Afaranwide

NEWSLETTER 23: September 28, 2019

Dear , thanks for your interest in Afaranwide.

What is it with China and visas? Forty years after the country opened up to the world, getting in remains tricky. When we lived in Beijing we had colleagues whose job was to obtain visas for foreign staff like us. One accompanied Sue to get her visa, but the immigration official refused to grant it. They had to wait until the shift changed, and a new official issued the visa. When we moved to Hong Kong we wanted to travel in China, so we printed off the visa application form from the official site and took it along to the visa office, only to be told it was the wrong form.

This week Colin attended the Zhuhai Open tennis tournament, and was refused – for no reason – a three-day tourism visa at the border crossing closest to the stadium. He had to travel to another crossing (top photo) miles away, where his visa was issued without question. At a time when China is boasting about its achievements over the past 70 years and its global status, this sort of unnecessary annoyance shows how far it still has to go. We'll be writing about the tennis tournament – the newest addition to the ATP tour – next week.

 

Hong Kong Women in Publishing Society does what all good networking groups should do – provides support and contacts, while also holding fun meetings and useful workshops. When Sue was a new expat in HK, it gave her a few new friends, published her work in its yearly book, Imprint, two years running, and got her involved with editing the book. So it was a bit of a shock when, priced out of the venue it had used for 30 years, it announced it was closing. However, the group is fighting back, regrouping at the end of October to see what it can do to survive. We'll keep you posted.

 

Colin managed to fit in some sightseeing in Zhuhai, and was surprised to find that the taxi drivers he used could not read a map. He produced a street map and pointed to where he wanted to go – a statue of a fisher girl that is the symbol of the city – but the driver didn't understand. Perhaps a generation that has grown up with satnav has no need of maps, but it's an example of how technology can make people more ignorant.

 

In a week when the collapse of Thomas Cook dominated the headlines, better news about another travel firm, the over-50s specialist Saga. Its share price has been easing up during the past month after falling 75 percent in two years. But you still have to wonder about its business plan. We don't know anyone who, on turning 50, would feel they needed the services of such a company. Like Thomas Cook, Saga is a relic from a pre-internet age (it was founded in 1959) when few people travelled. It has been said that 50 is the new 30. On that basis, perhaps Saga should start focusing on the over-70s, though we're not sure how alluring that would be for customers or investors.

 

This week we continued our series of posts on iconic movie locations with a look at buildings that featured in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Many people immediately think of the film if they see a photo of Saint Teresa of Avila Church in Bodega, California, yet surprisingly it appears on screen for only a few fleeting seconds. The association with the movie is so strong that the church seemed slightly spooky and sinister when we visited it. READ MORE

Keep in touch with what we're up to by liking our Facebook page (above) and following us on Twitter and Instagram. Every page and post like, share, retweet, etc. really helps as we build a social media community around Afaranwide.

Reminder – please add us to your email safe sender's list. This process, also known as whitelisting, will ensure you always receive the newsletter. There have been a few cases where it's ended up in a subscriber's spam box.

We’d love to know what you think of Afaranwide – please email us.

Afaranwide content is available for syndication.