New Wheels

Right before I left for the USA this summer, my e-bike broke down on me. When I got back at the end of the summer, I took it down to a repairman who pronounced it dead. So I had to get a new e-bike, "e" being for "electric."

My very first motorbike was gas-powered, and I owned it from 1998 until 2007. It looked pretty ghetto by the time it died. This bike was red, and though not as modern in design as my new one, it was fairly similar to the one pictured here. Because it was gas-powered, it rode on the street with the cars, and required license plates and a driver's license.

My second motorbike was electric powered. It was gold...not the gaudy gold that comes out of a spray paint can, but the sophisticated gold that you would see on a car. It looked pretty nice up until I moved from Bedrock to Bamboo Forest. It got loaded onto the back of a moving truck, and when it arrived in the new city, it was banged up with the headlight hanging out. A friend repaired it with clear packing tape, which made it look really posh (sarcasm). Not desiring to be a diva, I drove it that way for four more years, but due to the injuries it sustained in the move, it had a shorter-than-expected life span.

Now I am on motorbike no. 3, a white, high-powered little machine. It pulls itself right out of the basement where it is stored (what I mean is, it goes uphill without being pushed, something that didn't happen with the previous bike). It can go fast, but I personally don't drive fast. The best part is the superior battery that will let me travel a whole lot further than I could travel before. So I am exploring parts of town that I could not get to previously!

And it locks with a remote control key fob. I no longer have to bend down to put a lock on the back wheel. I am really loving that. The older I get, the less fun it is to kneel on the pavement, ya know?

In the coldest part of winter, I'll still take taxis and the subway, because it is just too cold to ride bikes in the winter. But I'm loving it now!

The beginning of fall

The humidity has dropped, the temperatures have cooled, and fall is in the air. The trees haven't changed colors quite yet. It is just beautiful here in Bamboo Forest. I took some time today to enjoy it, and here are some of the pictures I took. 

Just beautiful

Wow, who would have ever guessed that the country that has some of the worst public restrooms in the world would evolve to a point where they also have some of the finest?!

Seen at a Starbucks in the Middle Kingdom. 

The kid needs a nap

Let's pretend for a minute that it is neither unsafe nor illegal to have more than one person on an e-bike. That aside, isn't this little kid cute? She just wants a little nap!

You may want to say a prayer for little kids like this who don't have a say in how they are cared for. I know this sweet little thing's parents can't afford a car and probably can't afford public transportation. Though doing the best they can, the danger still exists.

Don't see THIS everyday

Due to unimaginable crowds, I don't go out much on the weekends. But I did today. Wow, does stuff like this always happen on Saturdays?

Peaceful protests were going on in the streets and public areas around town. HUNDREDS of uniformed police hung around the periphery to make sure it stayed that way. I estimate that every policeman in town was called in for duty today. 

Middle-class young men (students maybe?) sporting protest t-shirts smirked as cameras flashed, held up signs, sang as they marched down streets, and received the well wishes of the mobs of Saturday shoppers. My adrenaline started pumping amidst all the excitement. Demonstrations are generally frowned upon in this country. Yet even the policemen looked lighthearted on this occasion. What was going on?

The sign I saw most clearly said "Japanese people, go away." And it specifically meant "go away from the Diaoyu Islands," the ownership of which is under hot dispute these days.

A sign at a Japanese noodle shop assured shoppers that their food comes from Hong Kong, not really from Japan. (Huh?!)

An appliance store sported a sign that announced that no Japanese products would be sold today. Man alive, you do not want to annoy the Chinese too much; they are very patriotic people.

Online, one witness estimated that there were 10,000 people in the downtown shopping area. I laughed when I heard that, because on almost any Saturday there are probably 9,500 people in the downtown area just hanging out and shopping. (That's the reason I don't go out much on weekends, remember?)

Contention between China and Japan has existed since the 1930s when Japan invaded and occupied parts of China. In 1937, in a six-week massacre in Nanjing, Japanese soldiers murdered 300,000 Chinese citizens, raped countless women, and burned the city. (Go here to read more about the atrocities.) 

I've heard that most Japanese don't know the Nanjing Massacre happened, as they are not taught about it in their history books. (Similarly, I've heard they don't know about the attack at Pearl Harbor, and tend to find out about it when they go on vacation to Hawaii.)

I was sorry to hear that protests got ugly today in a few cities where windows were broken and a Japanese-made car was flipped. I'm glad I am in a better place where things are peaceful. And I am truly glad to not be anywhere near the Middle East kind of riots! These are nothing like those. And I wish the people of both China and Japan peace and safety as this tussle ensues.