Just My Luck

On the subway and buses there is an animated public service announcement in case you get stuck in an elevator.

In the crudely drawn cartoon, an old man and a young woman and her daughter are stuck in the elevator. They freak out, cry, run in circles in the elevator and try to pry the door open. This, instructs the message, is not the right reaction.

The scenario happens again, but this time they calmly use the phone in the lift and call for help. Soon mechanics come and pry the doors open, where the girl is playing happily with a toy car on the floor and everyone is smiling.

That PSA went through my head when I got stuck in the elevator on my way to work this morning.

I got into the lift and soon after the doors shut, the elevator stopped. A middle-aged man was with me and we tried pressing other buttons but the elevator would not budge. So I pressed the help button a few times and a man's voice came on asking what was wrong.

"The elevator is broken!" The man next to me explained.

"OK, hold on we're getting help," the voice said. "Please don't worry."

A few minutes went by -- probably just two or three and the older man pressed the button again.

"We're stuck here!" he said.

Again the voice reassured him that help was on the way.

It was kind of strange, standing in a box-like compartment with a stranger and not having much to say to them. I texted people at work on my cell phone to explain the situation I was in and that I would probably be late for work.

"Is there anything I can do?" my colleague asked.

I texted back that unless she could fix an elevator there wasn't much more she or anyone else could do.

After a few minutes there was a bit of rumbling and movement and soon enough, the door was pried open.

"Anyone else in there?" a voice asked.

"No," replied the man next to me after we got off. "Everyone is out."

I said "thank you" after that to let them know we appreciated being freed.

It turns out many elevators in my building have been out of order in the last few days. Is it the weather? Or have their warranties expired at the same time?

Dreaming of Paradise

After finally making it back to Beijing from Hainan, it was interesting to read in the news that the central government has decided to make an all-out push to develop Hainan Province as a world-class destination by 2020.

In a proposal by the State Council on Monday, Hainan will be developed into a venue to host international sports and entertainment events, and perhaps even have lottery and gaming industries. No other area in China allows gambling except for Macau.

"If entertainment elements are not introduced in Hainan, something will be missing in an international tourism destination," Wang Yongsheng of the Regional Tourism Development of the Regional Science Association of China was quoted as saying. He added that while gambling is forbidden in South Korea, overseas passport holders can gamble at Walrk Hill in Seoul.

The government will also extend visa-free policies to Finland, Denmark, Norway, Ukraine and Kazakhtstan from the already 21 countries including the United States, Canada and Japan. In 2007 there were 18 million domestic visitors to Hainan, but only 750,000 from overseas. There will also be more duty-free shopping on the island.

"It'll be much more convenient to purchase luxury goods in Hainan than Hong Kong, as the return flight tickets and the price of local hotels are cheaper, and tourists don't need to apply for an exit permit in advance or choose international flights," said Liao Wei, general manager of the China Travel Service Group in Chongqing.

While all these proposals are fantastic, they are all so idealistic that it seems like the government doesn't really know what is going on in the island province right now.

First off, have they seen the Sanya and Haikou airports? They are hardly of an international standard and don't have staff who speak enough English to service foreigners. While it was quite impressive to see DFS or the Duty-Free Shop chain, it is only selling a limited selection of cosmetics and perfumes, and the rest of the shops selling an array of expensive fruits at exortionate prices aren't quite enticing. And the food stands? Hardly enough.

Next infrastructure. While most of the roads are decently paved, there are many more that need work. There isn't enough public transportation vehicles from buses to taxis available. Airport express trains need to be built as well as a rail network through the province. Getting to the Sofitel Boao only had two options -- using three different types of transport or a hotel car. Many other top hotel resorts are probably like that too.

A good thing happening so far is that many of the street lamps are solar and wind powered pictured above. I don't know how much power they are able to generate from a small solar panel and wind turbine, but it's a start.

While service in Beijing isn't quite world-class though the city hosted the 2008 Olympics, it's not that great in Hainan either. To be an international tourist destination requires exceptional service which is why Hong Kong is still tops when it comes to the service industry in Asia.

And what makes Hainan so different from other tropical destinations like Thailand and Indonesia? It doesn't seem to have much of a cultural aspect that makes it exotic in any way. Is gambling going to make it so much better? Perhaps this is one way for the central government to keep a closer eye on its residents (or corrupt officials) who are currently spending vast amounts of money in Hong Kong and Macau.

Right now a holiday to Sanya is not cheap -- not only are plane tickets expensive, but so are hotel rooms which are exorbitant. Adding many more top hotels will not make Hainan that much more attractive. The market can only handle so many world-class resorts and golf courses making this destination out of reach of the majority of people.

