"Ray Wolfe"

Once again it's not really about the places you go to , it's more about the people you meet once you get there ... This is Ray , he' s the guy who's doing the survey of my boat . He was raised on a farm in England , spent part of his life in Africa where he , amongst other things , worked on the "Save the Gorillas" campaign and finally settled down in the Philippines to raise his two daughters . For two years now he' s been checking the boat and trying to get the yard to do the right stuff (an almost impossible job !!!) but i'd never met him in person until three days ago . He' s a sharp person , is very professional and has a great sense of humor : quite "British" in a certain way :) He's very knowledgeable about boats and i have a feeling this encounter is going to be a very important one in this adventure . I could have chosen many other surveyor but he's the one i contacted : you can call this fate or luck , i'll just say LIfe has been good to me lately !!! He's just finished the final inspection and apart from a few details i'm done here ;) Yes the boat could still be improved but i think it's good enough for what i need . So for the first time in a very long time i can finally start making plans , and after having to deal with the demented people at the yard it feels great to know i'll soon be leaving . Don't get me wrong , i enjoyed my time here but they were starting to wear me down ... I'm just amazed i managed to survive this nut house :)
This brings me back to Ray , i was on the verge of a nervous breakdown the past few days and meeting this guy has been a life saving experience :) Not only did he certified my boat as being ready to go to sea but he's also been very supportive of my project without any hidden agenda ! PRICELESS !!!
Thanks to you Ray !
Thanks to all of you for your support !
See you soon for more news :)
Ben Ben

"Smile"

From what i've been able to understand , this guy is a music teacher at a local school . Every night he's playing some traditional chinese tunes in his little outdoor stand in the main pedestrian street of Doumen . Sometimes i catch him playing a kind of violin and some other nights he's jammin' on a kind of dulcimer called Yangqin . It's a string instrument that he plays with two bamboo sticks and he's quite good at it . This guy loves to play for people and even if he sells a few instruments under his little tent , i suspect he's only out there for the love of music . I think he understand i dig his stuff and each time he sees me coming on my bike he starts playing like a mad man . After only a few minutes a big crowd gathers around him and it only stops when he breaks one of his sticks ! We can't communicate with words but hey , "Music makes the people come together" ...
Cheers
Ben Ben
Live From China

"Barbecue Street"

Yesterday didn't start too well ... the weather was hot and humid and things were going really slowly at the yard . So when the sun went down and the temperature finally dropped a bit , i decided to go for a little trip along the river . First good surprise came when i followed the smell of barbecue to a really nice street market full of little food stands : choose your meat , veggies , find a table under a tree and let the magic happen ! It tasted so good i couldn't resist and ate until i was close to explode : Grilled eggplants with garlic , sausages and shrimp skewers , it was PARADISE !!! The family eating next to me was laughing watching me , the foreigner , enjoy such a simple dinner amongst the local middle-class .

After saying goodbye to my new found culinary friends , i rode my bike a bit further and started hearing music in the distance . I once again followed a promising trail and ended at a big town square . About one hundred people of all ages had gathered and were dancing under the stars to the sound of the local mobile Dj : It was magical . Apparently the chinese love to dance , and not only to local music : they could dance the waltz , the cha cha , tango , salsa and do it really well . They all had huge smiles on their faces and their joy finally made me forget all the little troubles of my day . From our westerner's point of view , we think chinese people have a hard life : it's probably true in some regions but here in Zhuhai , the heart of industrialized China , even if they work in factories and don't earn a lot they are embracing their new lifestyle with a contagious happiness . Probably like what happened to us after the second world war .

Have fun everyone and keep smiling !!!
ben


"The Mobile Love Sound System"