Shanghai Museum of Music Boxes and opulent lunch

 

A remarkable personal collection, about 120 years old, now open to the public.

It is not among the most widely advertised attractions of this megacity, but it is well worth looking for in the Science and Technology Museum in Pudong.

music box museum we'd been told in Singapore, similar size but the experience is not as good. the young lady doing hourly tours does not know much, looks bored and cuts corners in her presentation. Here is a video of our visit.

 

We can also admire a 1750 "first": a singing birdcage, where an air pump pushes air through a flute to imitate a bird's singing. The bird has been constructed accurately, 250 parts in all, and covered in real feathers!

Some drawings and projects of music boxes complete the collection.

Too bad the museum is left in the hands of a bored and boring girl who makes a dull presentation, what a contrast with the enthusiastic older man who showed us the Singapore museum!

Today's lunch is at the "Ark" restaurant 2nd floor of a grey concrete building, like many others. Restaurants in China are often not at the ground level, like in Europe, but higher up. Someone told me it is because Chinese patrons like having their own private room, only for themselves and their friends, away from the prying eyes of others. And of course no windows on the streetside! 

(On the other hand, doctors’ and dentists’ practices are often at the ground level, with large windows so that anyone passing by can almost literally look straight into the mouth of a patient while a tooth is being drilled.) 

Large samples of Shanghainese cuisine, meat, and seafood, not spicy but intense flavors. 

A few memories from the huge menu ordered by Qinlong: Shanghai baby eels, garlic oil pepper spring onion, fried fish, turnip, pork ribs, crab meet with crab roe, in whole orange with orange pulp and prawn,

Then, shanghai bun with sweet minced pork and crab and a pot of chicken, ginger, leek, with chicken stock lept warm in a pot on live fire which the waitress placed smack in the middle of our table.

Following the above, asparagus with Tofu and "century egg", a chicken egg that smells from a kilometer away after it has been treated and "aged" for not quite a century but a few weeks and up to month or two.

All washed down with a drink of fermented sweet potatoes, rice and barley, just 11 abv, easy on the palate and well paired with the food. 

I still preferred a mildly bitter but round and consistent local beer. 

This was quite a treat by Qinlong, and although he is not a local in Shanghai by any means, he is from Leiyang like Carrie, but he works here and therefore considers it a sacrosanct duty to treat us to impress us. But I am sure he is genuine, he likes us and we like him, that was clear at his wedding a few months ago.

A walk in the beautiful "Century Park Garden" ends the afternoon with warm sunset rays that pierce through the thick branches of the tall trees near Century Square near the metro stop where we will catch a train to the hotel. 

Short walk to a subway station nearby, I have to be careful with electric motorcycles, can't hear them coming! All motorcycles in Shanghai are electric haven't seen a single petrol engine on two wheels the whole time since I've arrived in China.

Electrification moving forward fast, they're building a dozen nuclear power plants (half of all those under construction in the world), hydroelectric dams, solar, wind, gas powered plants, and unfortunately still oil and coal powered ones.

The Chinese planners are pretty good at building lots of cement, steel, and glass structures in their new cities but also much green space, and plant many trees all over the place.

Quite a few dogs without a leash, the Chinese are picking up a bad western habit.

Evening at the hotel's spa, we are not hungry after Qinglong's huge lunch and so skip dinner. In the pool, a child is learning to swim, still unusual in China, where most people, including divers, do not know how to swim.

Then we go to the famous Peace Hotel jazz bar and drink a good Belgian beer ! It is an old group made up of old players. They have been playing for 38 years, ie ever since they were allowed to play again after the death of Mao in 1978! 

They play tunes from 1920 and 1930s, with a female vocalist for most of the program. Their sax player is the best, the others look tired, even bored. Some of the music we hear still got energy to it, some less. The bass player is 87 years-old. I am thinking: on one hand it's great he's still got energy but he's really just pinching one or two strings, not moving either hand, his notes are almost imperceptible. Maybe it's time he gave room to a younger player

Zhujiajiao, un'altra "Venezia" cinese

Today we take the metro from Shanghai for this special village. Good system, the trains run frequently and are comfortable and, unlike the subway stations, are air-conditioned. The ticket one way is 8 Rmb (1 euro) for a longish ride, I did not keep track of time but maybe one hour.

Comfortable and fast ride, only waited a few minutes, trains are quite frequent. One reason the trains are comfortable is that the A/C works well, which cannot be said for the stations where it feels a bit sticky.

While we wait for the trains I notice some lines on the platform, which mark the place where people should stand in a queue to board, after having let passengers get off first. The train comes to a gentle halt a few seconds after a polite voice announces its arrival  in Chinese and English - but it does not say "mind the gap!" No one stays in line, most people rush for the door without worrying about passengers who try to get off. I recall much more disciplined tube riders in Singapore and Hong Kong...

Zhangjiajie is a small village which now lives of tourism, there are myriad restaurants and souvenir shops everywhere, but it does still have a charming atmosphere. And lots of canals, for which is it often referred to as the "Venice of China" One of the Venices of China actually, the most well-known one is Suzhou. How come every town in the world with a few canals has to call itself "Venice"?? Anyway, true to its nickname, there are no cars, not even bikes; just canals and stone bridges.

When we get out of the subway station it's just a short walk to the old village, but an entrepreneurial middle-aged man approached us and offers a ride on his tricycle to "the heart of the town". He expects a tip of course, but this is much less than the cost of the ticket we would have to pay to enter the historic center of town, an attraction in and of itself.

The first thing I notice once we are on our own is gondolas. They are not nearly as elaborate and impressive as those in the real Venice, but still, they do take tourists around the canals for a picturesque view of the village from the water. For a fee of 80 Rmb per boat, not per person, we get less than 10 minutes, a rip-off as bad as the real Venice, luckily we share with 4 others. Never mind.

Of course, like for everything else, Lifang pays for this with her omnipresent and seemingly omnipotent Wechat pay app. She has yet to use cash once since we arrived in China. I am the only one to do so it seems, I feel so old!

Lunch at a quaint restaurant by the water. Lots of different dishes, I loved slightly spicy fresh-water snails and chicken paws.

 

We don't have an internet connection but the waitress sets up a mobile Hotspot and all Lifang needs to do is to scan the restaurant s bar code and we're done! sometimes a shop will scan her barcode, on her phone, same thing...

Shopping is interesting, we find a small workshop that sells cotton embroidered shoes made by a local shoemaker, 250 Rmb for a pair. Very comfortable and you can only buy them here. he says he does not want to sell online, I wonder why. Maybe he does not have enough to satisfy online demand and cannot scale up. The shoes are pretty, comfortable and affordable.

Dinner by the main bridge. A nice table by the canal. The owner is quite loquacious, he comes over and is quite willing to spend time with us. Perhaps because I seem to be the only tourist around, at least the only non-Chinese tourist. He said the restaurant has been around since 1938, and his family has always lived upstairs. He also worked also during the Japanese occupation. Unline most Chinese I meet to he does not seem to feel much resentment toward Japan. Not anymore anyway.

After the Communist victory in 1949, his family was no longer allowed to run the restaurant as a private enterprise and they all got jobs as workers or employees in the public sector.

in 1998 he lost his job, thought about what to do with the rest of his life, and as he had some money saved away the following year reopened the restaurant in the same location where his father had it before. This is one of the few times we paid with cash, we're offline somehow!

Dinner is big black seashells stuffed with pork, bizarre pairing but it tastes good, a strong flavor yet not spicy! Shoots of water bamboos, fried chicken to complete the menu.

Partly because of the tasty portions that kept landing on my plate, partly because I enjoyed listening to the stories of the owner, and perhaps most of all because of the romantic setting I was enjoying with my wife, especially after they turned on the amber lights of the bridge, suddenly we realized it was getting late and we risked missing the last subway train back to Shanghai.

