China trip November 1997

The Great American Cultural Invasion in Singapore

I believe there are two main causes for the recent Asian financial turmoil. The first is the snaring of the Merlion. For years the Merlion, the proud symbol of Singapore, has had an unobstructed view of the Straits from a great vista point on the Marina Bay.  But a newly built roadway entrapped the Merlion and greatly disturbed the fengsui of Singapore. From the top of the new UOB 2 building, it could be seen that the Merlion was being straddled between two road bridges, beckoning to be freed. The sinister looking replica out at the Sentosa islang has replaced this original Merlion, thus change the financial outlook of the region. The second reason, of course, is the El Nino phenomenon, which is also instrumental in causing for the recent haze, the stock market downturn and the drop in COE prices. Although the direct correlation would take years to establish, everyone is warned to brace for the upcoming recession.

I have always wanted to stay at the Tan Dynasty hotel. Situated at the corner of the Orchard and Scotts Road, it is one of the great landmarks in Singapore. Although it has since been turned into a Marriott hotel after a bitter sibling rivalry over the control of dear daddy’s empire, its exterior still retained the tradition Chinese architecture. Gone are the wood carved relieves that used to hang prominently above the lobby, which chronicled many ancient Chinese fables. Most hotels in Singapore have their own unique characteristics – Shangri-La with its lush green tropical rainforest, the Westin with its I.M. Pei’s pre-triangular post-modern architecture, the Pan-Pacific with its underwater music-piping pool, and the Chinatown hotel with its cramped quarters reminiscent of the old Chinese shop houses. The characteristic of this Marriott is the prominent clash between the two cultural and architectural styles, or what I called the "banana" architecture with Chinese theme outside and western theme inside. The complimentary miniaturized bamboo basket with chocolate inside, though quaint, epitomized this conflict. But the executive level does offer a great view of the Orchard road, especially with its festive lighting during Christmas holiday season.

It’s nice to see American cultural invasion is still alive and well in Singapore, despite the persistent advocacy of the Asian values. Two of the most prominent icons to invade recently are Starbuck coffee and Borders bookstore. The loud and frantic pace of Singapore has replaced the casual and relaxing atmosphere of the Starbuck coffee. It was more like a bar, where the patrons had to fight to get drinks, than a quiet place to seep a warm cup of Cappuccino. There is this recent article in the Straits Times about kiasuism at the Borders bookstore. Singapore is a society where books in most bookstores are still wrapped in fine plastic to prevent browsing. There have already been stories about vandalism, inconsiderate behavior and wonton placement of the books and magazines at Borders. It would be interesting to see how long Borders can keep its open-book policy in Singapore.

Every one of my visits to Singapore must include a culinary side trip. I have always enjoyed the food at Newton Circus and East Coast Seafood Chalet. This time was no exception. Though I was a bit alarmed by the rapid disappearance of the non-airconditioned eating places and this persistent rumor that Newton Circus is going away. Gone are the places like Satay Club, Telok Ayer Transit food market and Cuppage Center. It seems that the quality of the food is usually inversely proportional to the amount of aircon in a particular place. One day I would like to see a culinary museum or archive in Singapore that would document all the great recipes for the Singapore cuisine before all are lost in this overwhelming trend to airconize Singapore.

My most pleasant experience in Singapore this time was shopping at Mustafa Center - no more haggling or bargaining. Trust between customer and merchant, customer satisfaction and great selection - these are still new concept in Singapore. I bought a new camera for a great price (it’s even better with the exchange rate,) the only difficult part was getting the GST refund. Because of the wholesale nature of the store, there is a long line of foreigners with tons of receipts waiting to be processed. It’s simply too much of a hassle. The most mind-boggling experience was the MRT trains with no seats. I can understand its usefulness during rush hour. But I was in a train during the off-peak hour with just a few passengers. It was pretty pathetic to stand in an empty train on a long trip. It seemed to be against the Asian value to encourage people to sit on the floor and letting the elder and weak suffer through the ride.

