By the beach ‘n loving it…

I can’t tell you how good it is to be by the beach and have absolutely nothing to do… The water is warm, the sand is white and clean, the sun is bright… sleeping in, eating, walking down the beach, swimming, drinking a cold beer on the balcony overlooking the moonlit sea… absolute paradise to disconnect from the overstressing job back at the yard. We spent five days at an ocean view hotel down on a tropical island in southern China. Now, perhaps my comments may be a wee tad racist, but, we booked a western hotel chain so that there would be as little Chinese as possible… but I guess they too enjoy the western-style accommodations; I explain: there is absolutely nothing worse than to be by the pool and hear a bunch of loud-speaking, throat cleaning and spitting-in-the-pool men. Walking around wearing the hotel’s white cotton bathrobes and blue flip-flops, they looked like a group of monks congregating to the pool for their daily ritual. Proudly displaying their Speedos, all of black color, they go for a dip in the water. And then it happens, the deep throat cleaning. You hear the spit and you close your eyes and pray it’s not floating on the water’s surface just waiting like a mine to hit a traveling body. One day, just as he was coming out of the pool, a man spits right at my feet. Man, did I ever become creative with the few words of Chinese I managed to tell him…. I think he got the picture…
In general, Rox and I are of the opinion that the men down in the Southern part of China are a lot ‘fresher’ ~ more macho and unpleasant to be around. They aren’t as respectful as the men up here in the north who keep their distances more. In any event, the time away from the yard was just what I needed to re-charge my batteries. I’m ready to go kick some as* now.