Liuzhou Laowai

“The pump don’t work
’Cause the vandals took the handles”

Bob Dylan Subterranean Homesick Blues 1965

One evening a few days ago I got home after a stroll around downtown Liuzhou. I went to wash my hands and spectacularly failed. A dribble of water came out then stopped completely. Strange, I thought, but guessed they were working on something and it would be back soon. Sure enough, a short time later, I heard the sound of running water from the flat above me so turned on my tap. Nothing!

Next, I checked with my neighbour. “Yes, we have water. No problem.”

So I went downstairs to where the stopcocks and meters are. To my amazement, the handle to my supply is missing. I ran upstairs, grabbed a pair of pliers and turned my water back on. Some idiot had turned it off and stolen the handle.

Later I looked at another batch of pipes supplying the flats on the other side of my block. All the handles but one have gone!

Next day, I called the water company who explained to me that it is very common. Seems Dylan knew a thing or two about Liuzhou living.

. This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 12:54 pm and is filed under Liuzhou Life, Stupidity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.