Eric's Beijing Diary

It pays to get into Hong Kong early. Easy to get a seat by the window at the Cafe Deco. Really nice day today, too. The view looking out across the bay is quite scenic. My plane was due in from San Francisco about 6:30 am, but we actually landed almost an hour early. Can't remember the name of the guy who negotiated this deal for Britain. I am referring to the original agreement after the Opium war in the middle of the last century giving an obscure island to the British to use as a trade zone. The deal that established today's status quo in Hong Kong was worked out by Deng Xiao-ping and Margaret Thatcher.

Seems to be going fairly well. The democracy advocates would not agree with me, but I guess I say this, because, in talking about the issues yet to be resolved, and there certainly are some, it is only fair to say that things have been going better than many had feared. This is not to minimize the concerns many have about functional constituencies, and the way they tend to circumvent the obligation Beijing has (because of Deng Xiao-ping's promise) to bring full suffrage to the colony.

I am not a strong believer in democracy. As I have said before in this blog, I am a passionate believer in freedom. But democracy is just a form of government. You can have democracy without freedom (Adolf Hitler was democratically elected), and you can have freedom without democracy. Hong Kong itself is a good example of this. Whatever complaints may be aired now about democracy, the fact remains that the Brits had Hong Kong for 150 years, and never gave them anything like democracy. But they did allow a considerable measure of freedom. So I do not worship democracy as an ideal.

But the people of Hong Kong were promised democracy. A promise is a promise, and Beijing's hesitation is wrong for this reason. If Beijing does not keep Deng Xiao-ping's promise, they will make him a liar.

All good things must come to an end. One last coffee with She Who Must Not Be Disturbed, a trip to the airport, and a little something to chew on while we were waiting, then the goodbyes. I had ordered some books from Amazon that were late in coming--mostly stuff a friend in China had requested. I had given up on them, but it turned out that they arrived just before Heather and Jason left for the airport.

Click picture for larger image.
There's one thing I want to say about Portland before I leave. Jason and I went to OMSI one day, and out in back they had a tour of the last diesel class submarine. It was the sub used in the Tom Clancy movie, Hunt for Red October. It was bigger than the one I toured in San Francisco. That one was interesting, because it had actually seen action in World War II, but the tour of that ship was self-guided. The sub at OMSI has a tour guide who is a Navy veteran, and full of information about what life on a sub was like. But what I want to tell you about is what we did after the sub tour. They have these jet boats that take you up the Willamette river to the first falls.

I lived in Oregon for eleven years during my high school and college years. I stretched out my college years, because I took a year off after high school, and because I also did a postbac program, which means that I basically got two bachelor's degrees. But in all that time, I cannot recall a single time that I was on the Willamette River. I don't know why not. I guess I was more fascinated by mountain rivers like the Metolius in those days. Hard to believe that this summer was the first time I was ever on the river. It is definitely a worthwhile experience. Comedy of errors, I had left my camera memory in my laptop, so my camera was unusable. And my cell phone battery was dead, so I could not use that as a backup. I guess maybe it's alright, because you would have had to have a telephoto lens to really get a good shot of the two bald eagles we saw. But we did see them, along with a couple ospreys and a heron. Lots of other interesting stuff, too. There are some very nice houses right on the water, and others right next to the water. If you ever get to Portland, I strongly recommend that tour. But one word of warning: Don't sit in front. I was going to, because I figured the windshield would protect us from water spray. But Jason warned me, so we moved back toward the center of the boat. It was a good thing we did. The skipper would speed up, then come to a rapid full stop, and water would come pouring in over the windshield. The people in front got soaked.

I don't have a big camera, because I would either lose it, or it would never be with me when I needed it. I always use a pocket camera, because then I can carry it as a matter of habit, and have it handy when I need it. But this is one time when it would have been useful to have a camera with a good lens that could bring some of the things we saw up close. It is really worth seeing.

Boots. Jason and Heather didn't like my boots at all. I have to admit the heels were in pretty rough shape, but there are lots of cobblers in China. The problem is that the souls are constructed with air chambers to help cushion the weight while you are walking. So as they start to wear through, it becomes a little difficult to patch them up, because there is nothing to attach the new rubber soul to. It's hard to explain, and perhaps my assessment is too pessimistic. But Jason and Heather weren't for taking any chances. So this afternoon Melissa took me to an outdoor store to get some new boots.