Easier said than done. It is actually difficult to exit. First, some threatening barking dogs blocked the way to "Exit n. 1", which is the closest to the subway station. Slightly worried, we rushed to "Exit n. 2" on the other side of town but from there we would need a bus to the subway station.

Exit n. 2 was not easy to find. We asked many local people working in the shops for directions, it was the end of the day and business had slowed down, some shops were beginning to shut down. Still, they were all busy with their phones and we had to insist every time to get their attention.

When we finally got out of the old city we waited at the bus station but no bus materialized. By now clearly worried we might have to spend the night here, Lifang asked a couple on an electric motorcycle and they pointed to another bus station a few hundred meters away. When we arrived we're the only passengers for the lonely bus in the empty parking lot, the last of today. The driver sat casually in his office playing with his phone. He said we needed 1 Rmb per person to buy our tickets: cash only! No cards, no Alipay, no Wechat pay. It must be the last place in China to require cash.

Well, we are in luck, I thought, as I pulled a 10 yuan note from my wallet. (Lifang did not have any cash, I think she has not used any in China for the last decade.) But no, the driver does not have any change. I was ready to give him 10 yuan for 2 yuan worth of tickets, of course, just to get out of here, but this would have meant being overcharged by 400% and Lifang would not countenance that option at all.

She ran to the last car in the adjacent parking lot as it was leaving and asked them to change our bill, but they did not have any change either. However, they did give her a 1 yuan coin. She thanked them and pointed her open hand (the Chinese never use the index finger to point at someone or something) to me, and said something along the lines that it would have been nice to take her husband back to Shanghai as well. So the generous car driver gifted us another coin. 

How generous! In my limited experience, the Chinese usually are not so generous. I've never seen anyone giving any change to a beggar in the street. Maybe that's one reason why there are not so many beggars, it's not a good use of their time on the street.

Or on the subway for that matter. When we finally reached the subway and caught the very last train to Shanghai, we saw a musician walking along the train car playing a strange kind of clarinet but no one gave him any money at all.

Shanghai museum and French concession

An impressive museum, I remember seeing it exactly 20 years ago and it was even more impressive then, maybe because it was new and brimming with cutting edge museum technology.

I remember being amazed by soft lights illuminating ancient calligraphy only when a motion sensor indicated a visitor was in front of the exhibit. At any other time, the display's lights were off, saving energy and, more importantly, helping to preserve the fragile paper and colors.

Lots of priceless pieces from all branches of Chinese art: bronze, painting, calligraphy, porcelain, jade and furniture. A must for any visitor to Shanghai.

Evening at the French concession. At first, it was not easy to find. We got to the general neighborhood by didi and then asked around, but no one knows even when we're walking just next to it.

Some luxury homes reveal themselves inside a gated community, security guards don't pay much attention and we can sneak in to sit down and enjoy the gardens on a bench, eating fruits, and breathing what the atmosphere must have been like a century ago when French administrators and businesspeople lived here.

We later walked around the main area of the concession, with lots of European style pubs and restaurants. Not especially French really. We found it by following the long lines of lamp posts that are reminiscent of Paris, or at least the gas lamps in Paris of 100 years ago as seen in movies.

Most locales have tables outside but almost every patron is a chain smoker so we decide to give it a pass. It's now, of course, mostly Chinese who come here for a drink and a smoke, though still, quite a few foreigners are to be seen.

We ended the evening in a modern bar with a band from the Philippines. A lady vocalist is quite talented and keeps pulling down her short black tube dress that risks revealing her most intimate parts every time she moves her hips with the music.

When she stops playing we try to get a taxis back to hotel but every time they want to overcharge us. There must be a kind of taxi cartel, the same cars keep driving around the block in the hope (certainty?) to pick up a drunk western tourist or expat and charge whatever, without turning on the meter at all. They ask us 100 Rmb (about 12 euro ) and we refuse, it's a total rip off. It's late and there are no didis available, strange...

Lifang proposes to move out a couple of blocks and magically the first taxi that we flag down welcomes with a smile and charges by the meter (25 Rmb). the driver is a fine elderly man, polite and respectful. he says he is ashamed of his colleagues who try to take advantage of foreign clients. taxi drivers stories identical pretty much the world over.

Giardino e food court a Shanghai

Visitiamo il palazzo, anzi i palazzi del giardino "Yu", costruito durante la dinastia Ming intorno al 1560 e poi distrutto nei secoli durante successive vicissitudini belliche e sempre ricostruito. Tradizionale architettura cinese: costruzioni in legno con il tetto a baffo, bacini d'acqua brulicanti di pesci colorati, statue, ponti.

Dopo la visita, giustamente affamati, andiamo in un enorme "food court", non so bene come tradurre questo concetto di un enorme ambiente, su più piani, con dozzine di ristoranti indipendenti al suo interno. Frequentati da locali come da turisti, giovani e anziani. Il tutto generalmente abbastanza economico e sempre molto informale.

Mentre mia moglie va a comprare il pranzo (delego a lei questi giorni, ogni volta è una sorpresa) prendo un tavolo e mi siedo a guardare i famelici avventori che mi sfilano davanti. Tutti sempre molto seri in viso, non sembra che si stiano divertendo. Forse non si stanno divertendo, sono in pausa pranzo dal lavoro. Molto disciplinati, il che non è sempre il caso in Cina, fanno la fila con pazienza al buffet ed alla cassa.

Poi una sorpresa, ma non è il piatto scelto da Lifang. Sono alcuni poveracci, hanno l'aspetto di essere senza tetto, comunque senza cucina perché si avvicinano ai tavoli appena vanno via i commensali per raccattare gli avanzi. Molti cinesi hanno un po’ il vizio di ordinare troppo, o comunque di mettersi troppo sul piatto, soprattutto quando il prezzo è fisso al buffet. Risultato è che ci sono spesso porzioni esagerate che poi non sono finite e restano lì. I poveretti si avvicinano con una bustina di plastica e racimolano il loro pranzo. 

Qualche volta si avvicinano a chiedere a chi sta ancora finendo di mangiare, prima che vada via. Uno viene pure da me, ma poi vede che il tavolo è ancora vuoto, sto aspettando anche io, e se ne va. Un po’ triste vedere chi ha fame in mezzo a tanta pantagruelica opulenza. È la prima volta che mi capita in Cina.

Shanghai dopo 20 anni

Dopo vent'anni sono di ritorno a Shanghai, la città il cui nome significa "sul mare". All'arrivo in aeroporto mi sorprende una lunga fila di macchine che raccolgono le impronte digitali dei viaggiatori stranieri in arrivo. Poi al controllo passaporti me le riprendono comunque. Chiedo alla guardia sorridente il perché e mi dice che è per essere sicuri!

Il profilo della città è cambiato drammaticamente. Nel 1998 c'erano cantieri che lavoravano 24/7, tre turni al giorno, tutti i giorni dell'anno salvo forse il capodanno cinese. Adesso hanno finito il loro lavoro, vedo pochi lavori in corso per tirar su altri grattacieli. Forse un sintomo dell'eccesso di offerta di immobiliare di cui si legge soffrano alcune grandi città cinesi.

Ma anche senza cantieri edili l'attività è frenetica come e più di allora. Sul Bund, la "banchina", tradizionale lungomare cittadino, si scatena la vita dei giovani. Coppiette che si vengono a far fotografare il giorno delle nozze e musica per tutti la sera. Non pochi poliziotti passeggiano tranquilli avanti e indietro, ma non hanno molto da fare, la gente è educata.

