December 2006 Archives

Earthquakes are terrible things. They kill and main people, and destroy the lives of the unfortunate people living in the affected region. Earthquakes also destroy infrastructure. Like Asia's major internet and telephony lines to the world.

Since late on Boxing Day, international internet and telephone access from Shanghai (China, and probably the rest of Asia) has been an absolute nightmare.

Needless to say that many businesses and people have suffered major disruptions to their usual way of life. Some may even have their businesses at considerable risk. On the Shanghai Expat website, I've read many stories about how people are coping with this problem, with some even resorting to posting hardcopy work and sending them in overnight express mail just to keep international business moving. For others (like myself), I've essentially been cut-off from both my work (a little web site construction), the means of finding work (job sites), contacting my father on his birthday (sorry Dad!), checking Australia's demolition of England in the The Fourth Ashes Test Match, and several other means of procrastination that are firmly entrenched in my life. The only internet connections that appeared to be unaffected was within mainland China and to neighbouring countries, and I wasn't too interested in scrounging around looking for alternatives. I'm not that far gone!

This is the first successful attempt at reaching my US-hosted website and main email server for the last four days. Luckily most of my friends and family knew they could sporadically reach me on my Gmail account, but I even found access to that really spotty. At this stage I really wished I was working for one of the MNC's with their own dedicated networks (or at least a VPN) to establish connection to North American, European and Australian websites. For me, Skype sometimes worked but for most of the time it acted like an OCD-sufferer by constantly logging in and out.

The worst thing about this event is that there doesn't appear to be any Plan B for restoring the network capacity within a reasonable time-frame (i.e. 24 hours). At this stage, it may be 3 to 4 weeks until the previous network capacity is restored.

I have learnt quite a lot from this internet melt-down. The sea-bed communication networks are amazing, but fragile. And in Asia's case, it now appears to have design faults and has been poorly planned. This incident has confirmed that my expat life is truly entwined in the internet. As I didn't have any alternatives to solve this problems so the only thing left to do was to spend time with my awesome girlfriend, get some fresh air (thanks to the high-winds in Shanghai at the moment), and play Uno with Lin while eating take-away Thai food.

It hasn't been that bad at all really!

Merry Christmas to ALL, originally uploaded by spicedfish.

Merry Christmas to you all from Shanghai, China.

We're missing all our family & friends back home, and wish we could be with you today.

But only if we could bring our monster Christmas luncheon with us (now what a feast we have in store today).


Tim & Lin

This entry was posted with flickr

The Doritos corn chips you can get for RMB30 at City Shop .

Unless I've been mingling in the right supermarket but at the wrong times, I'd like to share with my fellow Shanghai expats a serendipitous discovery found on the shelves at The City Shop/City Supermarket (whatever its called), at The Portman Center on Nanjing Xi Lu.

Doritos! No, not the bananas, but real corn chips! I love Nacho Cheese! There's also Spicy Nacho and Cool Ranch. At RMB30 per packet, the price won't blow the budget either. I came across this addition while gathering the appropriate ingredients for a few Christmas dishes we're cooking up for next Monday. A friend told me a while back that Doritos was supposed to be launching in China sometime this year, but these packages were devoid of any Chinese printing and had the logo 'Export' plastered on the bottom corner of the packets, so I guess these aren't the "for Chinese market" variety that we've come to love & cherish (Cucumber-flavoured Lay's potato chips, anyone...? Anyone...?).

On the topic of the imported foods, I just wish a box of Vita Brits or Weetbix was less than RMB45 a pop - a truly criminal price for a few bricks of wholesome shredded & pressed wheat. At least Tim Tams go for just about the right price at around RMB25.

china mail, originally uploaded by Wam Mosely.

I think that I am falling in love with the China Post branch near Jing'an Temple (corner of Beijing Xi Lu and Huashan Lu). Yes, it does sound a little crazy, but let me explain.