Hainan officials promise that construction will try not to have too much of an impact on the environment, but really, flying there is hardly creating a low-carbon footprint. From my experience at the Sofitel Boao, the majority of food and all the items there had to be shipped, flown and trucked in. How is that sustainable?

And what about the locals? This gentrification of the province may be good, but has made the standard of living there very expensive on their low wages. Also, if gaming is introduced to Hainan, a littany of social issues are going to crop up and is the government prepared to deal with everything from petty crimes and gambling addictions to prostitution and drugs?

All this is happening in 10 years? Methinks it's back to the drawing board...

Lifestyles of the Rich and Probably Corrupt

The Sofitel Boao offered interesting people watching for the less than 48 hours we were there. For people to afford to fly to Hainan and then put up entire families or groups at this five-star hotel, we imagined most of them could be corrupt officials.

Many were nouveaux riche northerners as a number of the women still insisted on wearing sweaters, wool dresses and boots even though the temperature was 25 degrees outside. One wonders if they knew they were in a warm climate zone. Meanwhile, the men got into the tropical swing of things, many wearing bad Hawaii-like shirts, or even with matching shorts. The only thing they were missing was a pineapple-flavored drink in their hands.

While we ate dinner at Symposium, the Chinese restaurant, a woman and her daughter made a late entrance to a group dinner, the little girl wearing the kiddie-version of Belle's yellow ballgown in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. It was complete with ruffled layers, puffed sleeves and came down to her ankles. She even wore the dress to breakfast the next day and to the pool.

At the next table with the same group dinner was a boy around 12 years old, who stood up and with his chopsticks, picked up food and shoved it in his mouth, even reaching over despite having a lazy susan on the table. Grabbing the food without any regard to the other people at the table, he stuffed his face, both parents not bothering to discipline him. More evidence of spoiled brats?

After dinner we wandered around the property and as we approached an outdoor barbecue venue that was reserved for a seminar group, a severely inebriated man had to be held up by two buddies, and it wasn't even 10pm yet. Did he get too eager with the toasts?

When we finished our walk and returned to the elevator which is across from the entrance to the spa, a hotel staff person told us to watch out, as there were paper towels covering something on the floor which was probably vomit from the same guy. Does the hotel have to deal with drunk guests on a regular basis?

On our second day there, we decided to go to the hot springs in the afternoon. The hotel has 37 hot springs, each with their own particular scents or herbal remedies that are supposed to help with blood circulation, or anemia, promote better skin or relaxation. Most seemed to be geared towards the elderly...

In any case, we settled into one that had an uninterrupted view of the ocean. Then a family -- or should I say two families -- started invading our space, including three generations, grandma, son and his young son. As we sat admiring the view, the kid points to us and says loudly, "Laowai! (foreigner!)"

The father said, "Yes, look. He is different from you. His nose is so big!"

In hindsight we should have responded with something like, "We understood what you said!" or "Your nose is just as big!" and stared back at them. But we were so annoyed that our interest in the sea view had totally dissipated and we soon got up and left.

This is not to say this was the only time Chinese people have pointed and remarked about foreigners' physical appearance; however it seemed this father was promoting racism at an early age.

His remark also reveals how the Chinese prefer to live in a homogeneous society. However, today we live in a world where cultures and races are more blended than ever before. If the Chinese cannot see that we're all one and the same, how can there be a "harmonious society"?

Surreal Hotel Experience

The Sofitel Boao is a giant 78,000 square meter complex very close to the venue for the annual Boao Forum for Asia. It's definitely a place to escape to for a few days and very secure, as there's a check point a few kilometers away that keeps unwanted or unqualified people from entering.

The hotel is merited its five-star status in terms of the rooms, with bed linens framed with gold threading, a marble shower stall and a stand alone bathtub, shiny wooden floors, and a nice small balcony to enjoy the view outside.

But other things don't quite make this place world class, or are efficiently used.

Surrounding the hotel is a gigantic landscape featuring a long winding swimming pool called Jade Belt, which is actually covered in dark blue tiles and the edge of the pool is so subtle that it looks like it merges with the ocean to create a great view. However it's a pity that the pool water is so cold, despite pathetic efforts to warm it in patches. Or maybe it's too cold to swim in it in January. So why not have an indoor pool available too?

Anyway, my friend and I were lucky to have a sunny day there and decided to pass the time by the pool. While there were beach towels for us to put on the lounge chairs, there were no refreshments available -- we had to refill our water bottles at the fitness center, even though there is a sunken bar in the pool, but no one manning it.

