Play the Game of Life
Ryan Petersen's Blog

Labels: video, vietnam

Every day of the ride we were blessed with the constant accompaniment of small, joyous children overwhelmed with enthusiasm. Who taught these kids to reflexively smile and wave with genuine glee at the first sight of foreigners? Is that something they are born with, an innate sense of kindness to true strangers? Unfortunately another first reaction was to try and hold us back so they could postpone our departure. But once instructed through a few proper waves, their restraining grasps turned into willing pushes, helping us up the endless chain of long hills that characterize northwest Vietnam.

Labels: video, vietnam

Day three's main climb was a beast of more than 1000 meters (3300 feet). All three of us hitched a ride on the back of this truck for a few hundred meters but I couldn't keep my grip (Michael J. Fox made it look so easy in Back to the Future). So I ended up having to actually use my leg muscles to "pedal" up the mountain while filming this video.

Labels: video, vietnam

The sun was beginning to set before we realized our mistake. Coming upon a crossroads the afternoon of our second day in Vietnam we had followed the directions of three locals. As it turns out, our poor command of Vietnamese tones (or was it the lack of geographical sense so common in Asia?) led us completely astray. And now it appeared the onset of darkness was prepared to make us pay for our mistake. Having already cycled more than 8 hours, we suddenly found ourselves at least 20 kilometers from the nearest town with a guest house. Refusing to despair, primarily because of Charlie's eternal optimism, we set to the task of finding the perfect farmers hut where we could beg to be taken in for the night. Much to our suprise, we instead came across an entire village gathered for the butchering of a water buffalo. The perfect opportunity to make friends before it got too dark to find our way.

Labels: video, vietnam

During day one and the first half of day two we climbed more than 2,000 meters (6,600 feet), the second half of it in the rain. Our reward was one of the longest continuous stretches of downhill ever seen. And glorious scenery...

Labels: vietnam

Labels: vietnam

The Spandex Warriors finally make it across the border into Lao Cai, Vietnam. From right, Bernhard Wegner (Germany), Charlie Glasser (UK) and Ryan Petersen (USA).

Labels: vietnam

Vietnam issued us visas on September 23rd, but they didn't become valid until the 25th. Bored with waiting in China to cross the border, Bernhard and Charlie decided to stage a swim race across the river just to check things out on the other side. However, taking homeland security into his own hands, a Vietnamese farmer proceeded to send them scurrying back to China. All captured on this video..

Labels: china, video, vietnam

A fairly substantial export trade from China to Vietnam is conducted everyday using old bicycles loaded down with all manner of products, from manufactured goods to vegetables. All this has developed since 1992, when this border crossing at Hekou-Lao Cai was finally reopened after two decades of closure for political reasons. (Actually, I should say the bicycle-based trade "re-developed," as the Viet Cong were supplied from China in nearly the exact same manner throughout the American war in Vietnam. The goods were pushed thousands of miles over jungle trails to the front lines in then South Vietnam.)

The export of Chinese manufactured goods makes sense, as China is one of the world's lowest cost producers, however I would have thought that vegetables and other produce would be flowing the other way across the border. But in fact, nothing comes in from Vietnam at this crossing except empty bicycles ready to be loaded. I think this would be worth studying if there are any China-focused economic researchers looking for a good thesis out there.

Labels: business, china, video, vietnam

Let's hope all the answers are in these photos...

Labels: vietnam

In two hours two friends and I set off on the night bus for Hekou, a small town at the border with Vietnam. From there we'll dismount and ride our bikes in a broad arc that will bring us through the northwestern part of the country and into the capital of Hanoi. If we go fast enough (too fast?), we'll reach the beach. Check back soon for pictures, videos and stories from our journey.

Also, check out this Google Earth route of our trip. It's not totally accurate, but gives you the general idea.

Labels: vietnam

This Zhejiang firm makes bedding sets, beds for pets, aprons for barbershops, medical braces and just about anything else that needs to be sewn.

Labels: business, china

The best part about living in Kunming is that an hour of hard riding will get you to spots like this...Click on the picture for a larger image.

Labels: china

Labels: china

To allow easy access to the building's facade, workers constructed this six-story scaffolding entirely out of bamboo. Even the joints where the lengths of bamboo meet are made by tying thin strips of bamboo tightly around each of the poles. As you'll notice in teh video below (for those not in China at least) the structure just balances on the ground with foundation whatsoever. Needless to say it's extremely precarious.


The same scaffolding structure seen from the inside, with a bit of Shanghai's futuristic skyline visible in the distance.

Labels: china, video

When I went to the zoo recently, a lot of the families in attendance seemed to be more curious about this big-nosed goofy Westerner than in the exotic animals they had come to see.

