Final Thoughts

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China. I am certainly not an expert on the country after one month, but I can offer my observations and thoughts. Big and loud and polluted and pushy ...... with stunning scenery, incredible history and artifacts, and such disparity between rural and urban that it is intriguing to ponder how they might steer their way through the challenges ahead. There is something about China. As a westerner it can be a very frustrating place to travel - but in the blink of an eye that frustration can turn to...what's the word....just a feeling that it all fits!

China does it's best to keep westerners/tourists at arm's length. You have to work much much harder here to interact with folks and taste what life is really like. Walk into a restaurant and they will immediately give you a western menu (if one exists) and instead of chopsticks, silverware. Push back enough and they will acquiesce but they are a little confused by that. There is even one price for the Chinese and another for the rest of us.

Generally speaking, it struck me that the Chinese don't seem to have any idea of how they impact/can impact things around them - and that could take the form of simply stepping off a sidewalk in the middle of heavy traffic without looking (happens constantly), to dropping their garbage anywhere or stopping and relieving themselves wherever. Unemployment is a huge issue, and the government is doing its bit by hiring everybody - it is not at all unusual to see a street sweeper on a virtually empty freeway(!) in the middle of nowhere, or walk into a government-run store/tourist attraction etc and see many many more bored looking (or sleeping) staff than customers. And these employees do not think for themselves - rules are rules to be followed because....well there must be a reason somewhere but why question that? Sometimes these unquestioned rules were followed to such an extent that it looked like a comedy act. No doubt this is a direct result of China's political past - those who questioned or thought for themselves were 're-educated'. On the other hand, China is doing its best to move forward, which is a tall order with such a huge population and land mass and spotty infrastructure. How do you develop economic policy for a country where much of the population is still eking out an existence the way they did many many years ago (using water buffalo), but the rest are living in modern and western centres like Shanghai and Beijing? How to educate the population when many of them are still focussed on basic survival?

I hope that China is able to do this while honouring its history and traditions. In its efforts to move forward, I am afraid it is trying to create itself in the image of the west, rather than learning from our mistakes. Pollution is a huge huge issue there - I am told that all factories will be shut down for 2 months before the Olympics in an effort to improve air quality. Traffic will be a nightmare (it is already) so the best seat in the house will be your couch😊. The Chinese love a good show though, so I am confident that the opening ceremonies will be something else!

Does this sound negative? I don't mean it to be. It's just that it is such a huge and complex place - you hate to see them lose their sense of themselves in the rush to move forward economically. If you have the chance, definitely go to China. It is challenging and rewarding and moving and completely amazing. But definitely get out of the cities and spend time in the rural areas to really see it.

My journey was everything I could have hoped for and more. There is not one thing I would change .....well, I might change monsoon season and add a glorious beach area next to China so that I could have crashed there for a bit before coming home, but even I have limits to what I can accomplish😊. Someone asked me whether I preferred Japan or China - and I can't answer that. They are entirely different on just about every level, but not better or worse. Japan is big on courtesy and manners and punctuality and routines, China is most definitely not! China is in your face living, nothing is behind closed doors - in Japan there is much that is below the surface. I was moved by incredible kindness in both countries. I would go back to either in a heartbeat.

I would like to say that this long awaited journey has satisfied the travel bug and that's the end of that. But not so. I have had a bumpy time settling back in - and the cure seems to have been the travel books I picked up to help me plan my next adventure😊. This one will be India and the Himalayas (depending on political stability when I go)and maybe more depending on the time I have available.... I am so pathetic, I already have a preliminary route mapped out. Just as a starting point mind you, it will likely change quite a bit as I finalize things.

This travelogue was started as a way to keep the folks at home up to speed on where I was and what was happening. I have toyed with the idea of spending some time to clean it up, but I think I will leave it as it is - a quick overview of things pecked out on foreign keyboards along the way, complete with poor grammar and spelling errors. It was never intended to be a piece of literature😊 so why not leave it at that. I'm glad I took the time to do it.

It has been quite a ride. I wasn't sure how I would manage on my own with the language/alphabet challenges, but I did. Hooking up in each country for a short time with a small group was a good idea too. And I highly recommend small guesthouses as the only way to travel, especially if you are on your own.

In 10 weeks I travelled almost 33,000 km, on 7 flights, 22 trains (2 of them overnight), 2 cable cars, 3 buses and a boat. Not to mention the mileage on foot and by bike. I took over 700 photos and video clips. I met some great people, had lots of laughs (most often at my own expense), and realized how much kindness is out there.

I am sooooo happy I made this happen. And I absolutely cannot wait to do it again.

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Favourite cities/towns: Tokyo, Hiroshima, Yanghsuo and Xian
Favourite sites: The Great Wall at Simatai; the karst scenery; Yungang grottoes; Koya San and Hiroshima. And Karaoke😊.
Best places to stay: Tokyu Stay Higashi-Ginza in Tokyo; Fujiya Guesthouse in Hakone; Morning Sun Hotel in Yangshuo; Shojoshinin Temple in Koya San (but take your pick, there are lots of them there)
Best Internet Cafe: 2nd Floor across from Tianamen Square
Fav food: okonomyaki; this chile tofu dish; garlic greens...pretty much anything in China
Fav drink: definitely not the lighter fluid they were giving us at karaoke; the home made rice wine in China (but the lower end stuff pronounced something like mee-zhou)
Fav purchases: this silk embroidery which cost me next to nothing, but is huge so I'll need to take out a mortgage to frame it; my stone carved lady from the grottoes - she's intricate and beautiful but was wrapped in newspaper so I'm trying to clean her; my yukata; and oh yeah 6 books (I'm such a geek).

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