Qualche negozietto sotto la banchina vende spuntini ai turisti, prezzi come a Londra e qualità mediocre, dopo un timido tentativo di ravioli al vapore lasciamo perdere, basta allontanarsi qualche decina di metri e si trovano ottimi ristorantini locali dove mangiare genuino, anche se Shanghai è sempre cara per gli standard cinesi cui sono abituato con la famiglia in Hunan.

Un panino ripieno di maiale e gamberi costa 50 Rmb, 5 euro circa, molto per la Cina ma è ottimo. Tofu di sangue di anatra con crostini e ortaggi misti è comunque il piatto del giorno, sapore dolce e amaro, a me è piaciuto molto.

L'altra cosa che non c'era nel 1998 era il motorino elettrico. Adesso ce ne sono milioni, anzi sono tutti elettrici, puliti e silenziosissimi, non abbiamo visto neanche un vecchio due tempi, ci hanno detto che sono stati vietati. Primo passo verso l'elettrificazione completa del trasporto cittadino. L'unico problema è che non li sento arrivare, e un paio di volte sono stato quasi investito! 

Tofu di sangue di anatra con verdura

Altra cosa ancora più buffa è che si ricominciano a vedere un po’ di biciclette! Quaranta anni fa naturalmente c'erano solo biciclette. Poi sono sparite per far spazio alle auto. Nel 1998 non se ne vedevano praticamente più. Adesso son tornate, vuoi per il traffico che le rende più veloci delle auto per i brevi percorsi, vuoi per la coscienza ambientalistica che si sta diffondendo.

Oggi ho accompagnato Lifang ad un centro di massaggi per sole donne. Al decimo piano di un anonimo palazzo, però la vista era molto ampia sui quartieri centrali della megalopoli. Cosa curiosa, il quartiere residenziale di Laoximen, dove ci troviamo, sempra essere diviso in tre: una parte di case tradizionali, a 2 o 3 piani, le vecchie case cinesi che spesso avevano (e molte ancora hanno) il negozio a piano terra e l'abitazione al primo e casomai al secondo piano. Sicuramente la parte più piacevole per me oggi per passeggiare, più umana.

Una seconda parte, tagliata di netto da qualche viale di asfalto, di palazzi sui setto o otto piani. Ed infine una terza parte di grattacieli, i "fiammiferi" li chiamava una interprete che avevo usato quando facevo la guida, che sembrano appunto piammiferi in una scatola, 25  piani e oltre. Tutto ordinato e ben pianificato, sarebbe difficile ogni abuso edilizio qui, si noterebbe subito. 

Una volta lasciata la moglie nelle abili mani delle massaggiatrici me ne vado a spasso. Avevo visto su Google Maps che c'è un tempio Tao qui vicino, ma ho fatto fatica a trovarlo. Per quanto ben preservato, è praticamente inghiottito dall'edilizia residenziale e commerciale moderna. Panta rei.

Arrivato al tempio ho trovato tutto chiuso. Anzi il cancello era socchiuso, ma non c'era nessuno. Erano le 4:45 del pomeriggio e i raggi del sole che cominciavano ad arrossarsi disegnavano sinuose curve con le ombre degli alberi del giardino del tempio. Dopo aver aperto il cancello sono entrato timidamente nel cortile antistante il tempio ed ho trovato la biglietteria, dove un impiegato era pronto a sprangare bottega e andare a casa. In qualche modo capisco che si chiude fra 10 minuti. 

Mi fa cenno di entrare, niente biglietto, visita gratis, ma devo sbrigarmi. Il tempio è piccolissimo, e non c'era nessuno. Mi sarebbe piaciuto fermarmi di più, magari a meditare solo soletto per un paio d'ore, ma oggi non si può.

Continuo a passeggiare nei viottoli "hutong" delle case a tre piani, e incontro tante signore che passano il pomeriggio a chiacchierare sedute, qualcuna fa il bucato. Una nonnina regge con le braccia allungate un pargoletto, all'inizio non capisco poi vedo che questo è il modo per non sporcarsi mentre il piccolo libera il proprio intestino sul marciapiede. Nessuno dei presenti fa notare un qualsiasi tipo di reazione alla cosa, tutto normale. Be’ almeno avrebbe potuto farla accanto ad uno dei tanti alberi delle strade, almeno sarebbe stato un buon concime. Shanghai cambia ma alcune vecchie abitudini restano.

Spuntino al ristorantino di Papa Chan, il cui motto, scritto in cinese e inglese a grandi caratteri sulla cucina a vista, dice:

"Piccoli Dim Sum ma grande sforzo, 

per una reputazione eterna, 

al di là di questa breve vita."

La dice lunga su come si muove la Cina oggi.

Un negozio di pianoforti Schimmel, tedeschi purosangue. La musica occidentale è molto seguita in Cina. Ho letto che si fabbricano più pianoforti qui che nel resto del mondo, e la qualità ha raggiunto livelli di eccellenza. Come il talento dei giovani pianisti cinesi. Penso a Lang Lang, che è diventato famoso in tutto il mondo e fa un po’ troppo la primadonna, ma anche a tanti altri che si avvicendano nelle sale da concerto di Londra. 

Mi viene in mente il libro (recensito in questo blog) "The Secret Piano" che racconta di quando avere un pianoforte era considerata una forma di corruzione culturale, se non un crimine da "borghese".

An afternoon in Napan Yaur village in West Papua

Today, between dives, we visited the Napan Yaur village in Indonesian West Papua. As our outboard approached the beach for a wet landing, a couple of dozen children or so started to group on a wooden bench, under a tree. When we got close enough, our wet feet covered with sand, they started to sing some welcome songs for us. It was a highlight of the day, for them and for us.

Some young men were playing  volleyball a few meters away and they did not pay any attention to us.

There were many more children running around the village. Thanks to the translation help offered by Simone, our Brazilian dive guide who spoke some Indonesian, we learned from a local woman that the village's families, on average, have between eight and ten children ach.e

I roamed around a bit and ran into a school, where the blackboard indicated the pupils were learning English and French.

All around were tidy gardens full of pretty flowers. Most homes had chicken and dogs playing in the yard, though, when asked, they said they do not eat the dogs. No pigs, which I thought unusual as pork is a staple food here, but they told us they prefer to hunt wild boars in the surrounding mountains covered with thick rainforest.

Flight to Indonesia

Morning packing and getting ready to fly to Indonesia for more diving.

Taxi to the airport just 17 Sgd, so cheap in the context of an expensive city. You can choose a normal taxi or a "deluxe" one, which is more expensive, but the normal one is deluxe enough for us: clean, spacious and the driver is professional and friendly.

The only problem with Singapore's taxis is that sometimes it is hard to find one. Now there is an app, called Grab, a sort of Uber for South East Asia, which I am told is super efficient and even cheaper than taxis. Next time I'll have to download it.

Changi Airport is amazing, so well organized and pleasant I am always sorry to leave it. I could spend days in here shopping, eating, getting massages, ... But I am not going to buy anything today, no point carrying stuff to Indonesia, I will load up on the way back. I know I want some TWG, the famed Singapore tea brand. They just opened a store in central London, but it is cheaper here. Still not cheap at all, but cheaper.

Our flight to Jakarta is delayed, we are using Batik Air. Hopefully, we'll make the connection to Papua. There are not so many flights to Manokwari, in fact, we only have one useful connection per day, and I didn't want to risk missing the departure of our cruise therefore I built a buffer day in our itinerary, if all goes ok we'll have a day to explore Manokwari.

Singapore maiolicas and crabs

Sveglia tardi, forse ancora un po’ di jet lag. E poi siamo stati in piedi sempre fino a tardi in questi giorni, io a scrivere il mio libro sulla Polonia e Lifang a far post-produzione dei suoi video per il sito cinese. Coppia molto attiva.

