Sailing
down the Eastern Coast of China today.
The ticket fare down to Shenzhen was, this time, half the price of the
ticket to Hong Kong, my ultimate destination. Now generally this would mean heading to the boarder and
dealing with the potentially wretched cattle crossing overland into the SAR,
then a long, local MTR ride downtown.
Someone mentioned though last time and I checked this morning as to an alluring alternative. The brand spankin’ new Shenzhen Airport
has a new service with direct bus transportation from the airport straight to
Sheung Wan. That sounds dramatically
better than the DIY version. I’ll
certainly let you know if it proves a compromise. (It wasn't!)
Tonight, I’ll sleep by the ocean. You get to miss the ocean in Beijing in a way that belies
its relative proximity to the sea.
The ocean “feels” closer where my home in New York is, even though the drive
is no further. The ocean on, say, Fire Island is a significantly more welcoming stretch of beach than anything I
know about that abuts the Bohai Sea. I would however, love to be surprised and proven wrong. The New York in my mind is the Hudson Valley, which does
have fjord running through it. Everyone knows that 海纳百川[1]. The deep vein, briny for its first
hundred miles or so, reminds you of the ocean’s proximity. Everything remains moist.
I followed Hank Jones over to a contemporary pianist of his this
morning. “Foggy Day” about that
other city never too far from the sea, from Billy Taylor’s 1954 live album “Billy
Taylor Trio At Town Hall” sounded light and confident as I scrambled to prepare
a proposal before the flight. Apparently
Billy Taylor filled out a role brilliantly as preeminent spokesman for jazz, in
his day, during the 80s and from his perch on air with CBS Sunday Morning
News. Harder to imagine say Sun Ra
occupying that role, weekly.
It occurs to me that I probably channel surfed by that
program more than once at that time.
I haven’t watched TV in years but in the 80s I would have been consuming
hours daily and invariably I must have seen this man speak about jazz. What a pity that I can place the visage
for a dozen other talking heads, but not his. What a shame that when I did land on CBS News Sunday Morning
I probably saw they were talking about jazz and quickly passed on, or ignored
whatever was being said. Perhaps
I’ll find a clip or two on line and see if I can jog my memory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Taylor
Russia and China may have conducted the biggest deal in the
history of deal making. Russia will provide gas to China and will provide a
minimum base rate on the pricing.
This then is Vladimir Putin’s interesting pivot to China. $600B worth of resources to Russia for
their raw materials. Certainly
this kind of money is better for Russia than nothing. China undeniably benefits as China must have access to
reliable energy sources to grow.
You have to ask yourself though, is this the best that Russia can hope
for? When will Russia escape this
trap of being consigned to best-in-class provider of raw materials casting them
only distinguished from Saudi Arabia on account of an ageing nuclear arsenal? Australia does all right carving out
its continent and shipping it to China.
But no one doubts that Australia punches way above its weight in terms
of technological innovation given its modest population. Few would doubt Russia’s potential for
innovation but most would look in askance for the contemporary evidence of any.
My flight continues.
This is a Shenzhen Airlines co-share. Fortunately I do not have mature opinions about various
Chinese airlines. I’ve always
taken Air China to maximize points with Star Alliance, avant garde though that may sound. Occasionally I’ll wind up on China Eastern or China
Southern. I’ve done a Shandong
Airlines flight or two in my day.
There are little beyond logos and uniforms to distinguish any of this in
my memory. But this flight on Shenzhen Airlines, is the third in a few months. Yes, China now has two Star Alliance
member airlines. I just
experienced a modest form of “innovation” which I’ll share with you. Mind you, innovation is rare and needs to be nurtured, wherever it is sniffed out. After the “chicken with rice or beef
noodle” is served. They follow along behind with an open jar of goopy hot sauce
and a spoon. It’s not the massage bar provided in First on a Virgin Air flight, we're in agreement on that.
It’s folksy and rustic, but it works. Good for them.
I enjoyed my glop. Differentiation
needn’t be costly.
The in-flight entertainment however standard issue, and
extremely annoying. Perhaps
surveys show that most Chinese passengers think it is funny and helpful in the
middle of turb-u-lance to watch foreigners be tricked by their own kind. Who am I to question the remarkable
focus on the theme? Whoever is the
producer behind the latter-day, shanzhai,
Candid Camera show we have to watch must have the second largest deal in
history with the China Aviation Ministry.
I am listening to loud music and am trying my best to write,
but screens are everywhere. I’ve
an uninterrupted to view down in front of me. Six receding screens simultaneously flash in unison, as they
do down the adjoining aisle. Thoughts turn to Winston. More important than the imposition is the notable lack of
willpower. I truly cannot help but
cock my neck every ninety seconds or so to consider what I know before the cocking that I do not care
about. Oh look, they have
rigged a turkey at a buffet dinner so that when people try to cut a piece it
drives off like an electric car.
Look. The people were
surprised. One man was even angry
for a moment. Now he’s
laughing. Ha ha.
[1] hǎinàbǎichuān: all rivers run into the sea / use different means to
obtain the same result (idiom)
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