It's been a little while since I last blogged owing to lack of internet access and a good quantity of beer. I suddenly found myself with less time to blog once I got back to the UK and started drinking heavily again; out of practice though I was, I think I'm back in the swing of things after being back for a week and a half.
So the journey's come to an end and it's back to training in London, which has become my home once more. The differences between my local Fulham and the industrial and cultural hubs in which I'd visited were considerable. My initial thoughts included:
1. Isn't the air clean in London?
2. Isn't it quiet in London?
3. Isn't the Tube a bind and the staff often unhelpful? (But then, at 25,000 p.a. for a station assistant, probably a billion times more than their Chinese counterparts, we shouldn't expect too much more, really).
It's also good to get back to normal signs which don't need re-translating, such as this one from my hotel bathroom. But what of China and the experience as a whole?
I've been asked by numerous colleagues if I'd go back and did I enjoy the whole thing. The answer is a conditional 'yes' for both. China is a fascinating country, but rather a lot to get to grips with on a busy schedule. The local assistance in the form of Winnie, Piao and Michael was excellent and generally, we were treated pretty well. Periods of work lasting 15 days without a break could be worked on to make the experience a little more pleasant, though. Coupled with this, the food, as readers of earlier entries will know, was at times a little more challenging, especially at breakfast, than I'd ideally like, so a it of progress there would be good. Since arriving back, the head of food safety in China has been sentenced to death for taking bribes which allowed fatal ingredients into the market, leading to numerous deaths. Let's just hope this wasn't a 'symbolic' move, rather like the regular sacking of Home Secretaries when immigration becomes a problem.There have also been moves to improve air quality in China. Just at the weekend, Beijing experimented with only allowing half the number of cars into the capital each day. This widely publicised event to cut-down on emissions was unsuccessful: amazingly, pollution monitors recorded no drop in pollution levels. Perhaps it's all those factories
causing all the problems, then?But let's not report unfavourably about these things, though. It has been decreed that no negative opinions should be published about the food safety problems, air pollution and the Olympic preparations. And the punishment? Try three years imprisonment, a sentence currently being served by one journalist who reported on cardboard in meat dumplings.
Anyway, let's not fear, this is a progressive land and I'm sure the ladies who are carrying those bundles (pictured above) are excited and engaged in the future and what it will hold for them and their gloriously ancient country. Even at the airports we can find signs of environmental improvement: this toilet sign
clearly shows that help is at hand for those needing direction. I'd never seen this word spelt before, so that's another experience to chalk up to China.Let's hasten back for more!
