Japan & China - One last look

This was probably my last visit to Beijing and Yokohama for some time. 

The heat in Beijing was so intense, I didn't want to venture out at all. Some of the daily routines proved to be deterrents: taxis without air conditioning in 35C heat, taxi drivers adding to the discomfort by smoking in the vehicle, difficulty in getting a taxi without a mobile app, and the general traffic congestion. On the rare occasion I walked next door to the Global Trade Centre to the Bank of China ATM to withdraw some money, within 10 minutes I had a headache from the sun despite wearing a hat. However, one piece of good news: no more smog.

View of Jingcheng Expressway from the hotel. Smog free!

This time the hotel gave me a room at the other end of the building after their handyman failed to fix the wardrobe in the so-called junior suite. One of the sliding doors to the wardrobe was jammed. From the room, I could still see the Jingcheng Expressway, but no longer the bird nest. Also, the room faced on to the sides of two high rise buildings, thereby preventing me from drawing the net curtains to enjoy a more open view of the city. 

China's version of Royal Society for the Protection of Animals

Every morning whilst having breakfast at the Club Lounge I would read the China Daily, English edition. Here, an animal activist was photographed in abject apologetic mode, apologizing for the dog-meat fest during the Yulin Dog Meat Festival. Other animal activists reportedly dug into their own pockets to purchase pups for as much as 1,000+ yuan, while a group of Buddhists recited prayers as they shuffled among hanging dog carcasses at the city's wet market. The animal rights organization, Animals Asia, I noted, is run by a westerner.

Cloned goat

This cloned goat article caught my sight. I remember Dolly the cloned sheep that made headlines in the late 90s. Dolly was the world's first animal to be cloned from an adult cell and she truly captured the imagination of people all over the world, from scientists to dare I say, taxi drivers. One interesting fact is that Yang Yang, this 14-year-old goat, mated with another cloned goat and gave birth to twins in 2001, one year after her birth. Looking at the way the goat was garlanded, I have no doubt that she is a celebrity in her own right, if she is still alive by the time I write this.

En route Yokohama to Haneda Airport

I want to say goodbye to Yokohama, a city that I had grown to like. This was the view from the Keikyu Limousine Line on its way to Tokyo Haneda Airport. The coaches are always on time, always spotlessly clean, and attended to by very polite baggage handlers and drivers. I never had to worry about how safe my luggage was once I handed them over to the baggage handlers to stow beneath the coach. The fare for a 30-minute journey is JPY 960, roughly £5.50, extremely good value for money. Public transport in Japan is good: punctual, clean, reasonably priced. The best feature of all: mobile phones are banned on the public transport systems.

Nissan's beautiful electric car

Every day I passed the Nissan HQ to and from work. This time, they were displaying a breathtakingly beautiful electric car, shaped almost like a supersonic car. A sight to behold. But none of the passers-by, nearly all office workers on their way to work, was seen to be paying any attention to this flash car. No wonder, in the large metropolitan areas around Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, the Japanese are served by highly efficient public transport systems. Consequently, many residents do not own a car or do not even possess a driver's licence.