Holly's Story

Brazil soccer team

Back in January we had a visitor from Brazil at our factory in Dongguan. His name was Jose, but we called him Joe. During a crowded meeting in our conference room Joe gave me his memory stick to upload some files onto our projector. Surprisingly up popped up some naughty photos as soon as I inserted the memory stick. Of course we were all caught by surprise, but I must say Joe handled the situation with a cool dignity. His story was that he had just returned from visiting friends in Brazil; his friends must have infected his memory stick with photos of several Brazilian women posing nude around a soccer field. Of course these photos also found their way onto my hard drive. What you see are all that I have left......again you will need to use your imagination. Go Brazil!

Faces of India Feb 2007

Rest stop along the road to somewhere (name I can't remember now) we encountered a group of people on a religioius pilgramage. They were treking over 300 Km.

At the rest stop was a public well which is common in most rural areas of India. Here is group of travellers washing their clothes.

At the reststop we had a great cup of tea. I believe they call it chi, with milk and sugar.

As I mentioned earlier, driving in India is challenging. Most roads are only two-way and clogged with commercial vehicles. Passing is always dangerous. We passed this accident scene along the way. Appeared to be a coal truck.

East of Mumbai the landscape is much like our Southwest.

These people were visiting a large Muslim religious festival in Mumbai. Thousands of people, Muslim and Hindu participated.

First glimpse of India Dec 2006

Back in Dec 2006 I had an opportunity to work with some of our colleagues in India.

India has much catching up to do with China in respect to infrastructure and the ability to travel. Travelling by car in India is challenging as a highway system, as we know it, does not exist, although efforts are ongoing to improve the situation.

Good news is that English is widely spoken or at least understood. Most signs are bi-lingual, Hindi and English. People are very friendly and the food is great. Probably will not find the nightlife in India as you do in China. Cities are more dense than China and the hygiene takes some getting used to. There might not be a paved road, but wireless is everywhere.

A land of stark contrasts. Many signs of high technolgy, yet very traditional.

It is always great to have good colleagues that will look after you.

Anurag and Ramesh.

The windy road from Mumbai to Pune, about a 3 hr drive.

Foot massage

One of the best parts of travelling to China is the long tradition of foot and body massage. Very common in all parts of China this is truly a fine experience. Here are some pics to give you a feel for what I'm talking about.

David, my Chinese father, is a long time patron.

New authors invited

I would like to welcome Karen Mingst and Dave Wachtel to add future postings on my travel blog. Karen is a professor at UK's Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce. She will add some respectability to my blog. She travels often to remote places. Her next trip will be an English teaching trip to Vietnam this Spring. Karen has already been warned about some of the blog's content.
Dave is professor at Blue Grass Community College. We are looking forward to his stories about travelling in Asia, especially about his memorable bachelor years while living in Taiwan during the 60's while stationed there with Air Force. Dave is organizer of the college's Chinese professor exchange program and travels to China a few times each year. I know he has some good stories to share. Dave below with his usual sense of humor.

A New Friend from Xinjiang Province

One of our favorite restaurants in Dongguan specializes in Xinjiang food. Xinjiang is a province in far western China. Here the influences of the Middle East, Islam and all, combine with China hot and spicy. The food is great. Lots of Latiff's favorite, lamb and spicy tofu. I think our place is owned by a firm called Yili Spring Restaurants. There are two of these places in Dongguan. Also

some nice traditional dance. The native people from this province are called Uighur and look more arab than chinese. One of the male waiters is typical. Over the years the Chinese government has populated the province with the Han.

I have a movie clip of the dance they do each night if you want to watch.

Also if you would like more info on this province and some of its ethnic struggles recommend a book by Peter Hessler called Oracle Bones.

Although the food and atmosphere are great, the best part is one of the service managers. Her name is Chen Juan, and I swear she is one of the most beautiful women in China. She is about 26 and has been working for the same restaurant for 8 years. She is from Xinjiang. Taller than most Chinese, she moves with a special grace. She is a fine dancer and puts on a traditional dance exhibition each night with her male colleague. Recently we bumped into her and friends at KTV.

Chen Juan is on the left.

China Faces

Here are some pics collected recently in China. As you can see not all of faces.

I can't take credit for all of them.

These two are courtesy of Leigh Brandon