China Journal
We leave later today for Hong Kong. It’s 24° F at the moment in Beijing! If you get the chance, Google the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong and look at the Deluxe Harbor Suites and you’ll see where we’re bound and the incredible nature of this hotel.
The highlight of this trip for me has been the Great Wall. As much as I’ve read about it and seen photos, nothing compares to the physically dramatic, gargantuan setting, and the severe hills that must be negotiated. The Chinese have tried to repair and maintain it, but there are segments they deem too dangerous to try to repair or recreate today, that somehow were originally built from the 3rd Century BC to the 17th Century AD!
Surprisingly, in all security areas (Tienamin Square, Forbidden City, Museum), once we were identified as Americans we were rushed through screening. We were never asked for ID and treated very politely. I carried several cards in my pocket stating in Chinese, “Take me to the Peninsula Hotel,” since no cab drivers speak even rudimentary English. I felt like a kid who might get lost in the schoolyard and forget how to get home.
The most frustrating issue thus far is Google suspending my YouTube account so that my subscribers can’t watch my weekly videos. It’s impossible to actually talk to anyone at Google, and they show very little concern over this kind of nonsense. I’m underwhelmed with them. To my mind, it’s one of the rare occasions where a strong brand doesn’t necessarily mean good service. They no longer believe I’m who I say I am.
Kudos to Amex, for honoring every charge without comment, which is why I dropped Visa completely and most MasterCard accounts because they question every dime spent overseas. Amateurville. And my compliments to iPhone (and the Chinese wireless system) for bell-pure calls from my cell anywhere in the world. My car dealer said, “Stop kidding, where are you really?”
More to come from Hong Kong.
© Alan Weiss 2013
