Best Asian destinations for the US dollar – Part 2
With money tight among families, a destination vacation is being considered more thoughtfully. In most Asian countries, the exchange rate for the US dollar is in our favor, so these are good countries to visit now. Asia may be farther than your usual vacation, but there are so many amazing sights to see, you won’t mind the long plane ride.
China, home of the Great Wall and 1.3 billion people, has major cities Beijing and Shanghai, but Xi’An and Chengdu are tempting destinations too. You’ll see temples from 200 AD and popular bars next to gorgeous gardens. China is known for its panda bears, beautiful temples and palaces, and lovely spots on the river like the Three Gorges. Since September 2008, the exchange rate is becoming better for US citizens, so now is a good time to travel.
Hong Kong could be an entire vacation of itself, especially if you like museums. Visiting the Victoria Peak, highest altitude in the city, is easy by tram and is a view you’ll never forget, especially on a clear day. If you like dim sum, you’ll find traditional cart service here. And, Hong Kong is right on the water, so it’s a great opportunity to see the floating restaurants and famous harbor boats.
Humid, tropical Thailand is home of the most breathtaking clear ocean coastline you’ll ever see. Winter is the best time to visit, which will give you a break from the typical summer vacation. With so many outdoor activities, you’ll get your exercise here (the snorkeling is divine). Check out the Ko Tao island diving and you might see a white shark. The US dollar continues to climb in Thailand, so this could be your cheapest tropical island vacation yet.
Another popular Asian location close to the water is Singapore. Home of the dish laksa (a must trythe best restaurants are along East Coast Road), this unique city has something for everyone. There’s even a mall called Mustafa that’s open 24 hours if you can’t sleep due to the time difference. Little India is a clean and cheap place to stay that’s not too far from the water. If you like Indian food, check out the restaurants here too.
Japan is always a popular destination, though a trip here can be pricey. If you have your heart set on a city like Tokyo, try to find a capsule hotel that has cheaper rates. You won’t have much space to yourself, but you’ll save money. Also, try the Akasaka area for some hotels as cheap at 6,000 yen for a single room. If you love karaoke, Japan is the place for itrent a cheap room
Best Asian destinations for the US dollar – Part 1
There is no better time to plan a trip to Asia. The U.S. dollar is at an all time low, but you’ll still get more bang for your greenback in the cheapest destinations. Sticking to the well beaten tourist paths will lead you to some of the most famous sites in the world, i.e. the Great Wall of China, the Grand Palace complex in Bangkok and Sentosa Island in Singapore. If you’re a bit more adventurous and are wary of package tours travelling around independently will bring you closer to the local people, and you might pick up some useful phrases in their language which will come in handy especially in countries like China and Thailand.
China, still riding high from the success of the 2008 Olympic Games, is welcoming thousands of foreign visitors every year. Beijing and Shanghai are abuzz with 21st century capitalism, while smaller cities to the west like Xi’an and Kunming have yet to catch up with the consumerism of their eastern cousins. Most first timers to China land in Beijing, and here you’ll get a nice taste of recent and ancient Chinese history. Tiananmen Square, where Mao Zedong first announced the birth of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, is right in the middle of town. It’s the largest public square in the world. Get to Beijing while you still can because the city is currently undergoing a huge wave of modernization, and many of the older hutongs (streets) are being cleared to make way for newer apartment complexes. Travelling to the western provinces will require more time and patience, but the rewards are well worth the effort. Costs are lower, traditional culture is more visible and the pace of life is not as hectic. A sight not to be missed in Xi’an is the Terracotta Warriors, which were unearthed in the 1970s and are more than 2,000 years old.
Thailand, otherwise known as the Land of Smiles, remains a popular country for budget travellers. Bangkok, with its serene golden temples and Buddha images, will offer comfort and convenience to even the pickiest of tourists. Khao San Road has the cheapest beds in town; you can score a room with air-con for as little as $10 U.S./night. On the other end of the scale there is the Mandarin Oriental, which has been rated as one of the best luxury hotels in the world. Visiting Thailand will not break the bank. Once you get out of Bangkok and head up north to Chiang Mai costs will fall even further. The weather is cooler and there are plenty of opportunities for trekking and elephant riding. Beach lovers will want to head south down to Ko Samui and Ko Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. Again, costs are cheap! You’ll pay next to nothing for sleeping in a hammock and eating the most basic food. Before you leave Bangkok don’t miss Chatuchak Market, it has bargains galore (clothes, souvenirs and more).
