Month December 2005

Got my license!

GOT MY LICENSE!

Yesterday morning it was off to the Chinese drivers license office for my test. They handed me a 100 question test in English for God’s sake! Of course I only had a Chinese book to study, but what the hell. Anyway, I take this test with questions like…”When traveling in a primary car on a road unmarked by signs, you can….A. raise your speed to fit the road. B. lower your speed and watch for cows……..C. remain seated and alert. Hmmmm. what the hell do they want here?????? Let’s not forget showing a picture of a Chinese sign and I have 3 choices to know what it says!!! Somehow I managed to get an 83 on the test. I was feeling quite proud of myself until they informed me that I failed! I need a 90 or better to pass. I took the test again, and got a 95! Go figure. So now I am the proud owner of a Chinese drivers license. COOL!!!!
So I drove around a little, dodging horse carts, bicycles, people, dogs, motorcycles, cars, small animals and cows… all normal in the downtown section. You can imagine what happens outside of downtown! There are things being pulled, pushed, dragged and generally just lying around all over the place! Makes driving here a real eye opener! Pictures to follow later! Thats it for now………………..


Chinese driving license


CHINESE DRIVING LICENSE

First I had to go to the hospital and get a “medical check up”. So this morning I go there and see three doctors. The first one has me read an eye chart, but of course she could not understand my answers. This made it a confusing process. Not to mention I don’t read Chinese characters! But soon with paper and pen, I convinced her I can see.  Then off the check my muscles. This was accomplished by me simply making a fist and opening my hand. I also had to stand up from sitting in a chair. DUH! Now I passed this test. Last was a hearing test. I go into another office and a women says something to me in Chinese. I answer…. “What?”.  Ok done, I heard her talking so I passed this test. This medical check up set me back $1.50.  Now the real fun begins…….
This afternoon I go to the police station where I will take my written test. A week ago they gave me a book about 1″ thick containing all the driving rules. Naturally it is all in Chinese as they do not have another language available. So I look at the pics of the traffic signs and I assume I have these figured out ok. Nonetheless, now I will get a written test. And true to form this will also be written in Chinese. I cannot have another person transulate for me, so I suppose I will just pick A,B,C,or D and hope for the best. But assuming I pass this test,  I will then be able to drive here. I have to wait until after lucnch this afternoon (12:00-2:00) and take this test. Wish me luck,  I will keep you posted………………………

Christmas in Sanya


XMAS IN SANYA

Merry Christmas everyone! I enjoyed my holiday in the South China sea island of Hainan. This town is called Sanya and is considered the Hawaii of the far east. The weather here is in the 70’s and sunny. I did have a few days of cloudy skies, but it is still warm. The sea is cool but you can swim. Beautiful beaches and good food abounds.
I stayed at two different resorts. The Catus Resort and the Sanya Shanhaitian Hotel are 5 start resorts. There is a lot to see around the island, although I opted for a relaxed venue and enjoyed going to the beach and eating. I guess things are expensive for Chinese standards, but still reasonable considering. They just had the Miss World competition here on Dec 10th. All in all I think the Hawaii refrence is over rated, but still this is a very nice place to visit. Many things come form this island. They grow coffee, pepper (table), cocoa, coconuts, rubber seem to be the main exports from here.
Walking down the beach, I was confronted by a Chinese military dude with a big dog. He seemed nervous and excited as he told me to turn around and go back. Apparently this part of the beach was “military” and I was not welcome there. I later found out this was where the US fighter plane was damaged and forced to land last year by the mid air collision with a Chinese fighter plane.
You can see some of my pictures from here to get an idea of Sanya. THe Chinese love their fireworks and I was surprised to be able to buy 8″ shells to launch form the beach! They cost about $4.50 each. I just watched as a barrage of these shells were launched all night Christmas eve. I can’t believe you can play with this stuff.
The Chinese go on the beach wearing suits and ties. SOme actually wear bathing suits and swim, but most try to stay out of the sun and just walk around. It is funny to see them in suits and barefoot walking around.