Piscina e relax fino al primo pomeriggio, poi in visita al Thian Hock Keng Temple, uno dei più venerati a Singapore, dedicato alla dea del mare, Mazu. Simbolo della tradizione Hokkien tramandata qui dai tanti immigrati che sono venuti a cercare fortuna nel corso dei secoli.

Prima però un rapido pranzetto in un ristorante che ci era stato consigliato ieri dalla guida del museo delle music boxes, proprio davanti all'entrata del museo. Scegliamo una zuppa di pesce agrodolce e due enormi gamberoni leggermente piccanti. Le possibilità di ristorazione a Singapore si confermano infinite, si mangia quasi sempre benissimo e si spende quasi sempre poco.

Dopo la zuppa, mentre aspettiamo che siano pronti i gamberi, notiamo un piccolo museo della ceramica affianco al ristorante. Anzi, fa parte del ristorante, stessi proprietari. Strana combinazione, ma ci alziamo a dare un'occhiata. Ci sono maioliche antiche di molti paesi, specialmente giapponesi, belghe e inglesi. Stranamente mancano quelle italiane e olandesi.

Il proprietario dice che è il suo hobby, quando viaggia per il mondo compra maioliche e poi le rivende qui a Singapore dove sono una vera rarità. Ingegnoso.

Serata al MBS, vediamo lo spettacolo suoni e luci alle 8. C'è molta gente, peccato per un gruppo di russi maleducati che fanno chiasso, rovinano un po’ l'atmosfera. 

Cena per un tradizionalissimo "black crab" ad uno dei tanti ristoranti sul lungofiume a Clark Quay: 1,5 kg di crostaceo per 98 dollari. Un cartello avverte che non è educato chiedere il peso delle signore, ma è necessario chiedere il peso dei granchi quando si ordina, per evitare sorprese al momento del conto!

Buffo finale. È quasi mezzanotte, stanno per chiudere. Arriva una coppia asiatica, forse malese non sono sicuro, e chiedono di essere serviti nonostante l'ora tarda. Lui in T-shirt, quasi trasandato, lei con un grazioso vestitino rosso, chiaramente in ghingheri per la serata romantica, mentre lui quasi pare pronto per andare a giocare a pallone. La cameriera esita, hanno già cominciato a pulire i tavoli e ammucchiare le sedie. Poi parla con il capo e annuisce, gli porta due menù e gli lascia qualche minuto per decidere l'ordine. Quando torna il maschione della coppia (molto corpulento, mentre lei è una mingherlina quasi fragile) ordina due ciotole di riso. Ue ciotole di riso! E basta.

La cameriera è visibilmente delusa ma dopo un paio di minuti torna con le ciotole e le mette sul tavolo, e intanto allunga il conto all'imponente ragazzotto. Passano i minuti, noi abiamo finito il granchione nero e ce ne stiamo per andare, la cameriera torna per ricevere il pagamento dell'omone ma lui, con gran faccia tosta, chiede di poter restare ancora al tavolo! Ristorante chiuso, sei arrivato tardi, ordini una ciotola di riso in bianco e vuoi restare con la pupa a chiacchierare davanti alle luci si Singapore fino all'alba?!?

Singapore music box museum and cheapest Michelin star restaurant in the world

The highlight of the morning is the Singapore museum of music boxes. It is the property of a Japanese collector who somehow decided to open this exhibition to the public here in Singapore three years ago.

It contains about 45 pieces, mostly Swiss machines but also German and American ones.

Our guide is a part time employee, an elderly man, maybe about 70 years old, who gives a private tour for two of us. He loves the boxes, knows everything, and treats them, literally, with white gloves. He knows in great details the inner workings of each machine and his meticulousness and enthusiasm for this technology is apparent at every step of the presentation. He plays several of the instruments for us as well.

The ticket is 12 very well-spent dollars.

He also recommends a bigger museum that apparently the same Japanese collector opened in Shanghai. It does sound strange that a Japanese would open a museum in China and one in Singapore, instead of Japan, I will have to research this.

Dinner is with CK, my classmate at MIT. This time he takes us to Hawker Chan, the cheapest Michelin star restaurant in the world, 3.6 SGD for rice chicken, their signature dish, but more for veggies.

After we order and sit down they close the restaurant, it is not yet 9 in the evening but they said they ran out of food. Victims of their own success. I am very grateful to CK for having taken us there, of course, he is always generous when we meet in Singapore. 

He is a remarkable man. His grandparents immigrated from China, they were farmers. he studied hard, went to university and became a researcher in the engineering department. He then won a scholarship to get his master's degree at MIT, where we met, and returned to a brilliant career in Singapore, crowned with his appointment to head the engineering school at the National University.

But the rice chicken was good, not great, I am not sure it was worth a Michelin star. And I have eaten at quite a few multi-starred venues over the years.

As we walk back to our hotel after dinner we noticed lots of workers getting the lights and lanterns ready for the upcoming Chinese mid-Autumn festival. Lifang talks to some of them and we find out they are temporary workers, mostly from Sichuan province, who come for a few months to make some money and then go home.

Apparently many Chinese come here for work on a tourist visa, they do not have a work permit but the government leaves them alone as long as they don't stir up trouble.

Japanese dinner

The most memorable thing from this easy day of work in my hotel (it was mostly raining) is dinner at YAKINIQUEST, a Japanese restaurant on Clarck's Quai that specializes in wagyu beef from Japan.

Two floors: upstairs it is totally empty today, for now at least. I choose to stay downstairs, with the fridge of beef in good view and I am the only patron anyway but at least there are staff to see and talk to.

We are welcomed by a sweet Philipino girl who speaks with a very low voice but works fast and efficiently to set up my table.

The boss tells me he receives about 400-500 kg of meat every month from southern Japan.

He nods repeatedly with conviction: it is true that some farmers massage and give beer to cows to make them relax and eat more and produce better beef.

The sequence went from raw to grilled to marinated and ended up with ice cream. Dessert was a Japanese curry, oddly enough if you are not Japanese.

Ancora a Singapore

Rieccomi a Singapore. Non mi ricordo più quante volte ci sono venuto, ma son passati sette anni dalla prima volta, nel 2011. Non posso certo dire di sentirmi a casa, però mi sento decisamente a mio agio. Come non mi capita in tanti posti dove pure amo andare e passare del tempo. Sarà la pulizia, la sicurezza, la cucina. 

Forse, semplicemente, vorrei sentirmi a casa qui, ci verrei a vivere domani se riuscissi ad organizzarmi la vita in quel senso. So che Lifang sarebbe d'accordo. Vicino alla famiglia in Cina, vicino a centomila posti dove andare a fare immersioni. Ottimi servizi, rispetto, educazione. Il clima perennemente caldo umido senza stagioni? Il paradiso non esiste, ma al clima mi abituo facilmente, ogni volta.

Oggi abbiamo un po’ di jet lag, ce la prendiamo comoda in piscina. La sera quattro passi a Chinatown, sempre piacevole soprattutto sul tardi quando sciamano i turisti. Che pure che male avranno mai fatto i turisti? I turisti in genere cercano di evitare i turisti. È così che li riconosci. Quando uno dice "io non sono un turista, sono un viaggiatore!", ecco avete trovato un turista. E io che sono? Un viaggiatore naturalmente, son qui sulla via dell'Indonesia e della Cina per andare a trovare la famiglia. Non sono un turista!

Lingue di anatra alla sichuanese

A cena in un ristorante di cucina Sichuan, piccante. Ordino lingue di anatra. Sono particolari perché hanno un osso all'interno! Il che facilita il compito dell'anatra quando deve acchiappare un pesce e trattenerlo nel becco fino ad ingoiarlo intero. Contorno di peperoni verdi e salsa piccante (naturalmente!) di peperoncino del Sichuan.