Flanked by Malaysia to the north and Indonesia to the south, Singapore is clean, orderly and has one of the most organized and pleasant airports in the world. In fact, visitors come here just to marvel at the amenities present in Changi International Airport. With a rooftop swimming pool, free internet access, free movies and Xbox games, it’s a magnet for kids. Adults will no doubt be pleased with the speed of the immigration process, and free tours of the city are offered for all passengers. Singapore’s colonial past can still be seen at the Raffles Hotel. Even if you can’t afford to stay here (and apart from the richest of the rich, not many can) you can still have a drink at the bar. Singapore is a little more expensive than Thailand, but it’s a worthwhile stop on any Asian itinerary. It’s safe and there is virtually no crime.
Bon voyage!
What is zoo enrichment?
A ZOO
It would be nice to be an unrealistic idealist, as some are, and declare that all zoos are inhumane prisons of animals and that the animals would be far better off back in their natural habitat. However, zoos have a value to the human race and sometimes to animal races as well.
Zoos introduce our children to a range of animals and the diversity of the fauna of this world. The introduction is far better than seeing photographs of those animals in books, especially as you can see the animal move, hear it and smell it too. Children need to know what animals are like and what environments are theirs.
In the old days, zoos were indeed like prisons with the animal pacing a small space behind iron bars living a life of total boredom. Such animals developed psychoses that made them untypical of animals in the wild so that the introduction to them was false. However, zoos have changed over the past fifty years. Paddocks, rocks, water playgrounds, night gloom, humid atmospheres, tundra and savannah now provide comfortable habitats to groups of animals. One can see by the behavior of the animals that their lives, despite not being allowed to roam over vast areas, are comfortable. When an animal plays you know that life is good.
The replacement of bars by moats and tempered glass make it possible for the visitor to see more and intrude less upon the animals. It is no longer possible for youths to pokes sticks into cages to rouse a sleeping animal. Recently, some undisciplined young men climbed into a tiger’s enclosure in San Francisco to tease the animal. One paid the ultimate penalty. However, in general zoos are safer for both animals and patrons in this day and age.
My children are regularly taken to our zoo in Denver and will learn as a result to respect animals in the wild and care for those that need it. A pet cat at home is a wonderful teacher but it’s worth knowing that the lion exists and could do harm if aggravated just as the pet cat can.
It is now a rare zoo that does not have an educational and research side to their work and many animals have been helped by having their young introduced back into the wild to continue their species. The cooperation between China and the United States in the matter of increasing the panda population is an example of the good being done. The same work applies to many species of animals and birds.
The best zoos that I know of are San Diego, sited in a natural canyon; Denver, which does valuable work with Polar Bears; and Beijing, which does a great job with a vast range of animals.
Should the English Premiership take games overseas?
If I were bump into Richard Scudamore in the streets today my Chainsaw would be out quicker than you can shout insane asylum. The man is absolutely out of his mind and Deserves to spend the rest of his life jumping from housefire to housefire, dieing then returning quickly to the land of the living in between. This though in reality is not likely to happen unless there is a god, Scudamore will carry on with his decapetation of football and disrespect for proper football fans.
The key I would of thougt is in the name really, English Premiership sort of suggests that the games are played in England as appose to Beijing or L.A. Football is a game for the people and the big shots are taking it more and more away from the real people by taking the American route of Globalization. You can argue all you want about fans in China wanting to see their team, Well if they want to see their team they shouldn’t be such sell outs as to support a British team and support aclub thats’ within ten thousand miles of them.
As Man Utd fan I get extremely annoyed with people from outside of Manchester supporting my club so say I was annoyed with foreigners jumping on the band wagon is a bigger understatement than when George Bush said of the Iraq war, “We seem to have made a small mistake”. Even mention of playing games abroad is an insult Football should be fans first, and when I say fans I mean real fans who have holes in their pockets wider than the Grand Canyon because of their love for their team not part time armchairs living in a dreamworld.