Singapore was a transit place for me to get over the jetlag and enjoy the last amenity of a civilized society before the plunge. Armed with my trusty palmtop, a roll of soft toilet tissue and the Rough Guide to China, I took off for China. Though I was inundated with the history and geography of China as a young boy in Taiwan, China is still this distant mystical country waiting for me to explore.

Taxi Drivers of China

It was just after midnight when I arrived in Shanghai. I was talking with a Caucasian mechanical engineer next to me on the plane. It was his first trip going to China. The surprising part was that he didn’t have a visa to enter the country. All he had was a letter from his employer. I didn’t tell him that it took me an entire month to get my visa. I even had to postpone the trip once and miss a friend’s wedding. But this engineer was nonchalant about the whole thing. "If I can’t enter the country, I will either wait around for a few days or just take the next flight home" he said. It must have been a pretty urgent business for someone to take that kind of risk, or maybe he was just trying to accumulate his frequent flier miles. I didn’t wait around to see if he had cleared the immigration in Shanghai. I know it won’t be a pleasant sight.

I was ushered immediately into a taxi upon exiting the airport. There was a mob at the gate and I was glad to avoid the madness. From reading the Rough Guide, it should be around 50 RMB to go from the airport to the city. The driver said that was no longer the case. That was the first warning sign. Then he said he knew a short cut that would save me some money. Since I wasn’t familiar with the area and it was pouring cats and dogs outside, there was really nothing much I could do. I tried my best to be patient and try to memorize some of the places that we past along the way. One road that stood out was the north-south highway. I know the airport was west of the city, so what were we doing on the north-south highway? Of course he asked me if I am from Hong Kong – a typical thing to ask someone to see if the person is from out of town. When we got to the hotel, after a half of hour of driving, I told the driver that I was going in to the hotel get some cash. When I told the desk that the taxi was going to charge me 90 RMB for the trip, the clerk told me that was way too much. The porter came out with me to confront the taxi driver. They argued for a bit in Shanghainese and the fare dropped magically from 90 RMB down to 70. The porter later told me that I could have complained to the authority. I am not sure how much good that would have done. I gave the porter 10 RMB as a gesture of thanks. This was the first of many times that I was taken for a ride. It seemed like every time I got on high-rise roadway, the fare magically increased by 50%. Thus I learned by first rule in China – when taking a taxi, always know the approximate route before hand and never get on a high-rise roadway.

Supposedly there are only two reputable taxi companies in Shanghai. And of course, that doesn’t guarantee anything. A friend of a friend found out that the taxi driver, from one of the reputable companies, overcharged her. She called up the company to complain and they promised that they would penalize the driver and refund the overcharge. She was naïve enough to give them her address so she would get her money back. Next morning, she heard a knocking on the door. Long and behold, it was the taxi driver. Needless to say, he was less than pleased with the complaint she filed. Since she was the only one at home, she didn’t open the door until somebody came home. By then she was scared stiff and they had to settled by writing an apology letter back to the company. Lesson learned.

But there are nice taxi drivers out there, though they are tough to find. One night we got a studious looking driver. For some unknown reason, the driver’s pair of glasses gave me some assurance. Initially he was speaking in Shanghainese and my friend was diligently translating them to Mandarin. But later he switched totally to Mandarin. He told us he was laid-off about a year ago and have been driving taxi ever since. We were driving along Nanjing east road and he told us that most buildings were being torn down to accommodate the new subway line. We told him to drive along the river along the Bud for a while. At the end, we had to cut the ride short but I really enjoyed the conversation.

One night we got a female taxi driver, first she forgot to turn on the headlights. Then she made an illegal left turn right in front of the hotel. Immediately, she was stopped at the next junction by one of those seemingly useless traffic police. At first she pulled up some cash but that didn’t seem to get anywhere. But eventually she got a ticket and we were a bit late in getting to our destination. I reckon that she was new at the job and I don’t expect her to last very long.