Several years ago, I stopped in Shenzhen to see a friend, and we did a lot of walking around town. At the time, I was wearing an old pair of boots I had found sitting on a dumpster up in Alaska one summer. They seemed to fit OK, and I did get a good bit of use out of them, but they really were not quite right for my feet, and they were really hurting. It occurred to me then that if your feet are out of commission, it doesn't matter how well the rest of you is doing. I decided after that experience that I had to get some good boots, especially for the mountains. But that was a few years ago, so I have had these boots now for four years. Nothing lasts forever.

I picked out a large pair of climbing boots and tried them on. I had chosen them because they were marked down, but they were not quite the right size. So the guy brought out another pair of boots. I was a little skeptical, because they said, "Made in Italy." What do the Italians know about making boots? Spaghetti, yes. Pizza, OK. But boots? But after I put them on, I was amazed at how light they felt on my feet. And they were very comfortable. So I decided to go with the Zamberlans. We'll see.

Melissa took me to a hoedown this evening with some friends of hers in the countryside. I am not much of a dancer, but I do like to get out in the country. They had some very well trained mules and a mule wagon, and a whole bunch of very good food. It was a very American event.

There were lots of cars parked along the driveway, and at one point, when we were trying to get the wagon out, the mules sorta spooked and one of them started fight with her traces. Horses don't like the feeling that they are subject to something beyond their control, so in small spaces they spook easily. We finally decided to give it up for the evening. Too many cars. I felt sorry for the mules. They aren't really afraid of cars once they get out on the road, but it's not that easy to ease a mule wagon between vehicles when the mules can't see that there is enough space to get through.

Bicyclists waiting to load their bikes.
Took the Amtrak back to Portland today. The Amtrak car didn't have a dining car, just sort of a bistro. Bar with a few tables. I was glad, actually, because when they have a dining car on Amtrak, they squeeze you in with a bunch of other people. It's very uncomfortable. Pay your money, gobble it up, get out. This car was quite nice, actually. I sat down at the bar and ordered some coffee and coffee cake. As I was sitting there at the bar reading, a young guy covered with tatoos walked in. He had several body piercings also. He walked up to the bar and said, "You guys take food stamps?" Guess it doesn't hurt to ask.

I got into a conversation with him about hopping trains. I lived in America for 40 years, but I have never hopped a train. I am not proud of that fact, merely stating it. I hitch-hiked across the country when I got out of high school, but for some reason, I just never thought of hopping a train until I was older, and then, well, you know how that goes. Maybe when I'm a little more older. Anyway, I had lots of questions for him about hopping trains. I asked him if he mainly hopped on moving trains, or only got on trains that were standing still. He told me that if the train is moving you need to make sure you can count the bolts on the wheel. Otherwise, the train is moving too fast. He said you can reach up and grab ahold, then allow your body to swing with the train, and pull yourself up into the box car. I would think you would need to have exceptional arm muscles for that. I think maybe I would have to go with the ones that were standing in a yard somewhere, or stopped at a station.

I asked him if he ever had trouble with people who were guarding the trains. He said, "On the West Coast they're pretty easy going, but back East, they'll shoot you." I don't know...maybe I should stick to hitch-hiking. I remember when I was working in the prison system in Oregon, and old prostitute from East Burnside told me that she would much rather hop a train, because in a box car "you have more room to fight if you get stuck with the wrong kind of person." She was a big woman, so I sure wouldn't be getting in a fight with her. Nice lady, though. Anyway, train hopping will have to be put on hold for now. Some day, though.

I had not planned to come to Seattle this summer, but it turned out that Mom and Dad were going to come up here, so I rode up with them on the train. I was through Seattle quite a bit during my days on the road, but I have not been here since then, except when I stopped through on my way back from Alaska in the fall of '97.

We had a nice dinner with friends and relatives who live in the Seattle area. I guess the reason I know so many more people in the Seattle area than other places is because it is right by the coast. My last experience on Amtrak back in 2005 was quite unpleasant. But the trip up here Monday was actually pretty nice. I guess it is because the train we took originated from Portland, so it was not late. And the trip is only a few hours--not really long enough to be a problem.

Yesterday, we went to a Goodwill outlet store. Used clothes for $1.49 a pound. I had never seen anything like this before. I don't mean thrift stores. I shopped at thrift stores all the time when I lived in Arizona. But I mean the way they have a bunch of clothes piled in huge heaps, and you just dig in, grab something, and put it in your basket if you like it. No changing rooms, which, to me, kinda eliminated buying pants. Jackets and shirts you can just try on right where you are, but I am a little too modest to do that with trousers. I did find a nice leather jacket, though, and Mark found a cotton sweater my size that he thought might be useful for me.