I reckon that China Post is awesome. It is cheap, it is fast, and invariably it manages to get your packages to the right spot either on time or before time. The only problem many people face (whether your a foreigner or a Chinese national) is the service. It can be spotty, you can get rude staff, or people who just don't know what they're doing. Just like any public service job around the world you could say.

In the last month, both Linda and I have had some really positive experiences in dealing with China Post at the Jing'an Temple main office. This is perhaps one of the busiest branches in Shanghai. Invariably there is a sea of thronging masses pushing and shoving to get the attention of the counter assistants. Yet the capable people behind the bench still manage to keep a good eye on who was first, second, third in entering the maul and thus judiciously selects the right customer to serve.

In my recent dealings with the staff in this branch, they have been patient with me and my newly studied post & package Chinese. I've gained an education in sending letters, padded envelopes and boxes to overseas destinations, the cost structures and custom procedures. I was also impressed that the staff at this branch have wisely also segregated some of the customs and form filling procedures away from the commerce areas (which are usually inundated with bill-paying patrons), thus easing the load on the counter staff. In some of the other branches I've been to, it is a one-stop shop for pretty much everything.

The diligence of the staff can be highlighted in one such example. Last night I popped into the Jing'an Branch office to pay some bills. There weren't many counter staff working at that time, and there was a throng of customers wanting to pay bills and post letters. It was all working well until one customer needed to pay his bills in mostly JIAO!!! Everyone groaned but the customer and the staff member. The guy's bills were due that day and he didn't have any other large money, and despite it being in bank coin rolls, the counter staff informed him that he'd have to count every single one. He kept the face of the customer (despite what I believe the unreasonable request) and set about opening each roll of coins and counting the each one as quickly as possible. Luckily I chose another counter, and was dealt with promptly.

Another good-news story I'd like to share is that we came to learn that one of Lin's sisters had sent her a Christmas package to China, but after sending the item, she realised she had the wrong address. Bugger. We won't see that package this Christmas. But China Post contacted Australia Post, who then contacted Linda's sister (register your packages people), and she then supplied the correct address for our apartment. Beauty! Presents are on their way!

The last piece of China Post advice I'd like to dispense is that we've come to learn of the China Post branch inside Shanghai's Portman Center on Nanjing Xi Lu. For the uninitiated, The Portman Center is a bastion of English-speaking customer service (thus ease and thus expense) in a sea of the unfamiliar (& inaccessible) Chinese service systems to the fresh expat. All the counter staff speak English, and they also act as agents for DHL and Fedex. If your Chinese isn't up to scratch, maybe you can check out that post office at some point so you can access China Post's reliable systems.

Lastly, I would like to add that China Post is awesome!

The End

Some information.
China Post Homepage (and in English).
China Post Jing'an District Branch: Corner of Beijing Xi Lu and Huashan Lu.
The Portman Center's China Post Office Branch is located at 1376 Nanjing Xi Lu, Suite 203A, West Retail Plaza. Phone: 6279 8044

The 'ho ho ho hat' Flickr Christmas easter egg in action..

I noticed a little festive graffiti (care of my Sis or BROIL) on one of my Flickr photos earlier this morning. You can perform this little festive-season Easter egg trick by adding a note to any image, and typing either "ho ho ho hat" or "ho ho ho beard" for the cool resizable image addition.

Bao Xishun & the dolphins he violated saved. Photo from The SMH.

From my time here, I've come to realise that such a pool of human resource has created a commonly-encountered mindset to problem-solving in China which looks firstly at human-powered solution over innovation when faced with new challenges. China has a long history of using overwhelming man-power to find solutions to problems. This approach continues to be a winner in a country of 1.3 billion people. I serve evidence for this argument as two main examples. Firstly, the huge amount of under-employed staff in almost any retail store in Shanghai which stalk you when you pass by their designated selling zone. They provide unparalleled capacity for service (if you can distract them from their text messaging). Secondly, as you walk past any number of streets in Shanghai, you can observe teams of workers milling over worksites, hand-demolishing buildings by knocking out individual bricks and metal components for re-use or recycling. For a contrast, In my home country, you would have to stalk a retail employee for service in a clothing store, and it would be a few guys in machines (or some well-placed explosives) to bring down the equivalent structures and to cart the unsorted debris away for landfill.