There are already enough glory supporters in the world who when they attend games only to sip their coffee or moan about the effort of a certain player. Football’s hardcore are becoming less and less, not only shold we not move the game to distant lands we shold get rid of all the seats in every ground the country meaning everyone has to stand up. We want to take football back to what it wa years ago when all that mattered was your team, not take it further away and give to people who are only in the ground because the world’s greatest marketing minds tell them to be there.
I wuold like nothing more than to gauge out Richard Scudamore’s eyes with a pitch fork, maybe then he’ll learn not to try and take our game away from us!
Best of 2008: Athlete – Part 4
The Deep End of a Man called Phelps
I’m a swimmer. I have forced my arms through the resistance of the deep, seen the swirl of patterned aqua on white, felt the weightlessness of my being surrendered to the liquid calling my name to pull forward, forward. I have had the liquid fill my eye sockets and nostrils; I have felt at home in the abyss of that from which we came. I have heard its spiritual call, where I was alone, far from the crowd, alone, just me and that which if I struggle against will take my very life, but if find its connection within me, become one with it, and become triumphant, not against it, but with it. Such is the story of 2008’s greatest athlete, Michael Phelps.
The town of Ann Arbor, Michigan, gives home to the now famous Michael Phelps, hero to the swimmer, hero to the athlete, hero to the American. To elevate the sport of swimming was Michael’s goal, and he has done just that. Mission completed, only that is not all he has done. While it is hard not to say that swimming has been in the eye of the Olympic beholder more than most sports of the summer Olympics, giving the sport its glory and fame that is deserved, enough for those of us to who call ourselves such, to say, we are swimmers, to proclaim, “I am a swimmer,” Michael went on to accomplish more than even he could have seen.
Born June 30, 1985, could this babe have known that someday his best stroke times would climb to 200 fly-1:52.0, 100 fly-50.7, 400 im-47.5, and 200 free-1:42.9? And if you don’t know swimming, it’s good, darn good, good enough for Michael to be the most celebrated athlete of the U.S., good enough for the Olympics, good enough for me, good enough for you. The one called “Sportsman of the Year,” “Athlete of the Year,” “World Swimmer of the Year,” and “American Swimmer of the Year” earns his titles.
His Club Wolverine Swim Team must have been enthralled when the moment came, which he proclaims as his greatest moment in swimming, the 4×200 free relay. The twelve years of painful workouts, which he attests to, paid off, paid off in the home of athletes, Athens, Greece, and then in a far away Beijing. As he read and envied the swimmer Pablo Morales, Michael, this student of the University of Michigan, would rise to be a Pablo, to be more than his own Morales.
Poker and music, he proclaims his interests; yet, I suggest perhaps a slight love for the splashing water and ripping his body through its torrents, as well. One could say the quote which
Best of 2008: Athlete – Part 3
Occasionally it happens in the course of world events that an athlete emerges who causes even those who are not sports-minded to pause amidst the mundane events of daily life, look up and experience a moment of joy in the human condition. Such an athlete is Michael Phelps.
There was nothing in Michael’s early life to make people notice him or to make people think he was going to be special. Born to a state trooper and a middle school principal, Michael (or MP as he was often called) was a normal kid growing up in a normal neighborhood. With two sisters who loved to swim, Michael started swimming at age seven, partly because it was a “family thing,” and partly because he was a hyperactive kid who needed something active to do.
As a teenager, Michael joined the North Baltimore Aquatic Club at the Meadowbrook Aquatic and Fitness Center. There he met coach Bob Bowman who told Michael’s mother that her son showed unusual potential. He began to train Michael, and at the young age of 15, Michael competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics, becoming the youngest athlete to compete for the U.S. in 68 years. In 2001, in the Phillips 66 National Championship, he set a world record in the 200-meter butterfly, becoming the youngest man to set a swimming world record, and then won the gold in the 100-meter butterfly. He beat his own record at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. At the age of 16, Michael was already a legend.
