China 2013 Day 22

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Homeward bound! Nothing on the agenda this morning, so we sleep a bit, hoping to beat our respective colds. And indeed we both feel a bit better this morning.

We entertain the idea of trying to slip in one more Hong Kong expeditions in the morning, but there is a light rain with thunder storms forecasted, so we demur. Instead, after breakfast, seeing that the weather has actually cleared up somewhat, I decide to go out solo and explore the neighborhood on foot.

The specialty of the area we're in seems to be dried foodstuffs, particularly seafood. They have interesting items like shark's fin, abalone, starfish, seahorse, etc., as well as many kinds of dried mushrooms. I drink in the sights, sounds and smells of the Hong Kong streets, knowing this is my last chance. I divert off the main road into some of the smaller, steeper streets that push up the mountain, lined with stalls. Everywhere you look, it is a hive of activity, people moving goods and materials around using various type of handcarts, calling out their wares, rushing somewhere, talking and interacting. China always seems so crowded and busy, it's no wonder that the Chinese value tranquility and meditation on the rare occasions when they are available.

I return to the hotel, we do our final preparations for the trip home, check out of the hotel and board our bus for the airport. Charles is still looking after us and continues his stream of information about Hong Kong as we drive along. We pass by two attractions I didn't know about: Disneyland Hong Kong and the giant Buddha. Charles also informs us that a new bullet train system is under construction that will further cement the link between Hong Kong and mainland China.

A long wait at the very busy Hong Kong airport for flight check-in, followed by the usual security and customs checks. Our plane for Toronto leaves a little bit behind schedule, which we hope will not affect our connection.

The flight is uneventful. I try to sleep but can't. Cold symptoms worsening, unfortunately. I am able to watch the movie Star Trek into Darkness. The plot is silly, of course, but I quite enjoy it. The young Khan doesn't look a bit like Ricardo Montebalm, however. The movie ends with the start of the Enterprise's "five-year mission." Does that mean the end of this prequel plot line? Or they going to start redoing classic episodes? Hope they don't pick "Spock's Brain" to redo.

We make our Toronto connection alright, despite Pearson's labyrinthine layout, and arrive back in Ottawa at 9:30 pm, local time. Violet and I belong to the living dead at this point. Happily, son JM, who picks us up, has looked after everything well and there seem to have been no major disasters in our absence. Thank god I have the rest of the week off to recuperate from this exhausting but exhilarating trip.

Time for some post-trip musings. Many highlights for us. As you would expect, the Great Wall, the terra cotta warriors and the pandas were certainly right up there. The Dazu rock carvings were another definite highlight. The Yangzi cruise was very enjoyable and was well placed mid-trip to allow us to catch our breath. But the cruise itself was underwhelming, probably because the weather was not cooperative. Of all the cities we visited, I think Guilin and the surrounding countryside stood out as the prettiest area and a place worth revisiting. Shanghai and Hong Kong have so much to offer that they deserve more time, too. But IMHO the highlight of the entire trip was the visit to the mountain village Ping'an. It was just so different from anything I have ever experienced; a completely different perspective on life.

China surprised me in a number of ways. First and foremost, the friendliness of its people. We had the opportunity to interact with many interesting people on this trip, some who spoke English and some who didn't, but virtually everyone we met was friendly and eager to get to know us better. Second, I would mention the prevalence of English. I thought we wouldn't see an English word for most of the trip, but English is almost a second universal language in the big Chinese cities. It is a compulsory school subject. In all railway stations and airports, and on the trains and planes themselves, announcements are made in both languages. Most signage is in both languages as well (granted, sometimes with hilarious mistranslations). Third surprise, let's pick the amount of construction going on. All the cities we visited gave the impression that they were rapidly, even frantically, expanding. In short, China is booming. The rest of the world better get ready.

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Photos

Street scene, Hong Kong, China
Note how skinny the skyscrapers are