We hit 'em hard.

As you can probably tell, the previous post on the trip to China was unfinished. That was due to the fatigue, and also the cold that had crept into my fingers due to the less than warm heating provided by the air conditioner.

Now I'm back in Singapore, and the rashes have almost disappeared. The skin peeling due to dryness is also better. Truly, I must be allergic to China or whatever it has to offer.





I was speaking of the "Bao Jian" shop. So anyway we went in and soaked our feet in some sludge, which had precipitated when some packet of powder was poured into some water. It was brown and all, much like Jello. So anyway as we were soaking our feet a promoter came in and described all the products the shop sold. It sold burns cream, the packet of mud-forming powder, some medicated plaster and cordyceps.

So he began doing the usual - describing the miraculous properties of each of his products. The one that attracted the most attention was the burns cream. He boasted that when applied to a burn which hadn't swelled yet, the area would not swell and would heal much faster.

To demostrate his point, he brought in a heated metal chain. Heated meaning having a jet of flame directed at it till it was red hot at the centre. The jet of flame originated from a burner(thus termed due to a lack of a better term" carried on a cart, as was the chain. As they brought it into the room where we were idyllically soaking our feet, I could heard the "voooo" sound made as the jet of gas streaming out. It came as quite a shock to me, as I was expecting something less extreme, plus I could feel the heat emanating from the flame as it passed by my seat.

I had seen such a display before, during a trip to another part of China; they were selling a burns cream too, whether it was the same brand I cannot remember. However, this time I had front row seats, right in front of the guy who was going to burn his own hand just to cinch the deal. Previously, the act was done in front of something resembling a lecture theatre, and I was seated way back, far enough the dismiss the act as a sham due to lack of observed details. This time, with the person barely a body length away from me, I could detect no false trickery, and felt quite sorry for him. To prove that the chain was indeed going to cause a burn, he took a piece of paper and stuck it towards the red hot area of the chain, and it caught fire.

He didn't touch the red hot area, which was understandable as his flesh would probably have melted and stuck there. He didn't grab the chain, but scraped the lower part of his palm against an area close to the red hot area.

Ouch! He looked to be pain, and probably was. After his stunt, a attendant nearby lathered a generous amount of "Bao Ling" burns cream on the affected area. The thing is, he used his right hand. Assuming he was right handed, that is not very clever, unless of course it did not really hurt. After 15 minutes, he showed us the affected area, and it was blackened, but not swollen.

Thus he proved his point. However, seeing as how he used his right hand, I had a few doubts even though my eye did not observe any falsehood. He did not touch the red hot area, which was understandable, but since it was a metal chain, could the heat not have conducted that well to the other part of the chain which he touched, resulting in a lower temperature? Also, the affected area of his palm was blackened. Could the chain have been covered with a layer of soot or other things such that the area he touched would have not burnt him?

Even as I list my doubts, I have to admit that it was pretty convincing then and now. I have no idea whether it was for real or not.

After his stunt, it was time to remove my feet from the jello that it was soaking in and let some workers massage my feet. The massager who was going to massage my feet was a young lady, and she kept sighing for some reason. I suspect that they earned their bread based on commission and she wasn't all too pleased that she was going to massage the foot of a person who would probably buy nothing and earn her nothing. Anyway I had already decided I would decline the offer, as I felt the whole thing was a con and I didn't want to be part of it. So I told her there was no need and proceeded to wait outside.

I went to the toilet and saw Mr Stuntman in it. I wonder if he was running his hand under the ice cold tap water to soothe the pain. Anyway, as I waited outside the room, another "vrooo" sound preceded what was another "fire-dealing" cart - another batch of tourists had arrived and they would be treated to the "spectacle" as well.

posted by chee  # 12:23 am