remember going to Shekki from Guangzhou in 1973 on board one of the dozens of barges that plied the waterways. Sailing is always at night time. a tug tows the passenger barge silently and serenely down stream to Shekki. There is no engine noise but for the low rumble of the generator. You can see the reflection of the moon on the water, listen to the water gently caressing the barge, watch the lights of farm houses dotting the river bank. It is so relaxing, soothing and peaceful. Nowadays, buses leave Shekki for Guangzhou at half hourly intervals. And the journey takes just one and one half hours. It is very efficient, but it takes the fun out of travelling for this traveller. There are no alternatives. My travelling companion Ming did tell me there is a ferry service, as well as a rail link from Zhaoxing to Guangzhou. Ming's unfortunate accident makes any last minute change of travel plan impossible. The Cunard Lines advertisement used to say "getting there is half the fun", but it has little relevance in Chungshan these days. As I criss-crossed the many tributaries in my last trip, I often said to myself: thank you Mother Nature for endowing Quangdong with such an extensive waterway network, which nurtures and feeds the large population over the millennia. But sadly the stewardship of the waterways is falling way short of sustainable. At no stretch of the waterways did I see a fisherman casting a net. Pollution is a very serious problem. I am not sure the waterways can ever be fully rehabilitated, the heavy metals and inorganic chemicals pumped into them might never breakdown.
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Post by douglaslam on Jul 2, 2010 7:57:12 GMT -5
Through these doors your entering the front yard of the house that my grandfather built. Attachments:
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Post by douglaslam on Jul 3, 2010 6:38:37 GMT -5
The house is two-storey high with an attic which opens to a back balcony. As you can see the wall is cracked, but the broken windows are replaced by aluminium ones. The occupants are making improvements to the building. Since my mother's passing in 2006, I allowed a close clan family to move in rent free. It is better than to lock it up and let it decay. The house was built of the best material, the best " green bricks" available. And the furniture are as solid today as they were ninety or so years ago. For decades it was the tallest building in our neighbourhood. In summer it was the coolest because of the high ceiling. Grown-ups told me when they were small they used to sleep-over at my place, and the girls shared the same bed with my mother. I do not know in which year the house was built. I never asked my grandparents. I do know grandfather landed in BC,Canada in 1914. That is the year shown on his Poll Tax Certificate. He paid $500 in Head Tax to enter Canada. By simple deduction, the house was probably built between 1915 and 1920. It was in 1920 my father's younger brother was born. Grandfather returned home sometime, perhaps more than once, between those years and had his second son ( perhaps, my father as well ). To me this is a remarkable achievement. How did he manage to pay off the head tax debt, send money home and yet save enough to return home, build a new house and have a second son or sons, all in the space of a few years? It is unbelievable!! He was no gambler. When I read of the head tax and the discrimination the Chinese suffered, I was very emotional about the whole issue, and applauded the apology given by Canadian PM Stephen Harper on June 26, 2006. Grandfather was very proud of his house and I am very proud of him. Attachments:
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Post by douglaslam on Jul 4, 2010 1:13:02 GMT -5
tyuti1668,
Happy birthday ! Do you celebrate your birthday on lunar calendar or on the date shown on your HK birth certificate ?
I am sure you can locate where my house is next time you go to your village. We are neighbours after all.
I am facing a dilemma with my house in the village. I am undecided whether to pull it down and build a new one or do remedial work to it. Building a new one costs money big time. Even remedial work to bring the place up to scratch for modern living calls for deep pockets. And I am reluctant to wipe out the legacy of my grandfather. It is a hard call. I do want to spend part of my time each year in China on retirement.
Living back in the village isn't for everyone, I don't I think I'd need too much re-adjustment. And I don't think there are too many members contemplating ever doing so. In my heart of hearts, I belong in China, I'd have been a very happy chappy as a peasant farmer working on grandfather's land and fish pond but for Mao. Fifty-five years is a long time to be away.
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Post by tyuti1668 on Jul 4, 2010 8:16:33 GMT -5
Birthday = Lunar. If i'm getting older, that's younger generation's choice but NOT this time. It's a "peasent" family tradition. Also my natural "Mother's Day" (the artificial one in May don't match my taste. ) Yesterday evening joined my infant niece's (youngest cousin/ 姨表/ "李" from 新村) 滿月酒 in 沙溪 & returned "home" couple hours in this morning. The discovery trip maybe next time when i can borrow a bicycle (The rusty "spare" bike was stolen by a suspicious paroled native neighborhood that often had tons of "junike" buddy in home. Walking isn't that pratical, some alley ... ) New OR Remedial work? Pls make the final decision ASAP. The typhoon season is coming| Wage/Material cost is riding rocket. Whatever the decesion: stock RMB as much as possible NOW (pressure from US ), If builds NEW, most brick can reuse if with "pros". BTW: the repeated post can easily deleted by urself.
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Post by douglaslam on Jul 5, 2010 0:48:13 GMT -5
These are portraits of my grandparents. The frames are new and the portraits replicated. The work was carried out by my cousin's son on my request. Borers had worked their way into the frames and the original portraits. I hope they are in storage.
The original frames were first damaged by Mao's Red Guards when they raided my house more than once. They opened the back of the frames to look for subversive material and caused damages. Grandfather was a very dignified and upstanding man. There was an aura about him, even thousands of miles away his presence was palpable. None of grandfather's seven children knew their father well. But they always held him with reverence and great respect. All the children can read and write, they were well provided for.
Grandmother was a typical village maiden of late 19th century. She was illiterate, coming from a poor family was one of the reasons. I don't think she was ever given a name because the name she used sounds too much like an afterthought. Grandmother dealt fairly with all manner of people. She was well loved. I remember the times in Hong Kong, there was always a steady stream of people calling with gift, to wish grandmother and later grandfather well at New Year and Mid-Autumn festivals.
The new occupants, perhaps the father, initially wanted the portraits removed. When I got wind of it, I gave a firm no. The portraits must stay or they go. It is non-negotiable.
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Post by douglaslam on Jul 5, 2010 5:49:22 GMT -5
At last I've got the portraits of my grandparents uploaded. I just can't seem to get the knack.
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