Ah fallen in hole
Originally uploaded by Triviality.

I pretty much watched this happen, really what’s incredible is that it has taken 3 years to see one of these as the different approach to health and safety must mean that these things happen all the time. The baffled driver getting out and walking round the car to see what had happened was amusing. The member of staff from the nearby restaurant saying “Did you not see the hole?” was even more funny. The scary bit is that I’d just driven past the same whole (and two others like it) myself looking for a parking space.

1, 2, 3
Originally uploaded by Triviality.

Incredibly, the cable laying guys (who had lifted the paving stones and made the whole* hole in the first place) were able to lift the car out of the hole.

*Thanks rt.

I’ve sort of been writing this in my head all week but have been inspired to finally write it down by this post on Am Bling Sheep.

Leaving the office on the e-bike at 03:30 the other day I set off expecting a uneventful run home. The first odd thing that happened was that I think a taxi driver realised he was blinding me and turned his main beams off. This is unusual. To be fair, he was driving towards me down the wrong way down a bike lane (barely the width of a car and separated from the main carriage way by a concrete ‘central reservation’) at 50 K/Hr.

Shortly afterwards I pulled up, stopped by the lights, at a major junction. A middle aged gentleman on an e-bike stopped near me waiting to cross the road I was on, and yes, that means he was on the wrong side of the road. As he pulled up a sausage-dog climbed down from the bike (he’d apparently been sat where your feet would normally go, see pic). The guy instructed the dog to climb back on and he promptly did exactly that. I was about to be impressed when it climbed off the other side, did a loop of the bike and then, when instructed climbed back on, only to immediately climb off the other side. I watched the two of them perform this ‘routine’ half and dozen times before realising that I was missing my turn at the lights and have to leave them to it. Again, I struggle to understand the circumstances that lead you to be taking your sausage-dog for a bike ride at 3 AM.

Finally not from my house I watched (in fact, saw what was about to happen, slowed down and aimed away from it) as a lady with a delivery tricycle thing piled high with water melons ran a red light and end up being shunted by a taxi doing twice the speed limit across the junction. The lady didn’t even flinch or turn her head, never mind slow down or stop. She just kept peddling.

Lampshade
Originally uploaded by Triviality.

How to not get too hot or too tanned in Hangzhou this summer #2 – Wear a lampshade on your head.

I’ll be honest here, I don’t think this is really about the protection from the sun, I think this is just a fashion thing – the defence against the sun is just a by-product.

Today’s High: 35 Celsius / 79% Humidity.

Umbrella & Bike
Originally uploaded by Triviality.

How to not get too hot or too tanned in Hangzhou this summer #1 – Use an umbrella while riding your bike.

Don’t worry about throwing your balance off, only having one hand to break and steer or decreased visibility – a nice pastel umbrella will give protection from the sun and you’ll feel like you are cycling around some park in Paris. Maybe.

Watching the world cup in Hangzhou has some interesting advantages. It’s great that there is such a diverse bunch of people here. The Chinese have a tendency to group us together as lǎo wài (老外, foreigners) but of course within this group there are people from all over the world. This is always interesting but particularly so during the world cup. We watched Thursday’s game against Trinidad and Tobago with a group of Trinidad and Tobago supporters in front of us*. A friendly ‘who can sing the loudest’ situation developed.

Another nice thing about watching football here is that you get to sit outside.

The world cup also gives me something to talk to taxi drivers about, something other than how beautiful west lake is or that crazy conversation about exchange rates.

T: Are you going to watch the world cup?
M: yes.
T: what country are you from?
M: England
T: England is a great country / they are a great team.
M: Yes they are.
T: China didn’t qualify.
M: No they didn’t, but last time they did, maybe they will next time (nice aren’t I?)
T: China is very good at ping pong.
ah bless him.

However the world cup games here are at 21:00, 00:00 & 03:00 so it’s taking its toll, see exhibit A…

*on closer inspection several of T&T supporters turned out to be German.

I don’t have a lot to say about England’s lackadaisical [sic] performance. The second half was somewhat marred for me by people who kept calling me under the curious misapprehension that the computer woes of BIG BUSINESS were somehow more important to me at that juncture than my willing England to victory. England won the match and they will win the world cup. In lieu of more football analysis I’ll share this photo that I snapped a couple of weeks ago, which has nothing to do with football.

… and yes, he was beeping his horn at it.

Ah, how you laughed, but who will have the last laugh?

E-Bikes are on the up in the UK according to this Independent article. Hardly surprising given the spiraling cost of petrol. It’s only a matter of time…

English, Chinese, Pinyin for the coutries taking part in the 2006 Football World Cup in Germany.