There were washrooms by the pool -- both squatting and sitting toilets, but when I went in, one of the taps at the sink was running and no staff member had come by to turn it off. One wonders how long that had been running.

In terms of dining, there aren't many choices -- there's Le Mistral, a western-style restaurant that offers either buffet, or a la carte. On our first night there, we inquired about dining off the menu, but the staff told us the kitchen was busy so we'd have to wait. Scanning the room and seeing the buffet barely set up at almost 7pm, it was a strange excuse that was hard to accept.

We did eat there the night after, with a plate of smoked salmon, a garden salad, and then an overcooked beef tenderloin when my friend wanted it really rare, and the seafood boullabaisse had frozen prawns and overcooked mussels. The best part were the fresh clams and scallops. The banana split was OK except for the re-frozen scoop of vanilla ice cream that was completely tasteless. However, the chocolate butter cake was very good.

Symposium is the Chinese restaurant, and it turns out most guests prefer dining there. Not only is it comfort food for the mainly Chinese clientele, but also reasonably priced relative to Le Mistral. We had a fantastic garoupa that was perfectly steamed, braised eggplant, sweet and sour spare ribs, steamed pumpkin with lily bulbs, and stir-fried rice with shrimp.

The other restaurant is Asiana, which is also buffet-style for breakfasts and offers an array of Asian-style dishes. One complaint from my friend is that for breakfast there aren't many western-style dishes, but then again, most of the guests there are probably happy with fried noodles and congee.

None of these restaurants was outstandingly good, which made the dining experience short of satisfying. Also, why haven't the food and beverage department taken advantage of the fact that the hotel guests are practically stranded in the hotel and encourage them to eat more during the day? Why not follow the lead of cruise ships and other top hotels by offering afternoon tea, dessert buffet in the evenings or even an ice cream stand for kids?

The reason I suggest this is that there isn't much to do at the hotel unless you want to swim in the cold pool and while there are 37 different hot springs (probably completely manufactured), you can only soak in so many a day. There is a small exercise gym and a spa for massages and facials, but other than the billiard tables, table tennis and tennis court, there isn't much else to pass the time. Also there were many families staying at the hotel -- why not organize activities for children to do, or have more spaces for them to play in?

The hotel complex is absolutely huge -- it's like being in a Las Vegas hotel but without the large numbers of people everywhere. While it is great there are bathrooms in various areas of the hotel, the place was hardly full, which makes one wonder how they fill the rooms on a daily basis. There are golf groups as there is a golf course across the street, and a few conferences, while the rest of the clientele were family groups.

Service from staff ranged from incompetence to the perfect hotel employee. When we dined at Le Mistral, we asked for the dessert menu, but the waitress didn't seem to know what to do. Some had decent English, but preferred not to use it. When we asked about the hotel arranging transportation for us to go back to the Haikou Airport, a haughty man at the front desk said the only way back was the hotel limousine and that would cost us 650RMB ($95).

We didn't take that for an answer and the next day asked another man named Reuben at the front desk. He said we could get a taxi at less than half of the cost of the hotel car and helped us book the taxi too. And when we checked out, he escorted us to the car to see us off. First class.

It's so strange seeing such diverse standards at this one hotel. While it is understandable due to the secluded location that they would receive few guests most of the year, but when the Boao Forum comes in April, the hotel has to quickly ramp up to give tip top service to high-powered international guests who are extremely demanding. Saying "this is China" is not acceptable.

And while the Boao Forum talks about pressing issues like the economy and environment, it's ironic that the permanent site for the event was practically built for it... in the middle of nowhere. How is that sustainable?

Sofitel Boao
Dongyu Island
Boao Aquapolis
Hainan Province
(898) 6296 6888

Planes, Buses and Taxis

My friend and I decided to ring in 2010 by escaping the cold dry winter in Beijing for the warm sunny climes of Hainan Island.

We made a reservation at the Sofitel Boao, which is where the Boao Forum for Asia is held every year. It's where leaders in government, business and academia in Asia get together to discuss the pressing issues of the day. It started in 2001 and Boao has become the permanent site, though it's strange it's based basically in the middle of nowhere though the location has a resort feel.

And how do you get there? Be prepared for a long day of travel... if you're not a big shot.

First it takes three hours and 20 minutes to fly from Beijing to Haikou (海口). Then after gathering our luggage, we took an airport bus to the Haikou East Bus Station that cost 15RMB ($2.19) each.

