On Sunday afternoon (after skipping a boring meeting in the Great Hall of the People) I was urgently requested for another meeting: sauna club.
Most foreigners here are unfamiliar with the huge saunas that have become immensely popular, see earlier entries in this blog. My favorite – because it’s so close to home – is still “Pacific Sauna” (Taipingyang) on Gongti Bei Lu. But there are others every 500 m.
I navigated through the city in a taxi, guided by mobile phone instructions, to arrive somewhere just outside the third ring road close to Fangzhuan Bridge (Fangzhuan Nan Lu), where the others were waiting. Together with a Chinese couple, good friends, our whole family discovered a new Sauna House “ Crystal Island”. Being far away from the foreigner’s favorite places I was (as usual) the only foreigner. The staff is always puzzled:
– that I am there
– that I do speak some Chinese
– that I seem to know how it works.
Staff and other visitors are overly curious to make anatomical comparisons, only possible when completely naked. (yeah yeah, I know, Christmas Tree?)
The second question from a “fuyuan” was how much money I made every month. Suddenly my Chinese became rusty.
Those clubs are huge. Chinese families go there with kids and we all find ourselves back (in pajamas) in the vast buffet restaurant. Sun ate like 15 crabs at a lightning speed, Valerie and myself competed for most raw salmon. Once completely stuffed we ended up flat in a large relax room where we got the traditional foot massage. Plus the acrobatic cupping – the girl quickly puts a flame in a cup and then “floooops” it over your soles in a quick succession. If I’d try it I would probably burn the Club. The girl I had was 19 years old, from Jilin Province and came to Beijing when 17… Sun was flattered as the guy who gave her massage declared her feet to be “very nice”. He was from Shandong and (exceptionally) over 40 years old.
Always a great experience except seeing the Chinese smoking everywhere, inclusive in the large sauna area, while eating fruit and cooling down from the sauna (and all naked). What the heck, I also lighted up one (sorry).
Recession or not, you won’t notice it in the clubs with mostly middle-class people as clients. It’s actually cheap – with the foot massage and all, something like 200 to 250 RMB per person. Maybe with the recession, people will even go there more: where can you have sauna, showers & all, free drinks, unlimited food and rest & watch TV for 100 RMB? You get even a free towel and underwear to take home.
Perils of a Catholic Upbringing
To my Catholic friends and also others who have love in their heart.
Very touching. Please read. In these mean times, recession, warm Christmas feelings, we might be compelled to do good.
Got this message from a friend:
-=-=
As I walked down the busy sidewalk, knowing I was late for Mass, my eye fell upon one of those unfortunate, homeless vagabonds that are found in every city these days.
Some people turned to stare. Others quickly looked away as if the sight would somehow contaminate them.
Recalling my old pastor, Father Mike, who always admonished me to “care for the sick, feed the hungry and clothe the naked,” I was moved by some powerful inner urge to reach out to this unfortunate person.
Wearing what can only be described as rags, carrying every worldly possession in two plastic bags, my heart was touched by this person’s condition.
Yes, where some people saw only rags, I saw a true, hidden beauty.
A small voice inside my head called out, ‘Reach out, reach out and touch this person!’
So I did…….
I won’t be at Mass this week.
-=-=
As to continue the good work started by my friend, I am now eagerly looking for that vagabond.
James Kynge: all in reverse gear now
See earlier entry: https://blog.strategy4china.com/?p=108 to read about James’ book “China Shakes The World”.
The book starts describing (Page 6) how everywhere around the world people would steal whatever (manholes!) to sell it as scrap iron. Destination: China.
Then later some lady made big money buying scrap paper to ship to China.
China, hungry for anything to feed its industry. The factory of the world.
Well, times change.
In the USA ports are getting clogged – mountains of scrap paper, scrap iron and similar are piling up as China stopped importing. In China, iron ore is piling up at the ports as the iron & Steel Industry is scaling down.
If you still doubt the world economy is in trouble…
Maybe James can write another book: “The World Shakes China”.
Onions & Chistmas trees
With all the bad news you read everywhere, there is only one medicine: have a good laugh!
A family is at the dinner table. The son asks his father, “Dad, how many kinds of boobs are there?”
The father, surprised, answers, “Well, son, there are three kinds of boobs:
– In her 20’s, a woman’s are like melons, round and firm.
– In her 30’s to 40’s, they are like pears, still nice but hanging a bit.
– After 50, they are like onions”.
“Onions?”
“Yes, you see them and they make you cry.”
This infuriated his wife and daughter so the daughter said, “Mum, how many kinds of ‘willies’ are there?”
The mother, surprised, smiles and answers, “Well dear, a man goes through three phases.
– In his 20’s, his willy is like an oak tree, mighty and hard.
– In his 30’s and 40’s, it is like a birch, flexible but reliable.
– After his 50’s, it is like a Christmas Tree.”
“A Christmas tree?”
“Yes – the root’s are dead and the balls are just for decoration.”
Do note: now you understand why we did not set up a Christmas Year this year!!!
Dumb Chinese and boring CNN
I did not say Chinese people are dumb. This what the super army of bureaucrats and alike feel about their compatriots here, so access to foreign news media and Internet is heavily restricted as “they could be easily misled”. So, in my Julong Garden (an excellent example of typical old-style Chinese mismanagement), TV channels are restricted but to pacify those hordes of foreigners living here – we need to submit our passport copies for that – we have access to just a couple of foreign channels, being HBO (too much repeat and Hollywood trash but some movies are OK), TV5 (French) and CNN.
Of course I could install an illegal satellite dish as everybody does, but as a law-abiding citizen (joke, of course, I just don’t have time to watch TV) I am forced to stick to CNN and TV5 for news. Now, I feel CNN has gone down in quality coverage. Watching the events in Mumbai and now Gaza, it’s so shallow and repetitive. I think they ran out of journalists (who do something), so they loop whatever 15 seconds of footage they have and blabber and blabber. Ad nauseam. Better to look at TV5 where you see it once in a matter-of-fact way. What’s wrong with CNN lately? Budget cuts?