A car lovers letter from Shanghai...

This lady must have had plenty of practice then- she was cooly standing in the middle of a pedestrian crossing in Wuhan with heavy traffic bowling by at the rate of knots:

 

Vietnam is the same. One thing I learned, if you just start walking, and keep moving at the same speed, they will go around you. Just dont speed up or slow down!

If you do go to Suzhou, I also highly recommend taking one of the boat trips through the city on the ancient c****s. Really cool. I did it at night, in a thunderstorm, it was about 100 deg. the city was backlit by really clear forked lightening, something I will NEVER forget. Man, something else!
I agree on the pollution, it was REALLY hot the last time I was there, walked around in a t-shirt the whole time, the pollution was so bad, it blocked all the UV, never got a sunburn, and it was in the low 40s celcius (110ish F) the whole time I was there.

 

Well,it looks like they're coming along in some departments

 

When I was in Shanghai I got treated to some great truely cooked Chinese food so the trip to Hooters was a surpise for my translator. Who loved the experience at the time.

 

I thought I remembered reading that there was a certain nostalgia market for the Chang Jiang CJ750 ('30s BMW clone) motorcycle over there - although there was some effort to regulate them off the roads.

 

Even if I had an old car in China I would be afraid to drive it there...the traffic is insane. Wonderful to watch as a p***enger, but I would have a heart attack if I had to drive something I took pride in building there. I would bet we will se a custom motorcycle scene there long before a cl***ic car scnene. There are already poeple who customize cars over there, although its mostly stick on scoops, wings and stickers.

 

Right now I am living in Vung Tau, Vietnam. The car situation is much like the one in China, the emerging middle cl*** are just beginning to purchase cars. The price with tax is double or triple the US price. What is happening now is a big Harley and Cafe Bike craze. A special license is required for anything over 150cc's. I have seen some wartime Mustangs and custom jeeps. The maximum speed limit is only 80KPH(48mph) though. When I came here for the first time after the war in 2000 it was all bicycles and a few motorbikes. I regularly ride my Yamaha and it is like being in a roller derby, only crashed 3 times in 6 years and 25000K on the road. Not bad for an old grunt.