The day we arrived it was raining and there were tons of people riding scooters, including entire families clutching onto each other on this cheap mode of transport. Usually the driver wore a helmet -- even a construction hard hat would do -- but the other passengers were helmetless.

On our bus ride was an obnoxious Brit, a man in his 60s who seemed easily frustrated by everything, spewing profanities at anything that crossed his path. He was accompanied by a middle-aged Chinese woman, but when she disembarked from the bus, he couldn't figure out which luggage was hers and demanded the young woman leading our bus group to "find the woman".

For some strange reason, the bus didn't drop us off directly across from the East Bus Station and we had to walk another block in the rain and cross the street.

It was a dreary-looking bus station that was dim inside, and the floor was completely wet due to the rain. While we were hungry and hadn't had lunch, we were anxious to get to the hotel and thought we'd be near shops and restaurants to try out some seafood so we held out from buying cheap snacks at the food stand. We bought tickets to Qionghai (琼海) at 25RMB each. There was an option of 20RMB, but the woman manning the ticket booth urged us foreigners to get the more expensive tickets. We soon saw why.

At the chaotic gates we could see small buses and then big luxury ones, both going the same direction, thus the two different prices. We stood there waiting half an hour, watching lots of people pushing to get their tickets validated by a woman in uniform before they could get on the bus. The bus drivers, especially the ones driving the luxury buses acted like hot shots, walking with a swagger and smoking a cigarette.

We finally got on the clean bus that had lots of leg room and tried to settle into an hour and a half ride, that came with entertainment courtesy of a TV screen showing a live concert recorded earlier with Chinese singers I didn't recognize at all.

Then we rolled into Qionghai that seemed to have orderly streets, but hardly any taxis. When we arrived at that bus station, we managed to flag down a taxi right away with a driver who immediately agreed to take us when he heard we wanted to go to Boao.

I can see why, as it was another 20km away, costing us 54RMB, not bad considering our starting rate was 5RMB. For the driver, it was his lucky day.

We later found out that the hotel does not provide shuttle service, only its limousine which would cost 650RMB ($95), or a taxi for 300RMB to go straight to the airport. We obviously opted for the latter when we left to go back to Beijing to avoid the many transfers we made to get there.

After passing many rice paddies, water buffalo, geese and palm trees, we finally crossed a long bridge and then a check point that had a security guard. After we drove through it was another 5km before we passed the actual venue where the Boao Forum is held, and then finally we arrived at the Sofitel Boao, a giant luxury complex that was as far away from anything else as possible.

Basically, we were stuck there, and for two days, why not?

But it took a long time to get to almost paradise.

The Long Road Home

I finally got home to Beijing at 2:45am after spending 11 hours at the Haikou Airport because the flight back was delayed for eight hours.

My friend and I thought we'd spend a few days in Bo'ao, an island 120km from Haikou for some rest and relaxation -- which we did get -- but the journey to and from Bo'ao was tedious and could have been stressful, but we were too tired to get worked up about it.

Yesterday morning we got up early to catch at 12:50pm flight. That entailed arranging a taxi ahead of time to take us to the airport in two hours, with two hours extra to check in.

The taxi ride was just over an hour and a half and we zipped along the highway which passed by lots of rice paddies, farmers wearing straw hats and water buffalo. Strangely enough we also saw a trio of Africans walking along the highway exit which was an odd sight for this southern Chinese province. We wondered what that was all about. They wore shorts and T-shirts but no umbrella despite the light showers and overcast weather.

When we arrived at the airport, our flight on Hainan Airlines was not shown on the board yet, but about 20 minutes later it was, and delayed until 2:50pm. Apparently there was heavy snow in Beijing and that was the reason for the delay.

So we ate lunch -- Hainan chicken with rice served in a coconut shell, and sipped from a young coconut to pass the time.

We passed through security and waited at the gate. The plane was not there yet, but actually arrived around 2pm. Those Beijing passengers disembarked and the plane was cleaned and refueled.

When 2:50pm came, we started to board the flight.

Then we sat on the plane for an hour, as the staff announced we had no departure time set. So the flight attendants started handing us meals to eat.

After those were eaten and drinks were drunk, it was announced that since there was still no departure time that it would be better if we disembarked and waited at the gate. I had never experienced that before, sitting on a plane and then asked to get out.

And we waited. And waited. And waited.

People started wandering towards the desk and asking the man manning the desk when we would fly, but he could not give an answer. As the messenger, he had to wait until he heard from the airline. When would that be? He did not know.

And we waited. And waited. And waited.