Labels: china

In developing modern transportation systems throughout the country, China has wisely invested a significant amount of its new wealth in flat screen monitors to carry important images of devious white folks making fools of other buffoonish white people for the hidden camera. Judging by the silly hairstyles, these candid scenes were either shot in the 1980s or in present day France. Wherever they were filmed, they never, ever, present any Asian people being made to look like fools. Rather, commuters throughout China are entertained by a steady stream of good-natured, monkey-like caucasians.

The most substantial exposure some Chinese ever get to western society may just be through the scenes of some guy walking up to a table of tourists and eating their French fries uninvited, or of a wicked lady who plants a timed smoke bomb in a ringing public telephone to scare the bejesus out of passersby. Could these films be helping to form perceptions about us foreign barbarians?

Now, lets not take this analysis of the sociological implications of candid camera too seriously, but come on, can't they at least laugh at some Chinese people getting tricked on TV? How amusing to watch the furious reaction of a Chinese guy who's mianzi (face) had been compromised by a silly TV prankster. Of course, that might not capture the same light-hearted feeling the screens are trying to bring to the daily grind of the masses.

Labels: china

Why do so many solids go straight to gaseous form without first becoming liquid? For example, why can't I melt a log of wood rather than having it just go up in smoke? Mom, I'm sure you can answer this one...

Why is it that we who preach tolerance find it so hard to tolerate intolerance?

What quality within man allows him to read up to three pages of written material while his thoughts wander through another dimension altogether, ensuring that he retains not a word of either what was written or what was contemplated?

Labels: china

Without a doubt, the finest beer marketing slogan ever crafted:

"Hormone About Man in Society of Business."

Labels: china

Green means go. If you are turning left into oncoming traffic, green still means go. The rule seems to be that whoever gets to the intersection first goes first. The question is, when you get in an accident because of this, who's actually at fault?

Labels: china, video

A pirated DVD store whose nextdoor neighbor is a police station? Only in China. Apparently as a result of some agreement with the police, this month the store can only be open between 2 pm and 10 pm. Now that's what I call getting tough on IP rights issues.

Labels: censorship, china

Two friends from school who've recently been lured onto the mountain biking trails above Kunming: Anas from Sudan and Bernhard from Germany. This photo taken at the top of the mountain, right before our descent and just about an hour before the collision with the poor old lady described below...

Labels: china

Labels: china

Let the Big Box Stores try coming up with a China localization strategy to beat this. Just about every product that you can find in their enormous warehouse formats seems to be crammed into this 400 square foot shop, where it can be bought for 1/2 the price! And of course, it wouldn't be Asia if there weren't three identical stores lined up directly on top of each other...

Labels: china

Labels: china

This post is long, far longer than I prefer to write. However, it deals with a relatively traumatic, and I think quite humorous series of bike accidents that have forever changed my perspective on Chinese pedestrians.

Most Chinese people do not look when they cross the street. This has long been a curiosity for me, something that I have accepted as incomprensible, yet interesting and rather entertaining. What is going through these people's minds, I wonder? How do they survive for so many years when cars go whizzing within inches of them everyday? And how do they maintain that blank look when staring death in the face?

This weekend that curiousity has been downgraded to some degree of anger. No longer can I smile when somebody nearly walks casually into the path of my bike without looking. As I was riding back into town from a thrilling ride in the Kunming's eastern mountains, an old lady suddenly stepped into the road right in front of my bike. With no warning whatsoever, I applied the brakes sharply, causing me to skid out. I nearly stopped time, but it wasn't to be as I rose up over top of my bike and slammed into the poor lady's back. She never saw what hit her till we were sprawled out together on the warm asphault.

As it turned out, the lady received a small scratch on her face and possibly a bruise on her knee. The only other visible sign of physical harm were two large dollar signs that lit up her eyes at the sight of a foreigner on an expensive mountain bike. As it turns out, the symptoms of this affliction are all too common in China, where pedestrians know instinctively to fake a serious injury and put on spectacular acting performances in order to realize a favorable financial settlement. I have been forewarned about this habit, and many have told me that if at all possible, most Chinese will just keep on riding whenever they believe themselves to be at fault in an accident.

The pathetic sight of this old lady was too much to bear however. My conscience would not let me ride off without trying to help her. Damn conscience! So along with two friends I walked the lady to the nearest hospital. That's right, she walked without any problem for about 2 kilometers. Then her son, who had been called to the scene shortly after the accident, realized that it wouldn't look good for her to arrive on foot, so he came with a scooter to carry her the last 100 meters into the facility.