Book review: The Judgement of Paris (2005) by G. Teber, *****

Synopsis

The Judgement of Paris was a blind tasting that pitched American wines from California against French reds from Bordeaux and whites from Burgundy. The name is a play on the "Judgement of Paris" in Greek mythology.

The author was the only reporter present at the mythic Paris Tasting of 1976—a blind tasting where a panel of esteemed French judges chose upstart California wines over France’s best—for the first time introduces the eccentric American winemakers and records the tremendous aftershocks of this historic event that changed forever the world of wine.

The Paris Tasting of 1976 will forever be remembered as the landmark event that transformed the wine industry. At this legendary contest—a blind tasting—a panel of top French wine experts shocked the industry by choosing unknown California wines over France’s best.

George M. Taber, the only reporter present, recounts this seminal contest and its far-reaching effects, focusing on three gifted unknowns behind the winning wines: a college lecturer, a real estate lawyer, and a Yugoslavian immigrant. With unique access to the main players and a contagious passion for his subject, Taber renders this historic event and its tremendous aftershocks—repositioning the industry and sparking a golden age for viticulture across the globe. With an eclectic cast of characters and magnificent settings, Judgment of Paris is an illuminating tale and a story of the entrepreneurial spirit of the new world conquering the old.

Review

The definitive book on this historical event. French wine had been the uncontested world leader until that day, and maybe continued to be the leader, overall, but it was now hotly contested!

Spurrier put Bordeaux vs similar blend Californians, and Burgundy vs Californian Chardonnays. It was initially intended to be a tasting to introduce Californian wines to sceptical French experts, but once everyone was around the table Spurrier told them the real plan: a challenge.

The test was not scientifically exact: more American wines (6) than French wines (4) were included in the sample. And yet, take the whites: every single French judge scored an American chard first.

Another charge was that French wines were too young and would give their best later on in life. But several rematches years later saw the Americans prevail again.

A very detailed book about a pivotal point in wine history.

See my review about the film "Bottle Shock" about the same story which I reviewed in this blog.

London Naked Bike Ride

Today our street saw the start of the London Naked Bike Ride, part of the World Naked Bike Ride.

People all over the world ride their bikes to draw attention to different issues, from the environment to personal freedom. I asked a few of the participants why they were doing it and the most common answer was that it was a fun thing to do.

Riders of all ages, genders, ethnic background share a day on their bikes around London.

As the London organizers put it themselves: The World Naked Bike Ride is a peaceful protest that intends to get its messages across by generating public interest. We like other road users and spectators to be pleasantly surprised and take notice. We do not behave badly!

Personally I think it is a great idea. No reason to hide a human body.

Nude bicycle riders in London

 

Today traditional annual nude bike rider tour of London, starting from just next to my home at County Hall.

Guernsey and its Little Chapel

Island with a population of 63,000 people. In 1215 King John promised a special charter, the locals would not have to pay taxes to London or obey Westminster laws as long as they recognized the Queen as their sovereign in her capacity as "Duke" (not Duchess) of Normandy.  Apparently Queen Victoria loved it and came to visit no less than five times.

Today it is not part of the EU though it applies all standards to such things as food. Mints its own coins which are on par with the UK pound, but they are not accepted outside the island. If you get sick, good luck because neither NHS nor European Health Insurance Card are accepted here.

Funny to think about it now but French official language until 1920s. The switch began in the 1880s with English newspapers becoming more  and more popular. Lawyers must study French even today because of old laws in French. French language killed off in WWII when kids went to England.

It was occupied by Germany but Churchill did not attempt to retake it until the end of the war.

The property market has two separate tiers: a) a local market only for residents average 400k and b) an open market property for all but only 170 houses, very expensive 1.5mill at least. 

An honor system for selling milk cheese and veggies produced by private people, no license just pick up and leave money in a jar.

In the past privateers, pirates allowed with the letter of the mark by king if they pay 60pc of their loot to him, and pirates from here caught Spanish Dutch and French ships. Today, our guide says, the main industry is banking , a sort of modern piracy ! Then tourism ...

Interesting little music box in some shop we visited on the island.

Visit to Little Chapel, the smallest inthe world, they say. Here is the description of Little Chapel from the Visitguernsey website:

The Little Chapel was a work of art and labor of love built by Brother Déodat, who started work in March 1914. His plan was to create a miniature version of the famous grotto and basilica at Lourdes in France. The version you see today is actually the third version.

The first, measuring a tiny 9 feet long by 4.5 feet wide, was criticized, so Brother Deodat spent the following night demolishing the building. He soon set to work again and, in July 1914, the grotto was completed and officially blessed. This survived until September 1923; Brother Deodat demolished it in that month because the Bishop of Portsmouth had not been able to fit through the doorway.

He soon set about the construction of a third chapel - which we see today. The building operation proved laborious, collecting pebbles and broken china to decorate the shrine. Then suddenly the Little Chapel became famous, thanks to an illustrated article in the Daily Mirror. Presents poured in from around the world and Islanders brought colored china to Les Vauxbelets with the Lieutenant-Governor offering remarkable mother-of-pearl.

In 1939 Brother Deodat returned to France because of ill health. After his departure, the care of the Little Chapel was entrusted to Brother Cephas, who continued to decorate the building until his retirement in 1965. In 1977, a committee was established to restore the chapel and today it falls under the care of The Little Chapel Foundation.

There is no charge to enter the Chapel as it relies totally on public donations.






Tribute to the crew in kitchens and restaurants at the end of the cruise!

Smallest house in Britain, Conwy, Wales

Today I visited the smallest house in Britain. It was a real house, with someone living in it until it became a museum. 

The last occupant was, ironically, a very tall man!

And to finish a walk on the "dancing bridge"

The smallest house was more interesting than  Conwy castle, a dilapidated construction that seems rather neglected. The most interesting piece of information we received from our guide was that Wales hosts just 3 million people but 12 million sheep.

Road signs are in English and Cymry, a Celtic language that was wiped out by the English and now spoken by very few people.

A little up the road to the west we visited Conwy Castle.

Belfast and Giants’ Causeway

As we disembark we see piles of coal at the harbor, they tell us it is still extensively used for home heating! We have a guide who is obviously a Catholic nationalist, here is a few points from his explanations during the day.

Now Northern Ireland is trying to revive the shipbuilding industry concentrating on repairs, 800 workers, used to have more than 25000. The Titanic, of course, was built here. Biggest exports from Northern Ireland are farm products, lamb cheese, and machinery.

Belfast now has 500,000+ inhabitants, 10th largest city in the in the UK. In 1888 queen Victoria gave Belfast city status.

Giant causeway, since 1996 UNESCO World Heritage Site, the only one in NI. It was formed 50 million years ago by volcanic eruptions and is made up of about 40,000 stones.

According to mythology a giant from Scotland and one from Ireland were fighting. The Scottish giant bigger Irish ran back and wife.

The Vikings ruled here from the 9th to 11th century, then Anglo Saxons in 12th , build castles. Later English and Scottish domination take best land, Irish discriminated against.

1588 shipwrecks of Armada, uncharted waters on West coast of Ireland

1845 to 1852 famine 1 million died, another million migration to America
Catholics persecuted, Gaelic language prohibited during protestant reformation

Why the UK keep North Ireland after Irish independence in 1922:

- strategic reason: feel vulnerable to attack from Atlantic
- economic: 6 counties in ni richest, textile shipbuilding. At partition Northern Ireland had 80% of the island's gdp, today 9%.
- just over 50% in Ulster wanted to remain in the UK.

Unionists wanted NI to be a "protestant priority" land. In the late 1960s lots of catholic uprising, they were inspired by the American Civil rights movement, discrimination against Catholics similar to that against blacks in the USA
even segregation, created enclaves, separated by so-called peace walls still visible.

