Section head text.
- Since arriving, we’ve been sampling the various massages that are available– some are good, some not. The best so far was from back in Sai Kung (in Hong Kong). It was a Thai massage, and it was thorough and brutal. It showed me how much I’ve neglected my body recently, because everything she did to me resulted in agony. She found every “spot”, even some I didn’t know existed. The worst so far was in the large hotel in Hong Kong. It was a Swedish massage, and she barely touched my legs (very frustrating).
- But one of the more interesting of the experiences is in attempting to communicate. Many people in Hong Kong speak English, or even a few words. But in China, very few people do, and the signs don’t have English translations. So when we roll up to get a massage, confusion always ensues. First we have to find out what we’ll be paying for. Then once inside, we have to follow their directions. But (from our experiences) when the Chinese have something to communicate, they’re very polite and not forceful in making us understand; they’ll say the words in Chinese, and smile if we don’t understand without pursuing it further (and they won’t physically demonstrate, or use any sign language). Then any misunderstanding will linger, and they’ll work around it.
- In one of the massage parlors, there was a TV in the room. I was escorted in and the TV was turned on for me, like waiting-room entertainment. But I turned it off. When the massusse came into the room, she turned the TV back on. i asked if it could be off during the massage, and she obliged my request. But half way through the massage, she turned it back on and watched it while working on my legs– and it was one of the better leg massages I’ve received here! but before she turned on the TV, she grabbed her cell phone and spent about 5 minutes texting her friends, never neglecting her work. That’s real talent.
- I got a massage in a hotel spa. Part way through, I was shown a menu with a selection of teas and other drinks, and fruits. The title of this menu was, “Compulsory Beverage
- I went to get a haircut in the same hotel spa. It seemed expensive relative to local prices, but it was still cheap against the US dollar. I was escorted to a salon chair, where a cup of hot tea was presented and a TV in front of me was turned on. When my escort walked away, I turned the TV off. Looking around, I noticed that every hair-cutting station had its own TV directly in front of the chair, at knee height. When my prep-person arrived, she turned it on again, and I asked if it could remain off, and it was so. Then the pampering began. Some shampoo and a small amount of water were deposited on top of my head, and were methodically massaged into a lathery nest, with the rest of my hair still dry. Then the nest was spread and massaged into the rest of my scalp for several minutes. The work was so thorough, that this is the cleanest my hair has ever been, only to be cut off before I leave. But then came something unexpected, and a little disturbing. The thick lather that was developed on the side of my scalp was spread over my ears, and then my ear canals were violated by the delicate fingers of this very cute, unassuming woman whose name I didn’t know. My reaction generated laughter in both of us. The “hair cut” continued with an extensive rinse period, then back to the chair for a massage– scalp, face, neck, back, arms, hands. How this related to a hair cut, I did not understand. But I followed her lead. I was then escorted to another chair where the TV was turned on for me. Again, I requested it be turned off (after all, what can I watch? Chinese talk shows?). The cutting began! After an hour, my hair was cut, by scalp was clean, I was relaxed, and I was sent out to face the world like a brand new baby.
- The people in China seem very happy; I can’t say the same for the people of some eastern European nations. For instance, I was in Hungary last year, and there were no “good morning” greetings, no smiles, etc. The same goes for the Russian team here; they don’t smile, joke, or even say hello. But most of the Chinese (both riders and other people) make eye contact, smile, greet, socialize, and act pleasantly.
- The beds in China are rock hard.
- Large, round dinner tables have their chairs arranged as if the table were square.
- The other night at dinner, the goofy Christmas music continued, but the style was a bit different. There was an arrangement of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer that included a transitional phrase in the style of the Charleston. The Charleston!! The other songs used every musical cliche ever created since 1892– the kind that you’d find in a 70s variety show, or in the musical movies that came out just after the “talkies”. Alberto and I had an interesting discussion about it. I objected to the music, he didn’t. It went something like this:
Me: Do you think anyone here actually likes this stuff?
Alberto: Yo man, it doesn’t bother me.
Me: But the guy who arranged this music– what was he thinking? Did he think someone would like it?
Alberto: The guy who made this probably loves this s***. He made it and said, “This is beautiful, really f***ing beautiful”.
Me: There’s nothing new about these tricks. I’ll bet someone in France was executed in 1920 for trying to pass this off as an artistic work.
Alberto: Yeah, but that same guy is a hero in China today.
Then I turned to our Hong Kong rider, Simon, and asked him if people here like it. He paused to think about it and, with his head slightly atilt, answered, “I don’t believe anyone thinks about it”.