This is where things got really interesting, as the woman and her son insist that they not go to this hospital, but would rather go to another one further away. Ridiculous, I said. If she needs to see a doctor, she should do it as fast as possible right here at this hospital. Eventually they agreed, but when we got near the front door, the son suddenly mysteriously disappeared into a side door. Meanwhile the elderly woman refused to enter without him.

If she needed medical treatment, as she insisted she did, why wouldn't she go inside, I asked? Confused with her attitude, I went inside to speak with the doctors, who said they were prepared to look at her. Several minutes later, the son reappeared from the side door of the hospital and we all entered together. Suddenly the doctor I had just spoken with a few minutes before was unavailable and now we were told "there are no doctors, its a holiday." It was not a holiday, it was a Thursday afternoon during a regular working week. Something strange here and I don't like it.

There is another hospital a few blocks down the road, the son told us. So we proceeded on to see if we could finally get a doctor to put some alcohol on her scratches, kiss her knees and set us on our way. Of course, the queesy feeling in my stomach told me that things would not be this easy.

Arriving at the next hospital, about a quarter mile down the road, we were soon being yelled at by a security guard who turned out to be the lady's daughter. So this is why they wanted to come to this hospital. I knew immediately I was about to get ripped off. But at this point there wasn't much I could do except sit back and observe the shady system of accident liability and hospital procedures. Determined to make it an entertaining and enlightening experience, I maintained a joyous smile as the lady's daughter layed on her verbal assault.

Within a few minutes, a large crowd had gathered to watch this spectacle. I can't blame them, as there was almost no where I would rather be myself at that time. A pain the ass, to be certain, but honestly, where else could I see firsthand the crooked, twisted system that rewards a woman for such a blatantly stupid move as stepping into a busy street without looking for traffic. She was lucky there wasn't a truck. In fact, that helpless, miserable look on her face merely disguised a deep inner sense that she had really hit the jackpot.

My German friend Bernhard said it best, "Her great great grandchildren are going to still be talking about the day their ancestor was clobbered by a foreigner on a bicycle, and how on that day the family's fortune changed forever for the better."

Despite the pressure applied by a crowd of partisan Chinese onlookers, the two of us remained relatively up beat about the scenario. After all, this lady had walked in front of my bike leaving me no chance to stop at all. It wasn't my fault I insisted. The daughter asked, "She wouldn't have fallen down on her own, would she?" My curt response that I wouldn't have fallen down either didn't go over too well.

And throughout all this arguing over who was at fault, the little old lady just sat steadfastly. Refusing to go inside the hospital to get any kind of treatment until she was certain that I would settle up and pay her bill.

Soon the cops had arrived. Lazy cops, these. They didn't ask any questions of Bernhard or I, the only witnesses besides the lady herself (who, in fact, could hardly be called a witness at all since her back was turned to the accident!). They were quite content to get all the information they needed from the lady's daughter, who of course was working at this hospital when the incident occurred. "This foreigner was riding like crazy, not being careful and hit this poor old lady, " was the version I heard her tell the police. Of course I objected, noting that she wasn't present. But it mattered little to the police.

"It is your fault," they told me. "She is an old lady. You know, in China, if you hit an old person, it is your fault." This seemed ridiculous to me, so I fished for more information. "It is usually that way," I got, as they dodged any specifics about the law in China. At this point I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to half to pay for this lady's medical bills, but felt reassured knowing that treatment of a scratch on the face shouldn't cost more than about $10 in China.

Within a few minutes, two more police officers had arrived. I could tell as they drove in that these were higher ranking officers because on seeing their car pull up, the two cops already on the scene immediately took out a clip board and began asking me for my information. This was comical, to say the least. The new officers had seen enough Hollywood blockbusters to know that when you arrive on a crime scene you should wear the sweetest sunglasses available while remaining cooly aloof toward all inferior officers. They pulled off the role perfectly.

By this time, the lady finally went inside to get some medical treatment and I stayed outside trying to make some sense of the situation with the officers. Now at least I got a more clear answer from these cops, who apparently had read whatever traffic law does exist in this country. If you hit a pedestrian, it is your fault. It doesn't matter if she steps in front of your bike into the road when there is a perfectly good sidewalk. The fact that she is old is important, but it is your fault regardless of her age.

"Show me your passport," the highest ranking officer said from behind his dark sunglasses.

"I don't have it," I replied.

"Why not?" he asked in a very confused, almost shocked tone.

"Well, I was just riding my bicycle through the mountains over there, and I didn't want it to get damaged."

"You know that you must carry your passport at all times by law."

"No, I never heard that."

"It is the law. Now call somebody to get your passport for you right away."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, as its in my apartment and I have the only key right here."

"Okay, well, we are going to have to confiscate your bike as evidence."