The army was sent in. In 1971 cases of internment of Catholics without trial
powers to army directed against Catholics, up to 5 years in jail without charge.

Demonstrations in Derry but the UK deployed parachute regiments
barricaded and 28 civilian shot 14 dead on bloody Sunday 1972

Belfast very divided city, conflict until 1994 the start negotiating. Good Friday agreement in 1998. But still divided, built more "peace walls" after the Good Friday agreement.

In many ways a backward country, everyone got the right to vote in local elections 1973, before that one had to be a  landowner!

Giant's Causeway at Cobh, Northern Ireland

Stop at the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland's only Unesco WHS. Rainy day but fun to see this unusual site and waves crashing on the shore!

Killybegs, Ireland

Biggest hand-operated loom in the world made with Canadian pine wood. The lady said she can do 1000 knots per hour!

These carpets are in Irish embassies around the world and other major public places.

At a local pub, some musicians and crew singers from our ship fraternize.

The town sports a small "cathedral" and lots of fishing boats. A quiet walk under the warm drizzle.

Isle of Skye

Some consider it the most romantic island of Scotland, and maybe it is, but kind of windy and cold for that purpose today.

We take a leisurely tour of the perimeter and soak in the landscape.

Peat cutting was a major industry for centuries, was then abandoned as uneconomical but it's been resurrected by demand of peat for whisky.

The tomb of Alexander McQueen is a highlight, the fashion genius rests here.



Royal Dinner for the wedding of Harry and Meghan



Evening "Royal" ball on our chip Queen Victoria :)

Stirling Castle, Scotland

Bits and pieces from our visit to Stirling Castle in Scotland.

Lucky to get (like every day!) forward seats in our bus. They are reserved for disabled tourists but there are never any and we board last so they are available! Pleasant ride to Greenock, the name means "sunny place" Forty-five thousand people, the economy developed on sugar from the Caribbean. This thanks to the 1707 union treaty, grow by trading with British colonies in America avoid French and Spanish pirates further south. 

James Watt from here Britain's oldest dry docks, now build submarine for Australia. Only 2.5% of the people now speak Gaelic.  Scotland issues its own own banknote GBP but sometimes it is not accepted abroad

We hear a story about the local kelpie, a horse/human figure that haunts the lakes of Scotland...

In the evening chat with Axel, our waiter from the Philippines. She's been on this ship for 2 years, before that 9 years on Queen Mary 2, that was her home. Once she had a serious problem with one eye lost sight. Cunard paid all treatment for two years during which he could not work. then took her back on Queen Victoria.

 

Whisky Museum in Dublin, Ireland

What better way to spend a rainy day in Dublin than in the whisky museum?

Notes from a guided tour.

Uisce is the Irish word for water
beatha means of life

book of Kel 1405 first record of the word whiskey, it was then made by monks.

Was the original purpose communion, instead of wine?

Used as perfume, originally from Iran came with with moors to Spain

must be aged at least 3 years by law

Angel share lost to evaporation is about 20% per year, therefore old whiskey expensive: you pay for lost whiskey!

the more you lose to angels the faster whiskey ages

Shibeen illegal distillery in Ireland

Pogee? unaged whisky

malting, germinating by soaking in warm water 3 days, starch changes into sugar

Stop the process by drying with hot air or burning peat to make smoky flavor get grist.

Yeast to transform grist to alcohol, about 12pc beer is the result

Whiskey is distilled beer in a nutshell

In Ireland cìit is allowed to make whiskey at home but not sell or even give away because fear of methanol.

... and also because of tax revenues suffered!

There 8192 illegal stills in Ireland in 1834 , more than ten times more than in Scotland

Triple distillation in Ireland makes for smoother alcohol.

Stills made of copper

Add sulfites as in wine to stabilize

Toasting barrels just 20 seconds or so to get flavor caramel and vanilla from America oak barrels, only use barrels once.

Also continuous still, can get as much alcohol in one week as normal in nine months. Started in 1937 with continuous stills.

Learned to blend now 18 stills up from only 2 before they turned to continuous, more to open soon

no spitting in whisky tasting! must get ending with swallowing
can dilute however, only reason to swirl is to look fancy! no use...

Tasting today:

1. glendalough single grain see photo, double barrel
Smooth

2. powers gold label
malted and raw barley together
started because maltée barley was taxed more traditional
aged in bourbon barrels only
round long

3.the Irishman power reserve
70 pc single malt
spicy

4. Tullamore 12 yo
youngest whisky in bottle is 12yo.
60pc single grain 20pc single malt
smoothness because sulfites lose burn over time.

Just next  to the whiskey museum is the famous Peterson pipe shop, I cannot not go in, and after a good chat with the salespeople who give me a good discount I end up buying two pipes to add to my collection.

End the day with a walk around town looking at some typical architecture.

Cork, Ireland

Took some time to get ashore as they had to check Lifang's passport. As a UK resident and married to an EU national she does not need, and does not have, a Schengen visa, which the cruise staff should know... So we had to wait for a chubby Irish official to board the ship and check the documents of all non-EU passengers and she, of course, smiled and said all is OK and we can go ashore...

Cork is the 2nd largest natural harbor in the world after Sydney, it has a huge 5m tide which requires skill to operate in. The river is navigable 12 miles up to the city of Cork. It was a poor town for a long time, lots of emigrants going from here to the USA.

Now it is doing very well. Ford established its first factory outside the USA here, but now it is Apple Computers which is the largest employer.

20,000 students at university and 25 million euro golf course bought by Chinese investors!

Only 15pc of population speak Irish as main language but all must study in school

Cork means marsh in Gaelic

Main road called Patrick, was a canal, now lamp posts like ship masts

Lots of billboards in every street for and against the upcoming abortion referendum

Interesting fish at a local market!

Start of a new cruise on Queen Victoria

Again on a Cunard ship. As the saying goes, there are mostly newly weds or nearly deads. More of the latter this time, though we definitely belong to the former category.

It is drizzling and quite cold for May at about 10 degrees, hopefully it will change but this is a cruise of the British Isles after all, not the Caribbean isles.

Chat with our Polish maître D, Rafael talk we discuss how Poland has changed and my upcoming book on cold War Poland when I spent several months there.

We are lucky, we get to sit by ourselves at a large and comfortable table. On a cruise it is the safest option, better than being stuck with incompatible diners, but one misses the chance to meet now interesting people. As we did last time, when we made the acquaintance of Peter and Elisabeth. We are still in touch and plan to cruise together again soon.

Film review: Youth (2017) by Feng Xiaogang, *****

Synopsis

When Xiaoping joins the military, delicate dreams are dashed by the events of a China undergoing revolution. The devastating Sino-Vietnamese war crashes into 1970s China, changing the lives of the Army's young new recruits forever.

In this epic spanning several decades, Youth shows Comrades of the People's Liberation Army fight amongst themselves as much as on the battlefield – and cause as much damage as the war that tore their lives apart.


Review

Incredibly passionate and captivating historical film about life in China during the huge transformations that took place after Mao's death. A love story starts during the excesses of the cultural revolution with the "great helmsman" still in power, and the trauma of the war against Vietnam in 1979. After that, rapid reforms make many Chinese rich, and many officials corrupt, but the human story of the protagonists carries through the ages. One man's good deeds are taken for granted and not appreciated any more.

The film was supposed to be released just before the 2017 party congress but it was held up until after the congress itself for some reason. Maybe because it contains thinly veiled criticism of Mao and also raises many questions about the new system of the country.

A strongly recommended film about how China became what it is today.

See other film on China reviewed in this blog.

Train back to Hong Kong and flights to Europe

Morning at home, final packing and tidying up before leaving Guiyang.As usual we have a couple of suitcases full of goodies, mostly food from family farm in Yanjia.