I don't know how we passed the time, as we didn't want to wander too far if there was an announcement. We sat there, not tired enough to fall asleep (there was no way to get comfortable) and getting hungry.

A flight to Shanghai was supposed to leave from our gate, but was moved to another one... and same with a flight to Wuhan later in the evening.

Meanwhile our plane just sat there, lights out.

More people got anxious and started complaining that there were young children and elderly passengers, and that people had a right to know what was going on. A large Frenchman in a lime green short-sleeve polo shirt, wearing shorts and a full beard pounded on the desk many times demanding to have more information. At one point I acted as his translator. He couldn't understand why there was no customer service. I had to explain that this was China... that the travel industry has only grown in the last few years and that customer service had not caught on yet. He shook his head in disbelief.

The anger level of the other passengers came in waves and never really rose much higher until another Chinese woman shouted at the Hainan Airlines man and her husband tried to drag her away out of embarassment. She refused to budge.

Meanwhile other airlines' flights to Beijing had been cancelled and we thought the probability of ours being cancelled too was very high. Apparently the snow was coming down hard in the capital and although we could fly there, it didn't necessarily mean we could land. However, the most annoying part was that the airline refused to decide to cancel the flight, leaving us all stranded at the gate and wondering what would happen.

This demonstrated that Hainan Airlines and many others had no proper decision-making process in place, and no contingency plans decided ahead of time in times of extreme weather conditions. This should have been determined ages ago, and staff knowing and following the procedure instead of just telling passengers that they didn't know. Passengers should only be expected to wait a certain period of time and in the meantime prepare to put them up in a hotel to wait out the snow.

In the meantime, how could Beijing, with its three terminals, not be able to handle just over seven inches of snow? If you build fancy terminals, you have to have the equipment to service them, and that includes snow removal equipment. While there has been less snow in recent years, there is still snow in Beijing that needs to be cleared.

We had been told a dinner would be given to us (as a lunch had been earlier too) at 7pm, but it wasn't until almost 8pm did carts of lunch boxes arrive. We scrambled to get food, which consisted of a boiled egg, rice with a dash or soy sauce, deepfried chunks of chicken, a sausage and cabbage, with coconut juice to wash it all down. As we ate, we saw the airline crew get onto the plane which raised our hopes again and we ate faster.

And indeed the electronic board at the gate said we were boarding, though the time still said 12:50pm.

We boarded again at 8:45pm, the staff member ripping a piece off our boarding cards as he had already taken the other stub. But then we didn't take off right away as there were still some missing passengers. I had heard some may have even left the gate and gone home.

But about 20 minutes later our plane left the gate and headed for the runway. Some complained to the flight attendants on board that since we were arriving late in Beijing there would be no public transportation available and would the airline be responsible for that? She couldn't answer this question, but tried to calm down the frustration the best she could.

Overall it was a smooth flight, and as we approached Beijing I could see huge patches of snow, and snow on the roads, with hardly any cars on them.

We landed safely, much to the delight of passengers who clapped in appreciation. However, we parked in the middle of nowhere and had to deplane to waiting buses outside. When they saw the Frenchman in the green short-sleeve polo shirts and shorts walk down the stairs, everyone laughed -- did he not know Beijing was cold?

I finally got my luggage and headed to the taxi stand. The young men in charge of herding taxis said there weren't many cars all day. How were we supposed to get one at 2am?

But luckily they came a few mintes after the other and we managed to get in and have a safe ride back home too. Not many people were on the roads which were hardly cleared either.

It turns out 90 percent of flights from Beijing Capital International Airport were cancelled or severely delayed, with only one of three runways working at one point.

We were too lucky to make it home.

Word of the Day: Naked Wedding

One of the hot Chinese words of 2009 is 裸婚 luo (3) hun (1) or "Naked Wedding".

At first glance it sounds like walking down the aisle in your birthday suit, but in China it means tying the knot without the requisites of a lavish banquet, an apartment, car or diamond ring -- just a 9RMB ($1.32) wedding certificate.

An increasing number of young people, but particularly young Chinese men feel hopeless at ever getting married because of their lowly-paying jobs; women tell them not to propose unless they already own an apartment which is practically impossible for someone earning an average wage. However, in some cases, parents will scrape together everything they have in order for their son to have better marriage prospects.

This has led to the ongoing debate about astronomical housing prices thanks to greedy real estate developers and the government not doing enough to ensure a proper supply of housing that people can afford within their lifetimes.

It also reveals how materialistic women can be, though some of the fairer sex are willing to be "half naked" ... but only if the man owned his own home.