Xiamen by the Sea
This week I am working in a city called Xiamen (Pronounced Shaaaaman). It is located about half way up the coast of China between Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is a beautiful city, and prior to landing I didn't notice how much I was missing the smell of salt air, or proximity to the coast. You really can start to miss the smell of the ocean (or the smell of seafood) after a while so this trip has been a real treat.
Xiamen is beautiful. It is a city of about 3 million, in the city proper and a couple more working in the outskirts. The mountains run right down to the coast and frame an island which looks directly out to Taiwan. On the day I arrived, it was clear, and you had no problem seeing the island across the strait. The skies have been blue, and the air fresh, and I noticed how much a sea breeze and fewer factories helps with air quality.
Prior to coming to Xiamen, this past weekend, I also had the opportunity to play golf for the first time in China. I played with a few UPS customers, and several other Expats, in Dongguan. We played a fantastic course, and I personally enjoyed the personalized caddies and overall level of service. I also found it interesting that most all the caddies at this club were female. Each was assigned to a golfer, and I instinctively felt a deep sense of sadness for my caddy as I realized the pain I was about to inflict, and how long her day might seem.
Since some of you know my golf game, I practiced extensively in the hours prior to playing by hitting no less than 6 balls at the driving range. (I didn't want to miss lunch) This was a course where you could land a 747 on many fairways, so I was hoping it might be better suited to my game. Even though I had brought several dozen balls in anticipation of my normal ball contribution to local courses, I shockingly only lost 3. I was also assisted by the fact that after watching my first few shots, my caddy did not let me choose a club, but rather handed me one regardless of my preference. (By the end of the day, she would only hand me a pitching wedge or putter) The caddies did an amazing job in retrieving most that I would have previously thought impossible. They worked in teams combing the brush, water hazards, and other fairways in which I would frequently land. While I didn't pick up all the Chinese translation, by the end of the day, I'm pretty clear my caddy was expressing a desire that I never tough a golf club again. We did have a great time, and as it was a Captain's choice Tournament, my team actually won.
I will be in this area through Thursday, where I will then travel to Shenzhen to meet with a couple of my partners from the north at Shenzhen and Hong Kong's port operations.
I will touch base after next weekend. As I have not been invited back to play golf, I think we will travel and explore Macau. They tell me it is the Vegas of the East. "Daddy needs a new Set of Golf Clubs"...
Xiamen is beautiful. It is a city of about 3 million, in the city proper and a couple more working in the outskirts. The mountains run right down to the coast and frame an island which looks directly out to Taiwan. On the day I arrived, it was clear, and you had no problem seeing the island across the strait. The skies have been blue, and the air fresh, and I noticed how much a sea breeze and fewer factories helps with air quality.
Prior to coming to Xiamen, this past weekend, I also had the opportunity to play golf for the first time in China. I played with a few UPS customers, and several other Expats, in Dongguan. We played a fantastic course, and I personally enjoyed the personalized caddies and overall level of service. I also found it interesting that most all the caddies at this club were female. Each was assigned to a golfer, and I instinctively felt a deep sense of sadness for my caddy as I realized the pain I was about to inflict, and how long her day might seem.
Since some of you know my golf game, I practiced extensively in the hours prior to playing by hitting no less than 6 balls at the driving range. (I didn't want to miss lunch) This was a course where you could land a 747 on many fairways, so I was hoping it might be better suited to my game. Even though I had brought several dozen balls in anticipation of my normal ball contribution to local courses, I shockingly only lost 3. I was also assisted by the fact that after watching my first few shots, my caddy did not let me choose a club, but rather handed me one regardless of my preference. (By the end of the day, she would only hand me a pitching wedge or putter) The caddies did an amazing job in retrieving most that I would have previously thought impossible. They worked in teams combing the brush, water hazards, and other fairways in which I would frequently land. While I didn't pick up all the Chinese translation, by the end of the day, I'm pretty clear my caddy was expressing a desire that I never tough a golf club again. We did have a great time, and as it was a Captain's choice Tournament, my team actually won.
I will be in this area through Thursday, where I will then travel to Shenzhen to meet with a couple of my partners from the north at Shenzhen and Hong Kong's port operations.
I will touch base after next weekend. As I have not been invited back to play golf, I think we will travel and explore Macau. They tell me it is the Vegas of the East. "Daddy needs a new Set of Golf Clubs"...
posted by Curt at 9:48 PM
1 Comments:
Hey guys-
In order-ATM card now has friction burns on it-
Would love to see and spend time with the neighbors, but would rather watch paint dry than play bunko-Aly-miss you too-more than you know-Sam-Great job with the car, but you know your Uncle Ben probably bent a few rules-( did you tell him you can't put actual motors in the derby cars???)
Miss you guys
From: Your Dad
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