Brunch with family, bamboo shoots pork, water chestnut soup. And fish: a big black from the pond on our terrace! It is quite common for people to keep gold fish and live fish for eating together, in the same pond!

A neighbor gracefully drives us to Chenzhou station in his brand new Honda, which he points out costs twice as much in China as in Japan. Honda has factory here but it is supposed to be producing for export only, so he is not sure where his car, or parts of it, comes from.

He is a banker and has a good life. Happy with the way things are going in China but he says communism can never work. China is still officially pursuing communism but in practice it is successful because it is capitalist.

Chenzhou station is crowded beyond imagination, never seen it so full of people like an egg. And it must have been worse a couple of weeks ago for Chinese New Year's. They estimated that about 600 million people travel across the country to go home, the largest annual migration in the history of the world. No wonder the transportation system is busy.

Can't move around no chance to buy my favorite duck neck snacks from Shenhua. Bags through x-rays, but they don't check any of them.

people are allowed onto platforms in waves as each trains homes in on the station. There is one train every 8 to 10 minutes going either north toward Wuhan and Beijing or south to Guangzhou.

Fast train (over 300kmh) is slightly delayed but no problem we have a good buffer before our flight from Changsha. Once underway, the delay increases somewhat because one passenger sets off the smoke alarm. The driver slows down and two security guards walk up and down the train to catch the smoker. I am not sure what they will do to him or her but after about 10 minutes we resume our normal speed.

At Changsha station an avalanche of people moves to catch a bus or a taxi, or a maglev shuttle to the airport. We choose the bus as there is less to walk and we have large heavy suitcases full of Hunan food!

Just before boarding bus another x-ray machine for our bags, again no one cares to check .

The bus is an old and cranky machine from the bad old times, and a TV screen blasts off some kind of funny talk show at ear-piercing volume. It must be funny because Lifang laughs all the time.

At the airport we have to wait a while to check in but there is no place to sit down as people take up seats with bags, or lie down across three seats and think it is normal. We do not feel like starting an argument and just relax on our suitcases.

After check in we go through yet another x-ray machine no one pays any attention to and then passport control. Our flight to Hong Kong is in the same terminal area as international flights (and flights to Macau and Taiwan). Hong Kong is still a "special" administrative region, with its own borders, police, currency, laws etc. It is supposed to remain so at least until 2047 according to the treaty signed with the UK when the last remnant of the British empire was returned to its motherland.

After which we have another (you guess?) x-ray machine control! This time the do look very carefully and stop me. A guard asks if I am carrying a knife. I replied of course I was not. He asked me to open my trolley and take pretty much everything out. Of course there was no knife but the spine of a box looked like one on their screen. OK I can go.

The lounge of Changsha airport is nothing spectacular, and in fact they have reduced both its size and its offering since my last visit. Just some snacks and non-alcoholic drinks.

Uneventful flight to Hong Kong, where we spend a pleasant hour or so in the Qantas lounge while waiting to connect to our British Airways flight to Brussels. We walk to the gate quite early to board with the first batch of passengers and enjoy a drink or two before take-off.

Here, again, we run into the less than fully prepared staff of British Airways. We're flying to London and connect directly onward to Brussels. They won't let my Chinese wife board the plane because she does not have a Schengen visa. The rule says that she does not need one, because she is a resident of the UK and is with me, her husband, and an EU citizen. She would need one if she were traveling alone (though they usually let her through) but not in my company. It is a rather complicated rule, but it should not be beyond the grasp of people who check passport for a living.

I love a united Europe but they could really make an effort to simplify the rules back there in Brussels. Or just allow anyone who legally lives in Europe to move anywhere else in Europe, whatever the passport. but you would think the employees of a major international airline which fly planeloads of people from every corner of the world would familiarize themselves with it. No, they did not. For the third time in a little over a year we are held for some 30 minutes while the staff makes phone calls and scrambles to read manuals. I googled the relevant EU rule on the internet in less than 10 seconds and showed it to them, and finally we were allowed on board.

One more trip to Asia is over, though every time it feels less and less like a trip and more of a home coming. A long night on our BA flight and we'll be in Europe. BA is on a downhill slope when it comes to quality. Service on the plane, while friendly, is less meticulous and attentive than it used to be.

Getting ready to leave Guiyang

Easy day at home, mostly packing and enjoying a late lunch with family. Today we ate fish, but only later I realized two of the black fish that were cooked with spring onion, garlic and chili were from the pond we have in our terrace. I like the idea: you can have pet fish in a tank, but at some point you eat them. The cycle of life continues.

Festival delle lanterne a Guiyang e ristorante Miao

Mattinata in piazza accanto alla zona pedonale. Molta gente a far festa, somprattutto anziani, ma sappiamo che in questa città ci sono soprattutto anziani e bambini. I giovani sono nelle grandi città a far soldi. Molti sono venuti qui durante le feste del capodanno che si concludono oggi, ma la stragrande maggioranza sono già ripartiti.

Per la strada, ad un certo punto, noto una lunga fila di cartelli bianchi, con scritture molto fitte che esortano a compiere buone azioni: studiare, aiutare gli anziani ecc. Lo trovo da una parte un po’ paternalistico, ma dall'altra anche socialmene utile. Sarebbe utile dappertutto, anche in Italia. Forse lo è soprattutto in Cina, dove il senso di solidarietà sociale non è molto sviluppato: c'è la famiglia e qualche amico, il resto non conta. Generalizzo naturalmente, ma mi è capitato molto spesso di sentire e vedere un attaccamento ai propri cari, soprattutto agli anziani, ed un'indifferenza per tutti gli altri.

Andiamo in un negozio a provare qualche vestito da matrimonio. Io e mia moglie ci siamo già sposati quattro volte (senza divorziarci tra l'uno e l'altro matrimonio) e vorremmo fare la quinta volta, magari in Italia o in Belgio dove abbiamo la maggior parte degli amici.

Mi provo un bel vestito rosso, mi sta bene. Ma è un po’ caro, mia moglie mi dice lo compreremo altrove. Hanno anche un bel cappello tradizionale cinese, di quelli con il codino che si vedono nei film della dinastia Qing. Ma secondo mia moglie non vanno più di moda, oggi i cinesi si sposano con un bel cappello occidentale a tese larghe. Io invece lo voglio proprio perché non è di moda. Del resto ci siamo sposati in Cina due anni fa vestiti all'occidentale, perché non dovremmo sposarci in occidente vestiti alla cinese? Penso la discussione si protrarrà nel tempo ed ho già un vago presagio di come andrà a finire. Ma ci provo.

Il negozio vende anche lenzuola da sposi, rigorosamente rosse, molto soffici, alcune di seta. Costano sui 6000 Rmb, tre mesi di stipendio medio qui! Mi piace il fatto che abbiano tutte quattro paia di federe per cuscini. Otto cuscini per letto, tutti rigorosamente rossi. Ma le lenzuola le abbiamo già, ce le hanno regalate i miei suoceri due anni fa quando ci siamo sposati per la seconda volta, a Sanya. Anche se con un solo paio di federe per cuscini.

Riconsegnati i vestiti andiamo a comprare un po’ di bevande alcoliche. Qui è consentito, anzi è cosa normale e molto comune, comprare vino o distillati al supermercato e portarli al ristorante, senza pagare alcun diritto di "corkerage".

Sulla strada ci imbattiamo in un pizzettaro. Un bugigattolo che sforna pizze all'apparenza molto simili a quelle che troviamo in Italia nelle pizzerie al taglio o da asporto.

Al supermercato sotto casa ci sono soprattutto vini cinesi, di prezzo variabile ma comunque non economici, e in qualche caso decisamente cari, fino all'equivalente di oltre 100 euro. Poi alcuni vini francesi totalmente sconosciuti, qualcosa dal Cile e praticamente null'altro. L'anno scorso ce n'erano anche di italiani ma non li vedo più. Ogni volta che torno ci sono sempre meno bottiglie, e cibarie, dall'estero.