But when it comes to problems with wildlife, you wouldn't really think that the human approach would have been one that high on your list of possible solutions.

Enter plastic-eating dolphins and the world's tallest man. When regular plastic-removing dolphin surgical tools didn't work (huh?), maybe the world's tallest man replete with (perhaps) the world's longest arms would be able to solve the problem? Yes!!! Human power wins once again! I am 100% positive that I wouldn't have wanted to be either of the dolphins in this scenario.

Who the hell came up with this idea?

Yuck Flavours of Carrefour Yoghurts, originally uploaded by timbeckenham.

Yet another foreigner-originating story about the 'weird' foods found throughout China. This one is again from your local neighbourhood Carrefour dairy aisle; yucky yoghurts.

My advice to the unwary is just be a little judicious in what you reach for in the Carrefour yoghurt cabinet. To the unwary eye looking forward to next morning's dairy fix, you may just choose the nicest and brightest looking container in your rush to escape the hell-hole that is Carrefour Gubei on a packed Wednesday night.

If you didn't look to closely, you may end up with either potato/sweet potato, aloe vera or corn flavoured yoghurt. According to my cultural conditioning, such things are abominations and are wrong on several levels. The only thing that could top it would be seafood-infused yoghurt (very, very, very wrong IMHO) but I have a niggling suspicion that it may do quite well in the Chinese marketplace.

I will now go and enjoy some of the more pleasantly -tailored flavours of strawberry & raspberry yoghurt from the same manufacturer.

This entry was posted with flickr

Across The Water at Zhōuzhuāng, originally uploaded by timbeckenham.

I went to Zhōuzhuāng last week with Lin & Mel. I had a pretty good day-trip, which I will elaborate further on in a couple of days. This is my favourite photo from my day's worth of happy snapping, so I thought I'd just give you a preview of ALL the photos I took at Zhōuzhuāng.

For me, I'm quite busy with job applications, job interviews, more job applications, writing, tutoring, site building (not mine!) and staying warm and toasty. Did I mention playing a heap of basketball as well?

My life is pretty full right now.

This entry was posted with flickr

I don't know why, but I am starting to obsess about food lately. Maybe its because of the colder weather that has arrived late in Shanghai this year, and I have subsequently started belated efforts to produce my own personal winter coat. I'm assuming I'm not alone in this sentiment, so I've decided to write just a little entry on a few informative (but maybe not well-known) food blogs based around Shanghai.

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So hopefully this entry will help you plan your impending cold & wet weekends of food-bagging!

I was introduced to the Like A Local food blog a few months back, and have really enjoyed the content of that site. It features simplistic and informative writing, and is a really nice piece of work (and in fact, is my favourite food blog). It seems a lot of the writing is centred around the Sinan Lu/Jiangguo Lu neighbourhood south of Huaihai Zhong Lu, so if you live in that area (JM, D-rée, Gunsie), you should check out some of mentioned places.

This morning I just came across another Shanghai-based Chinese food blog called Kung Fu Eats. This blog appears to specialise in restaurant dishes, and throws in a few recipes so you can can try your own hand at some of the dishes. The photos of featured dishes look very tasty & have struck a chord with yours truly. Considering my new head-cold, I now have a yearning for the following two dishes that feature a lot of garlic. Linda would be very happy about that.

Another food & review site that has its own blog is Shanghai Eats (and Drinks). Its food blog is sporadically updated, so is only worth a visit every now and then. Primarily this site acts as a restaurant directory cross-referenced by districts, but it also contains reviews of different eateries featured in its database. So if you want to head out this weekend, you should check out this directory. The main site features bilingual directions and offers print-outs of each establishment's address & basic ordering Chinese. I find that its a more personable alternative restaurant database than those presented by City Weekend & SmartShanghai.

Now its time to strike up my usual Friday lunch-time Man-date with MattMan. I think it will be big bowl of 牛肉拉面 today!