All I really care about on this subject is will I finally be able to find a decent Chinese restaurant and a great one. One with real live Chinese employees, Chinese Spicy Mustard as I am tired of bringing my own in Tupperware (thanks to SCMons and Boston's Chinatown), authentic spices and not just juiced up jalapeno. Yummy may or may not be in my horizon. It could be a simple as finding someone who prepares and serves who knows what Chinese food should taste like and how to prepare it accordingly.
Beauty has been a reliable informant on this project, and has said it's going ahead. European press today reported that construction will begin in February. This follows the visit of the Governor of Quintana Roo to Mexico City, where he sought to verify there would be no objection at the Federal level. _________________
The press here is running stories almost daily about this project. The latest suggested there is an objection posed by INAH, a federal agency concerned with preserving natural spaces. Another publication ran an article talking about how a good deal of the land to be used for this project was degraded when Cancun was built, and this is where construction is intended to take place, while other parts of the territory in question are to be preserved in their natural state. The impression is that the opposing camps have certain of the local papers operating as a mouthpiece for their point of view; hence, the back and forth.
V, if someone would check the public records they would discover that many years ago the land in question was approved as a "mine"...in gringo ez, a rock quarry and actually operated as a rock quarry for many years. How can you destroy a rock quarry when the land was meant to be destroyed from day one. The opposition has either taken their eye off the ball or they never saw the ball coming in the first place. I will say it again, most people don't have a clue what they are talking about...they simply want to see their name in print. Dragon Mart Cancun will be here and you can take that to the bank.
I had to write an article on DragonMart a few weeks ago, so I did a little light investigation on both sides. The DragonMart website has some interesting info, although after years of seeing so many projects tell so many lies around Cancun, it's hard to believe anybody these days, especially with the lack of info available. I have read that they're building on land that was already deforested, like Beauty mentions. I'm not a fan of the project for social and economic reasons, but it seems like it might not be the big, bad bully everybody's making it out to be.
For those who would like to get ahead of the curve, two semesters study of Chinese at my university will equip you to be an independent learner for those things you'd like to say which have not been covered by the courses, to that point, as well as teaching you the basics of speaking, reading and writing Mandarin. Open to those 14 YOA and older, the cost is just 1,750 pesos per semester, and full time students of any school or institution get a 50% discount. Early AM, midday, and evening classes are available. For details call 8814400, ext 1208. I was just by the Holiday Inn this AM, where many Chinese are currently staying. Hainan Airlines will be launching flights from Beijing to Cancun, starting this year, resulting in even larger numbers of Chinese visitors. Those with some knowledge of Chinese will be at an advantage in dealing with them, as most are not speakers of English.
The first 2 phrases requested to be taught and learned will be: 1. This is not a timeshare. 2. Are you looking for transportation to your hotel? LMAO
PuertoMorelosBlog.com today reported on the many facets of the (dis)approval of Dragon Mart. Good to read, for what it's worth.