Forse la clientela borghese di Guiyang non è molto curiosa a tavola. Compriamo un paio di bottiglie di vino cinese, vedremo.

Per stasera un amico ha affittato una stanza in un ristorante al secondo piano di un palazzo. Cosa normale qui per i ristoranti trovarsi non al piano terra, accessibili dalla strada, ma ai piani superiori. (Invece medici e dentisti spesso hanno lo studio al piano terra con porta che dà direttamente sulla strada.)

Il ristorante è specializzato nella cucina della minoranza dei Miao. O almeno lo era, adesso fanno di tutto. Ce ne sono molti intorno a Hunan adesso, ma questo è nuovo a Guiyang. I Miao sono una delle minoranze più conosciute della Cina e vivono in gruppi sparsi in molte province, ma soprattutto in una decina. L’Hunan ha il secondo gruppo più numeroso, circa 1,7 milioni di persone, ovvero quasi il 3% della popolazione della provincia. Solo l’adiacente provincia di Guizhou ne ha di più. Ne avevamo visti molti nell’Hunan occidentale due anni fa, questa è la prima volta qui a Guiyang. Sono lieto di vedere che la ricchezza delle minoranze sembra essere ancora una volta riconosciuta come una risorsa del Paese, almeno per far soldi, basta che non mettano in discussione di essere “cinesi”.

Il cibo viene servito nel solito tavolo girevole "lazy Susan" ed è piuttosto vario, ricco e, naturalmente, piccante! La gente mangia, beve, ride e persino fuma sigarette, tutto in una volta. La maggior parte degli uomini beve molto. Liquore di riso cinese. Bevono un bicchierino alla volta e per dimostrare il loro punto ogni volta girano il bicchiere vuoto nell'altro in modo che tutti possano vedere all'interno che è vuoto. A volte lo capovolgono per mostrare che non è rimasta una goccia. Ne bevo due o tre, poi mi fermo. Non mi piacciono questo tipo di competizione, che comunque non potrei mai vincere. Sorprendentemente, nessuno si ubriaca e alla fine della serata torneranno tutti a casa (o anche in macchina) senza alcun problema. Pensavo che i russi e gli ucraini fossero i più accaniti bevitori, o forse i polacchi, ma gli hunanesi potevano affrontare qualsiasi europeo dell'est!

Quattro signore in costume Miao fanno il giro del ristorante e visitano ognuno dei tavoli riservati e versano bevanda dolciastra e leggermente alcolica in una caraffa e da lì in una tazza posizionata sulle labbra dell’ospite d’onore, che deve berla tutta su! Al nostro tavolo, ovviamente, sono io! In realtà mi piace la bevanda, anche se non è così facile ingoiare tutto ciò che serve per avere un bell'aspetto, ma alla fine riesco a farlo ed evito l'imbarazzo!

Nel frattempo i bambini delle famiglie presenti giocano intorno al ristorante. Sono pieni di energia e non sembrano preoccuparsi che si stia facendo tardi.

Sulla via del ritorno a casa, alla fine del pasto, i bambini sono saltati su un palco di strada che è stato allestito per un festival jazz che inizia domani. Peccato che perderemo il festival perché dobbiamo partire, ma è divertente vedere i bambini ballare stasera! 

Ed è bello vedere il jazz mettere radici in Cina, non è stato uno dei preferiti nel paese per ora, anche se sempre più disponibile nelle grandi città. Immagino, ma non ne sono sicuro, che un vantaggio per il jazz sia che di solito non è politicamente controverso come altri generi e quindi non è soggetto a nessun tipo di censura o restrizione. (La cantante islandese Björk è stata bandita dalla Cina quando ha menzionato il Tibet in una delle sue apparizioni.)

Mentre li teniamo d'occhio, un amico ci ha comprato una bibita fresca, una specie di frappè con perline di pasta di alcuni fagioli. Abbastanza nuovo per me ma rinfrescante e gustoso, ottimo per concludere la serata!

Il vino cinese che abbiamo comprato è deludente, pagato in media sui 250 Rmb (20 euro circa) e non li valgono affatto.

Visita ad antichi villaggi vicino Guiyang

Visita al villaggio di Yang Shan, a 20 minuti di auto da casa ma ci metiamo un'ora a causa di lavori in corso che ci obbligano ad una lunga deviazione, che non è bene indicata da cartelli ma fortunatamente ci sono operai e poliziotti che ci indirizzano.

Vecchie case senza impianti idraulici, la maggior parte sono aperte si può entrar dentro a vedere come si vive in un villaggio cinese. Oggi rarità, anzi quasi museo, anche se nelle campagne la situazione migliora lentamente.

Mi attraggono soprattutto le tegole di argilla dei tetti spioventi, che oggi molti sostituiscono con tetti piatti perché sono più pratici per seccare frutta e verdura al sole.

Poi andiamo ad un altro villaggio, si chiama Xiao Bu, questo più vivo, la gente ci vive ancora. È stato dichiarato monumento nazionale, per preservare il retaggio della vecchia Cina. Chi ci vive inoltre può beneficiare deo turismo dei curiosi, magari giovani, nati e cresciuti nelle città con tutti i servizi, che non hanno mai visto un villaggio in vita loro.

Ad ora di pranzo ci imbattiamo in un grande gruppo che banchetta all'esterno di un ristorante. Mi sono avvicinato, curioso come sempre di fare qualche foto e magari stabilire un minimo di contatto. Tutti mi accolsero calorosamente, ridevano e scherzavano fra di loro ed io costituivo evidentemente un bonus speciale per la riuscita della festa e anche senza capire una parola era chiaro che ero il benvenuto. Intanto dalle cucine del ristorante arrivava il cibo. Tanto cibo.

Qualcuno mi offrì una costoletta di maiale, ce n'erano a centinaia in grandi piatti al centro di ciascun tavolo, come si usa in Cina. Calde e con una squisita cotenna croccante, anche se stavamo per andare a pranzo non avrei mai potuto rifiutare!

Poco dopo arrivò mia moglie e mi spiegò che si trattava di un funerale! Il figlio maggiore del deceduto portava un lungo velo sulla testa, che arrivava fino a terra dietro le sue spalle, e passava di tavolo in tavolo inginocchiandosi davanti ai commensali su un fascio di paglia che portava con sé. Gli invitati, parenti e amici immagino, lo consolavano e lo facevano rialzare.



Me ne andai a pancia piena e contento del fugace contatto. Anche perché dopo un po’ smisero di mangiare e si allinearono tutti in un lungo corteo funebre verso la montagna più vicina, dove avrebbero seppellito il defunto. Seppellire un morto in cinese si dice "portarlo alla montagna".

Mangiammo quindi nello stesso ristorante, ma all'interno. Io veramente ero sazio ma assaggiai comunque.

Nel pomeriggio andammo a visitare un enorme giardino botanico non distance, ma in questa stagione non c'erano molti fiori.

Per finire la giornata all'aperto visita ad una fattoria che coltiva fragole: possiamo coglierle noi stessi (fragole a marzo? ma sono protette in serre) e le troviamo molto saporite anche se care, 70 Rmb al chilo, quasi 10 euro !

Cena in un ristorante di Guiyang, vicino al Parco della Cultura, dove gli amici vicini di casa avevano prenotato una sala privata per il nostro gruppo, come spesso si fa qui. Prima però abbiamo comprato vino e distillati. Sono ovviamente molto più cari al ristorante che al supermercato, ma è permesso portarsi le proprie bottiglie senza pagare un corking charge come accade in altri paesi.