Things did get better in Hangzhou. I was even saved once by a female taxi driver (story later.) When I got off the train, there was this huge queue but no taxi in sight. I found out later that the officials were charging taxi to get into the station. There was this group of Americans, with a newborn baby, spoke fluent Mandarin trying to bargain for a van. I was pretty impressed that they bargain it down to RMB60. On the way to the hotel, I noticed that we got on the high-rise highway. I instantly pulled out my map. Using the excuse that I have been dying to see the famous lake, I ask him how far away is the lake. He sensed that I was getting a bit tense so he told me that the train station was a temporary one. Of course my defense mechanism immediately told me to watch out for this guy. But there was nothing I can do at that point other than trying to enjoy the ride. It turned out that the main train station was really under construction and he was honest all along.

I was staying at the Shangri-La and they have their own staff of taxi drivers. I had nothing but great experience with these drivers. First because it is a reputable hotel. And secondly, money goes a long way in avoiding frustration and gaining peace of mind. Buying a train ticket in China from a travel agent is a great example. Last thing I want to do is fight with the crowd waiting in line for a train ticket. On the way up to Temple of Soul’s retreat (Ling2 yin3 Si4), the driver from Shangri-La told me about the stories and legends of the temple. When I told him I like to a bird’s eye view of xihu, he recommended that I go up to Jade Emperor (Yu4 Huang2) Hill. He even took the back road to Lingyin si to save me some walk. But taxi drivers at the tourist attraction were drastically different. The first driver refused to go up the Jade Emperor Hill. The second cab driver was trying to get RMB 100 up front just to get up the Jade Emperor Hill. I experimented with a few more before I decided to take the bus back to Shangri-La. The driver there had no problem of taking me up to top peak, where I got the best view of both Xihu and the Chian2 Tang2 River.

From then on, I tried to get taxi from the hotel whenever I can. On leaving Hangzhou, the way to the train station, I had such a good conversation with the driver he forgot where we were going and ended up at the airport instead. I didn’t mind the extra distance since the train station was close by and I had a chance to squeeze in a few more questions. He told me that when the Cultural Revolution started, he was around 12. He was the top of his class in the elementary school then. During the upheaval, though there was still schooling, the students weren’t required to study at all and teachers were banished to the rural areas. I wonder what he would be like if Cultural Revolution never happened. A university professor perhaps.

He managed to turn me from am optimist to pessimist when it comes to China. He said that China is ready to explode. There were rampant corruption and graft in the government and the gap between the rich and the poor is ever increasing. He told me the story how he was ticketed for not wearing a glove but couldn’t find any law or ordinance stating that it was an offense. And the frustration he went through trying to get the ticket appealed. He also told me another example of how he had to get his taxi painted at a designated government shop where they charge a thousand instead of a few hundred yens. He said if he was to die today, he would die with "a full stomach of anger and frustration." He wasn’t afraid of speaking up. "people respect the old leaders of the communist party but not the current generation." He told me that next time I come to Hangzhou I should look him up. He would personally take me to the countryside to see what the real China is like.

After leaving Hangzhou, I was back in midst of the big-city taxi driver mentality. I first met a husband and wife team. He was the driver and she was the navigator. I "interviewed" a few drivers before I settled on the couple. They seem harmless enough and their setup reminded me of rally racing in the jungle. They didn’t make a good team though. At the end they were arguing whether to drive me to the entrance of the hotel or go around the back. First time I ever see a lover’s quarrel in the front seats of a taxi. They didn’t take any long route and all they did was trying to get me to stay at their "associated" hotel. I left them a big tip and quickly left the taxi. The second taxi driver in Nanjing took me for a ride around the city wall and the moat. At least he was trying to be a tour guide while taking me for a ride. The third driver tried to drive me up the mountain and to persuade me out of taking the cheaper chair lift. And my taxi horror stories goes on and on.

I believe in wearing seatbelts, especially in a less developed country. What I couldn’t understand is that none of the seatbelts worked in the taxi in China. The saving grace is that most vehicles where going at low rate of speed. I thought I could end my trip with one last nice taxi ride to the Red Bridge airport. Everything went fine, except at the end when the driver ask me to pay more for not taking the high-rise toll way. Although there are frustrating experience with taxi, some conversations are just simply priceless.