More free internet ..

Just came to check the mail.

For those that ask. I leave BKK on May 31 and I
believe I arrive Van just before I leave. I'm in Van
until June 7th and then I fly onto Regina.


Officially, I'm back to work on July 8th but I think
I'll pass on that. I've got 35 years of service in
already and it seems crazy to work when I don't need
the service. I checked with PSC and they don't care
whether I come back to work or not. They say it's
Revenue Canada that's the problem ... about not
fulfulling my defered salary commitments. I asked
them and they said they would restate my income back
to last year which I am not sure is a problem. In
fact it maybe an advantage. Anyways, I don't intend
to go back to work.

Guangzhou is a wonderful place if you like to shop.
I've spent days in the used computer market, looking
for old computer parts and laptops. Only found one or
two laptops that are new enough to buy so I didn't buy
but got yer second battery for the existing laptop for
20 bucks or so. Bought the new cellphone batteries,
bought yer basic software.... 1.50 (inflation).
Bluetooth headphones ... 20 bucks...canada maybe 50 or
60.... Noise cancelling ones Philips ... in the ear 30
bucks... (maybe 50 or 60)... Used DVD-RW for
laptop... half price. Also bought a 80 gb 7200 rpm
2.5 hard drive for under ten bucks, but I'm convince
it doesn't work. A new one would be at least 100
bucks. It was off some dude on the street. It was in
original ship packaging.

Everything is cheap here... except my hostel room.
Single .... costing me about 20 bucks but it's first
class. Like staying in any hotel in Canada. Air
con...super clean, etc., etc. That's the Guangzhou
Youth Hostel. Across the street in the number one
hotel in Guangzhou... the White Swan.

The food is super good here... and super cheap. A
rice crepe with beef or chicken is 50 cents and it's a
meal in itself. Takeaway rice with three topppings 80
cents. Bowl of soup . 50 cents. Beer's ... big
bottles ... 60 cents.

Parts of this city are super modern. All the big
brand names if you want to pay the price. One guy
told me this area is now the number one place to sell
Porsche cars. I should check, maybe because they are
cheap too!!!

The price of the induction stove top is about 150 in
Canada. 60 bucks in BKK. 32 in Hanoi and 20 bucks
here. Only problem is the one on the street is 220
volts and not 110.

I came over by train from Shenzhen, just out of HK.
It's new.. bullet train. Reached 181 Kmph and took
about an hour to do the 100 miles or so. The people
outside the window were watering the fields by bamboo
pole with two pails on the end. That's the 20 feet of
field left. Air is really dirty. On a clear day
maybe you can see a km or two.

Macau and Hong Kong are becoming even more Chinese
since the takeover. I think it relates to the
tourists now going to these places. Basically, it's
the new chinese. The ones with a little money. In
Macau, there is a bus from the Casinos to the border
and in the evening they were lined up to catch the bus
back to the border..... ten minutes or so. I'm afraid
English won't be the language of choice in these
towns.... it will be Mandarin.

They both use cantonese and I can almost understand
them. I need to stay longer and get someone to help
me a little bit. Ah, heck, I think, I'll just go
back to Bkk.

Out of here on Sunday. Back to HK, there for a couple
of days then Macau and back to BKK. I don't know why
I am going back to HK. I'm shopped out.

( Gerry - Guangzhou 04/05/07)