People from all walks of life

While we were buying dinner from the roast meat seller,there was an old lady hanging around. It did not take long for me to realise that she was a beggar.

As soon as she saw me watching her, she turned towards another target. Once she was done, she waited for us to finish buying our stuff. As we walked away from the roast meat shop, she approached us.

"Happy new year, may you have wealth...can you spare me some money...?" We just walked on. We figured that if we gave her something, she might either demand for more or others would miraculously appear out of nowhere. This was to be the first of many beggars and it really amazes me how these beggars can come in all shapes and sizes.

We walked on to the underpass to cross over to where our hotel is. Here, we met our second set of beggars. Set because it was a whole family: Father, mother and daughter.

Father said,"Please save us, please save us, our daughter is sick, please give us some money so that she can see the doctor...."

As he was saying all that, his daughter lowers her head as mucus drips onto the floor, as if on cue. Actually, I wasn't even sure whether it was mucus or saliva. I just knew that it was going to drip onto my shoes if I didn't move. We didn't give anything. We simply walked away.

At that point of time, I just felt very disgusted that the child's parents have exploited her in such a way. They were healthy-looking people who seemed capable of an honest day's work. Then again, in China, one never knows. One may be willing to work but there may be none to work for.

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The gap between the rich and poor seem to be getting bigger and bigger. While I see huge condominiums and housing estates being built at Zhuhai (as seen on my bus trip back from Shenzhen), there are those who are not so literate, trying to make a living by selling pirated VCDs (as experienced in Lo Wu Commercial Centre)

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The next day, when we were walking back to our hotel with last-minute shopping from Lo Wu, this middle-aged man in woollen vest and suit beckoned us from the other side of the barricade (as in, we were on the pavement while he was on the road).

"Sorry...sorry...can I ask you something? (Dad walks nearer) It's like this, I need money to take a cab, can you spare me some?"

My Dad walks away. We still find it quite unbelievable that someone so well-dressed could ask strangers for money.

We headed back to Macau via Zhuhai. I don't know whether it was our way of dressing or the bags that we were carrying or how my Dad was too enthusiastically pointing out that the Gongbei Checkpoint (as if I don't already know), that made this woman carrying a baby approach us.

"Gong xi fa cai, xin nian quai le..." She kept following my Dad, expecting him to give her some money. She was really persistent in 'accompanying' us until we entered the customs.

At that point of time, I really do not know what to feel about them. On the one hand, I feel that they should earn an honest living. On the other, I feel that I do not know their situation and circumstance enough to pass any sort of comment.

All I can say is that, this trip to China has been an eye-opener. I see the different beggars, I see that the customs checkpoints are not all that scary (even though I am still on the alert), I see people working hard on their plot of land. I also see on t.v, how the winter monsoon has hit the people of Yunan (just but one part that was hit) and their crops destroyed.

Once again, I am thankful. Thankful that there are people out therer growing vegetables for us to eat, providing us with professional services in shops and restaurants, so that we can live life that much more comfortably.