At the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona, Phelps became the first swimmer in history to break five individual world records at one meet. In the Athens Olympics in 2004, Michael won eight medals (six gold, two bronze). Michael gave up his spot in the 4 x 100-meter medley relay to Ian Crocker, as it was Crocker’s last chance to earn the gold, and this act endeared him even more to fans.
After the 2004 Olympics, when Bob Bowman became head coach of the University of Michigan swim team, Phelps moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and became a volunteer assistant coach. However, having lost his amateur status, he did not swim with the team.
At the 2005 World Championships, Michael won six medals (five gold and one silver). In the 2007 World Championships, he won seven medals and broke five world records.
On August 12, 2008, Michael Phelps made history by becoming the Olympic athlete with the most wins ever, eight gold medals, breaking the record of seven golds in one Olympics set by Mark Spitz. Michael holds a total of 16 Olympic medals (two of which are bronze and the remainder gold).
Fans at the Beijing Olympics gave Michael the title of “Half-Man Half-Fish,” and he truly seems to be just that. Michael Phelps is without a doubt the best athlete of 2008.
Olympic Equestrian Events
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Although the 2008 Olympics are officially held in Beijing, China, the Olympic equestrian events will be held in Hong Kong. The Olympic equestrian events are categorized into three disciplines – dressage, jumping and eventing. Each of these event winners are awarded individual and team medals. The Hong Kong Sports Institute has organized the Shatin Olympic Equestrian Venue as the venue for the dressage and jumping events. The 18,000 seater outdoor arena includes four blocks of air conditioned stables which can keep a maximum of 200 horses. The venue was specially constructed for the Olympic equestrian events from a part of the Shatin Racecourse. The cross-country events of the games will also be held in Hon Kong, although they’ll be held at the Bead River Country Club and Hong Kong Golf Club, instead of at the racecourse.
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The dressage event includes the horse and rider completing a predefined set of movements. The horse’s strength, agility and obedience are tested here, as well as the rider’s ability to lead the horse in subtle manners all throughout the event. Free-flow, lightness and balance are all important in the team during dressage. Held in three rounds, the final aspect of the event includes a musical freestyle test, which tests the horse-and-rider team for their technique and prowess. Interestingly, only commissioned officers were allowed to participate in the Olympics dressage events between the years 1912 and 1952. This was partly due to the fact that 17th and 18th century cavalry officers were the most notable for their horse maneuvering techniques.
The jumping events include a course with 15 to 20 obstacles and a specified time period. Similar to an obstacle race, the aim of this event is to finish the course with the least penalties. Penalties are given if obstacles fall down, the horse balks at the jumps or the rider or horse falls.
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The 3-day eventing is the toughest part of the Olympic equestrian events. It requires strength and endurance, because it combines dressage, cross-country racing and show jumping. The first day is for the dressage part. Then the second day involves the cross-country racing, which includes 45 obstacles and 5700 meter galloping. The third and last day is for show jumping, which calculates the ability of the team to recover from the previous day’s ordeal, as well as allows them to demonstrate their superior abilities. The winner in eventing is the team which has the lowest number of penalties.
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If you are planning to visit Hong Kong to enjoy the Olympic equestrian events, remember to book your hotel in Hong Kong before you go there. The Olympics is obviously a crowd-gatherer, so booking your Hong Kong Island hotel in advance will ensure you don’t have to go in search of accommodations. If you are keen on staying at a place appointed with all the modern amenities and includes great service, check out the Hotel Jen, a highly acclaimed hotel in Hong Kong.
Weekend Getaways to the Texas State Capitol
By: Allen Shaw
What better way to get away from it all in the Lone Star State than to take a weekend getaway to the state capital in Austin. With fine dining, vibrant culture and a never-ending nightlife, Austin is one of the most easily accessible and inexpensive getaways in the state.
If you are into sports, Austin is the home to the Texas Longhorns. If you hope to become the next Julia Roberts, Austin could be the location where you will finally be discovered (Austin is considered the Hollywood of the Southwest). And if you are into the New York art scene but that pesky "New York" part is keeping you from letting your inner Picasso out, Austin is home to one of the Lone Star State’s most eclectic artist communities.