"Evidence of what?" I ask, suddenly angered by the thought of losing my beloved mountain bike forever to these corrupt police officers.

"Evidence of the accident."

"But there is no damage to the bike. What will you inspect?"

"We will need to run some tests on it to determine what happened."

Now the stress was mounting, but in my determination to save my bike, I strung together the best Chinese explanation of logic that I could muster: "Sir, I have told you what happened. I hit this lady with my bike. If you find evidence of damage on the bike, the most you can do is learn that, yes, in fact this bike was involved in a collision. You won't have learned anything!"

"I am sorry, but it is required by law that we take any bike involved in an accident."

Handing me a clipboard, he asked me sign a form with about 800 Chinese characters I could not recognize.

At this point, I realized I was in way over my head. Fortunately, a Chinese friend's dad is a lawyer here in Kunming, so I got Jia Jia on the phone and begged her to send him out. It took a long time due to traffic, but eventually she came herself and spoke with the police on my behalf, relaying messages to her father by phone.

The verdict: It was indeed my fault. I will have to pay her medical bill. Go inside and see what's going on with the lady in the hospital. Upon entering, we discover the lady's been put on an IV, and has this ridiculously huge patch covering the entire left side of her face, completely obscuring one eye. This was so absurd, I could barely contain myself--not with anger, but with disbelief and a certain sense of the humor of it all.

The doctor, who we later discovered was her son-in-law, said that she could not walk. It didn't matter to him that she had walked for more than a mile after the accident. Were there any witnesses to this, he asks. Yes, I was there and so was she. But she of course lied and said she couldn't walk at all and my word means nothing in this country.

So at this point four hours have passed and I am ready to go home. I get the bill, $30 so far, and borrow money from my friend to pay for it. We get out of there, all of us still smiling, and I'm told by several of my Chinese friends who had arrived to help that if this ever happens again, I should just keep on riding.

In order to get my bike back, I'm told, I will have to meet with the victims family at the police station the next day and reach a mutually satisfactory settlement. This will be interesting. They are going to come after me for all they can get out of this.

Labels: china, China traffic

The next day, its time to head to the police station with my lawyer to put this bike accident behind me. I knew again that this was going to be an enlightening look into the Chinese legal system when my lawyer told me that I should buy a basket of fruit to give to the lady's family. This will give you face and make them look like they are just out to get you, the good natured foreigner. My foreign friends insist this is ridiculous, but I think its too funny to be overlooked.

So fruitbasket in hand, we proceed to the police station where the head doctor from the hospital (who you'll recall is the old lady's son-in-law), greets us with a handful of new bills incurred over night. As it turns out, she is going to need three days in the hospital to recover from the accident now. The foreign friends accompanying me are noticeably angered by this blatant act of deceipt on behalf of the hospital itself. Personally it still strikes me as rather humorous to get upset.

I let my lawyer do all the talking, and just sit back and do my best to listen with genuine empathy as the doctor talks about her medical needs. The total bill I'm presented with comes to about $100 U.S., and after I have my lawyer ensure that my liability is capped at that amount, I agree to pay right there on the spot and be done with it. After my lawyer writes up the contract, he hands it to the lady's son to sign it. He's so nervous at the sight of this high-powered attorney and the stack of money greater than he has likely seen at one time in his whole life, he can't remember what year it is, much less what month or day. With a little assistance from our side, he gets the paperwork signed and walks off his 800 RMB and a basket of fruit so large he can't carry it home on his cheap electric scooter. Poor guy.

Meanwhile I head off with my lawyer to the police inpound lot to recover my mountain bike. It's in good shape, except they painted the date of the accident right onto the frame. They aren't much for respecting private property over here, but actually I am pretty stoked to have that infamous date immortalized right on her frame.

So off I ride, excited to have the whole thing behind as I head for home. Ten minutes later, as I cross a street, a car comes racing around through a red light and slams into the side of my bike. In a bit of shock at first, I quickly manage to get back to my feet and take inventory of the situation. I'm fine, I see. Just a couple bruises on my legs, about the same as the lady the day before actually. Realizing this, I turn my attention to the bike. It's okay too, nothing they won't fix for free at the bike shop.

I get back on my feet, say goodbye to the driver and ride off. So it is that I left two Chinese people feeling like they hit the jackpot in two days...

Labels: china, China traffic

Labels: china, food, vietnam

The authorities here have finally decided to allow us to view blogs hosted by Google-owned Blogspot.com. Hopefully Wikipedia is next, but don't count on it. In the meantime, Chinese web users can view all Wikipedia articles in their entirety on Answers.com.

Labels: censorship, china

 

 

 

 

Labels: china, Kunming, photos, yunnan

Labels: china

Labels: china, China traffic