Civilizations Varied, Wisdom Unbounded

That was the logo for the 1st World Mind Sports Games held at Beijing this month. We stayed at an apartment a kilometer away from the Bird's Nest. The accommodations arranged were awesome: we had a living room, equipped kitchen, even a washing machine. I was pleasantly surprised that the food arranged was excellent, after having heard so many warnings from people who had visited China earlier.

They know about the fork

My brother's work took him to Taiwan just a couple of weeks before I left for Beijing, and he was telling us that people ate everywhere with chopsticks. Not a spoon or fork to be found! Not even those plastic ones at corner stores! My Mom was so aghast that she packed a box of plastic spoons and forks for my trip. Needless to say, our buffets were of high quality in every sense of the word and the spoons went straight to the dust bin. My friend said it reminded him of the Seinfeld quip, "They know about the fork. But they prefer the chopsticks."

That's what I call a Bus

I was quite impressed by the infrastructure in Beijing. The roads were excellent, as were all forms of public transportation. It cost 1 RMB (about 7 rupees) for going to most places in the city, often longer than a 45 minute commute. A particularly long commute cost 1.5 RMB. The quality of the buses was very good, and they were as safe as in the US. I spied kids getting into the bus after school, and they would have their RFID bus passes inside their pencil boxes, so they simply tapped the pencil box to the reader when they got in.

Efficiency

I think German efficiency may become a phrase of the past. The Chinese are amazing at getting things done with minimum cost and maximum efficiency. Functionality without sacrificing quality seemed to be the norm everywhere. No frills except where they are expected. I could see it in the furniture. I could see it in their electronics. I could see it in their work ethic. I could see it in their culture.

You don't mess with the Chinese

Security guards were there everywhere I went. I often saw soldiers training, right in the middle of Beijing. Their TV channels showed their most recent military achievement, and displayed their military might and discipline. Every guard or policeman I saw looked well capable of defending himself. No flab on sight. Pot-bellied policeman is an oxymoron, not a norm in China. When I climbed the Great Wall, I found myself huffing and puffing at the steep junctures, but even old men and women walked past me with less effort.

Sightseeing

I enjoyed my taste of Chinese culture. The Summer Palace was really amazing. We hired a guide to show us around and explain stuff, and she entertained us with all the old myths and stories of the Chinese. Little things, like talking about the corridor of the four seasons where the ceiling and sides are covered with paintings, each painting depicting one story or a scene from a story in Chinese myth. There were in fact thousands of paintings, and history says the artist spent 15 years working on them tirelessly. Or the significance of there being 17 arches in the bridge (the royal boat passed through the central, biggest arch, which was deliberately made arch number 9 as it is an auspicious number for the chinese). The Great Wall was also awe-inspiring. A very pleasant place to spend a morning walking, except it was pretty crowded at the area we visited.

No bargain, no gain

I'm a notoriously bad bargainer in India. I was downright awful in China. Whenever I bought something, I would find out that someone else had bought the same thing for less than half the price I paid for it. It doesn't help that in China you start bargaining at 5% of the price they quote and end at about 10%. If you've studied auction theory, throw it out the window. It doesn't work in China.

Oh yes, we were there for Bridge

Almost forgot. How did the Bridge go? Well, we got our asses kicked. The European teams put us to shame. But it was a learning experience, and I know that the next time I play on the international arena I will do better. One can only hope I get another chance.

At the Great Wall. (From left: Vinoth, Myself, Guthi)

At the Summer Palace

At the Bridge Table. How serious I look!

Overall it was a really fun trip, and a nice change from Chennai. It definitely lifted my spirits, quality of our play notwithstanding!

Cheers,
Prashanth.

P.S. The logo is short for: "Civilizations have different origins; but Wisdom knows no boundaries."