But the best part of Austin is, of course, the restaurants. If you are into barbecue, Italian or French cuisine…it is all part of the Austin dining experience.
Austin Culture
Austin’s official slogan is the "Live Music Capital of the World." Though the scene revolves around the many nightclubs on the world famous Sixth Street, Austin is also home to the annual film and music festival South by Southwest. The state capital is also home to the longest-running concert music program on American Television…Austin City Limits. And at the end of long night hearing some of the best music Texas has to offer, why not cap it off with some good ole fashioned Texas eatin’?
For a Chinese cuisine dining experience that will go down in the annals of your life as the best Chinese food West of Beijing, take the time to dine at Chinatown. With a choice of four main styles of regional Chinese dining, there is sure to be something there for even the most particular of fine dining connoisseurs.
Buca di Beppo is probably the best Italian dining the entire state of Texas has to offer. And the best part…"It’s meant to be shared! Whether you get the Chicken Marsala or the Fettuccine Alfredo, pass it around the table and share with the whole family.
Do you want to travel back in time to the early 20th Century? How about a trip down your grandparent’s memory lane at Judge’s Hill Restaurant & 1900 Bar? You will feel like a Golden Age actor in a dining room that feels like it was pulled directly out of the early days of the silver screen.
Austin Sports
Though Austin may be the largest city in the United States not to have a professional sports team in at least one of the big four (NFL, NBA, NHL or the MLB), sports is still a strong tourist draw for the state capital. Austin sports fans, as well as fellow Texans from across the state, enthusiastically support the Texas Longhorns football, baseball and basketball teams. And what goes better with sports than barbeque?
Austin is home to some of the best Texas barbeque in the world. The best of the best though can be found at County Line Legendary Barbeque. The roadhouse ambience lends itself well to the Texas motto when it comes to good ole fashioned Bar-B-Q…Get it all over ya!
So as you can see, taking a weekend getaway to Austin could be one of the best investments of your life. From the elegant art of New York to the live music usually associated with Nashville, Austin has it all and then some. And best of all, you will not leave the city hungry.
Outdoor Fitness Equipments
With gyms generally being harshly neon-lit, sweaty, airless boxes, blaring music from MTV, is it any wonder that although most people join them with every intention of following an exercise routine for health and fitness, they soon drop out?
But lately, gyms have been taking on a new avatar, being relocated outdoors. This means that you can begin pumping up your biceps and quadriceps once again, but this time basking in the sun, in the leafy green surroundings of a park near you.
Gym equipment manufacturers have begun producing complete outdoor fitness equipment for enhancing flexibility, agility, cardiovascular fitness and endurance, and for strengthening the upper body, lower body, abs and back. The equipment can be installed on a fitness trail, in a playground, or as a bunch of exercise stations in a park. They can be used by people of all ages, from school kids to senior citizens, and are suitable for both inner-city locations and the suburbs.
The outdoor fitness equipment is made of heavy gauge, strong steel and is designed to withstand the roughest of environments outdoors and last a long time. The equipment is very attractive, with colorful powder coated finishes, can be installed easily, and is practically maintenance free.
They also come with instructions for warming up, stretching, working out, and cooling down routines. The basic idea is for the user to move from one exercise to another, according to the instructions, thus getting a full body workout in an effective and safe way.
And even inclement weather cannot spoil an outdoor exercise regime, because rain does not have an effect on the equipment. They are safe to use even when they are wet. The inspiration for using outdoor equipment comes from China. With the Beijing Olympics approaching, the Chinese government has set up over 4,000 gyms outdoors in the last six years. While similarly, in the U.S. about 6,000 open spaces and parks have exercise equipment that can be accessed by the general public, and in Australia, over 50 percent of the parks have weather-proof, ultra-modern exercise equipment.
According to sports science professionals, an outdoor exercise regimen provides a more varied and functional workout, enhances mood, while you avoid all the smells and germs that indoor gyms have.
Here are some examples of common outdoor fitness equipment:
Horizontal Bars
This is used for pull-ups or chin-ups, which is one of the basic exercises for strengthening the upper body. They can be used for many other types of exercises as well, such as stretching the arms and shoulders, hanging leg-lifts which tone up the muscles in the abdomen, or just dangling by the arms, which helps to align the spine and provides a lower back stretch, which is very beneficial.
Sitting Rotator
This device has three rotating seats that swivel, which helps to stretch the internal and external muscles in the abdomen. It also serves to strengthen the lower back by aligning the spine.
Sit-up Board
This is used for sit-up exercises which target the abdominal muscles primarily, although they also are beneficial for flexor muscles of the upper thighs and hips.
Leg Press Machine
Since it involves some the most major muscles of the body, the leg press is considered one of the most important exercises. Adjustable for different resistance levels, the machine primarily targets the gluteal muscles and the quadriceps.
Climber
This is akin to a climbing wall, with strengthening pulls and hand holds.
Strength & Stretch Bars
This apparatus helps to develop shoulder and arm strength with various pushing and pulling exercises. It has five bars which are set at various heights in order to provide different levels of resistance.
Baseball In Shanghai? Another American Sport Exported To China
As an athlete (or at least having been an athlete in the past) and a sports fan, one of the difficult things about finding myself on an extended stay in Shanghai, China (setting up sporting goods manufacturing and other business contacts) is the near isolation from most American sports. Although basketball, over the past ten or so years, has become popular among the Chinese people, baseball has yet to find its way into the sports culture here. While at every school or playground it’s likely you’ll find some kid aspiring to become the next Yao Ming, mention the term “baseball” to most Chinese, even ones who speak pretty good English, and you’ll likely find yourself having to search through a phrasebook to find the Chinese phrase for baseball: “bangqiu” (pronounced bong chi-o).
I had heard from some of the expatriates living in Shanghai that there was some sort of baseball team playing in the city, so I did some Google searches to see whether I could find information about the team. I found a few articles on the Internet about the Shanghai Eagles’ spring trip to the U.S. to compete against junior college teams. The game summaries, published by the news people at a few of the U.S. schools against which the Eagles played, described a team that had decent pitching, but not much hitting. As can happen with that kind of team chemistry, the Shanghai club lost all seven of its exhibition games in the U.S.
I didn’t expect much when I went to watch the team play, but I was excited to actually see a baseball field again, having been in China for awhile, and I wanted to experience the baseball environment here. A Chinese friend of mine hunted down information about where the Shanghai Eagles played and at what time, so I took my wife out for a Friday afternoon at the baseball field.
The old ball game didn’t have any peanuts or Cracker-Jacks, or hot dogs, or drinks, or very many spectators. There was a mascot dressed in a chicken suit, and, although we had to search behind some buildings to find it, surprisingly the field looked pretty standard. There was a total of probably fifty people in attendance when the game began. People came and went as the game progressed. Something that struck me was the feeling that many there were obviously hard-core baseball fans, the kind you would expect to find catching foul balls at a MLB park. After quickly being spotted as one of the only white guys in attendance, I was approached by Dan Washburn, a news consultant doing a story for Baseball America. During my conversation with him, he told me that he met some older Chinese men at one of the games he’d attended. He mentioned that when he asked them what brought them out to the event, they told him they played ball when they were much younger, being forced to leave the game behind when Mao Zedong did away with the American influence during the Cultural Revolution. As for the group of boisterous, college-aged enthusiasts, I was told that a group of them attended the local baseball college, and they were being trained to later become professionals. (In China, many children who express a particular athletic skill are guided down a specialized path devoted largely to the ultimate fulfillment of their athletic capabilities.) There were some younger T-ball aged kids at the game who were introduced to me by the uncle of one of the boys. He wanted them to practice English with me and my wife, and later the two boys asked me to play catch with them using the homemade-looking, well-used baseball one of the boys brought to the game.
The area we used to play catch was the same grass area outside the stadium used by the professional teams to warm up their bullpen pitchers. I used the opportunity to get a feel for how well a professional pitcher in China throws. The one I saw was probably throwing in the high-70’s to low 80’s. I watched him throw curve balls with some good movement and change ups as well. His control was comparable to an average to good college pitcher.
The particular game we watched went into extra innings as the Eagles dropped a large lead late in the game. Being distracted by people attempting to practice English during the tenth and eleventh innings, it wasn’t until the twelfth that I noticed a strange twist to baseball as the Chinese play it. Probably for the sake of ending the game as soon as possible, they allow both teams to start extra innings with a runner on second base. One problem I saw with this approach is that it made the game boring, as the apparent lack of confidence in hitting on the part of both teams turned the extra innings into a bunt-fest. Finally Tianjin broke open and went on to win 9-5 in 12 innings.
During the game, I met some college baseball players who had become interested in baseball when they came to college. They don’t attend the designated baseball college, so their educational involvement baseball is only extra-curricular. They invited me to play with them, and I have participated in some of their practices and scrimmages.
On a Wednesday afternoon in May I followed the directions given to me to meet the team at the Shanghai Teacher’s University on Guilin Road. The field where the team practiced wasn’t actually a baseball field. It was a general-purpose field used mainly for soccer and track exercises. I have quickly come to understand that the space limitations in Shanghai, similar to most parts of China, make it so that facilities have to double up on their usage. It was amusing to me to watch as we set up for a scrimmage. The areas where right and center field should be was filled with a mix of people, including a few of our people playing those positions, and soccer players who were not in the least interested in what we were doing, especially since they were fully engaged in their own game. As fly balls dropped among them, some of the soccer players would pick the balls up and toss them back, while others would, with a demonstration of irritation, kick them out of the way. Fortunately for the soccer players, none of them were hit.
Many of the baseball players were not so lucky. A healthy fear of hard baseballs traveling at high speeds seems to be second nature for most Americans, as if we are born with an understanding that if a ball is fouled off into someone’s face, it’s going to hurt like heck at best. Although most of them didn’t understand what I was saying, I attempted many times to tell those watching the action to back away from the batter and catcher. During one ten-minute interval, I saw three people get hit hard in the face or head by baseballs. Throughout the whole practice there were constant near-misses as well.
On-deck hitters kept with the Chinese custom for preserving one’s place in line by crowding behind the person in front. That approach is okay for the local McDonald’s. In fact, if you don’t push your way up in line, you will find yourself standing in the same place for a long time, with person after person jumping in front of you. However, when the person at the front of the line is swinging a bat, a different set of rules should apply.
During the first practice with the college players, I was invited to pitch to the team as they scrimmaged. It soon became apparent that there were various skill levels represented at the plate. I was reminded of something I saw in Little League (where kids are usually just beginning to learn how to react to balls thrown towards them) when a particularly nervous batter accidentally stepped in front of the plate, opening up towards the ball so that it hit him directly in the stomach. Fortunately I was only throwing about 70 mph, so no major damage was done, except that the player was likely quickly cured of any interest he had in the new American sport. After that incident the other players warned me when I was pitching to someone who was new, so I could slow it down enough for them to take some solid cuts.
In a country where the sport hasn’t really caught on yet, it amazes me that these players respond so well to the difficulties of learning baseball. It is obvious that many of these people, girls and guys alike, have developed a love and even a passion for the game. Before their season started in June, they practiced on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Most practice sessions last five hours or longer. During the time I have participated with them, I have seen their skills improve, with arm strength increasing and fielding and batting capabilities doing the same.
So when the Olympics come to Beijing in 2008, what can we expect from the Chinese team? Will it be somewhat of an embarrassment, like the Greek team’s performance in 2004? Or will the home team have a chance to compete? My personal opinion is that the competition level doesn’t exist in China now for the national team to compete with the likes of Japan, Taiwan, the U.S., or Cuba. However, if they can get enough exposure by playing outside of China, they might just pull off a medal. As for the long-term outlook on baseball in China, comments made by someone who has more experience with the system, as an investor and active baseball supporter in China, give a pretty good take on the subject. When I mentioned to him that I was considering opening a baseball retail store or batting cage in Shanghai, one of the founders of the CBL told me that it wouldn’t be a bad idea if I didn’t mind starving for a couple of years. A few years from now however, he said, a much different scenario is likely to exist, with baseball possibly becoming what it is in Taiwan.
