Well, I foung the art gallery in the end

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(P.S I am writing this all postumously, it is actually the 3rd of June but I havent had access for a week. If I get my tenses muddled, Im sorry)
Im so disappointed I could cry. My camera is full, I cant take any more pictures and, try as I might, I cant upload the pictures I have. Major dilema.

Anyway. I was about to tell you about the art gallery but first I have a funny little anecdote to impart. Last night after I left the internet cafe I had to catch the subway back to the hotel. By this stage it was pretty late at night, but I was fairly confident I had mastered the system. At the station I bought my ticket, followed the arrows and got on the train. Once on the train I had a moment of indecision. Was I going the right way, had I followed the arrows right? Conscious that the trains would be ending for the night very soon I decided to get off the train and check the map. Which was lucky because I wasnt going the right way. So I got on a train going in the opposite direction. But that still doesnt seem right. So I get off after a few stops and check the map again. Now I am really confused, there are arrows and gibberish and stations that exist but shouldnt and stations that dont exist that should. I had no idea. So I got on a train going the other way (the original way) and ignored everything until it took me to the end of the line. The logic of my plan was to eliminate the variables. At the end of the line there is only one possible option: back the way I came. It turned out that I was wrong the first time, right the second time, and wrong the third time again. But I got it in the end 😊

So the next day I set out for the art gallery. And I found it too. It was really average. Basically just a maze of locked rooms and a whole lot of scrolls in chinese with chinese explinations. There were two good things about it though. There was an exhibition by an artist called Zhao Shao'ang. He painted in the traditional style with water colours and broad sweeping strokes. He chose as subject matter the tiny details of daily life that often escape our attention, a leaf floating in a puddle, a spider hanging from a web, a dragon fly resting on a rock. Chinese artists seem to have the ability to capture the essence and vitality of thier subject like no others. Zhao Shao'ang's work, in particular, was infused movement and energy. He captured these insignificant moments in life and made them full of significance and magic.

Another thing that Chinese people do well is gold fish. The courtyard of the gallery was encircled by an enormous pond filled with thousands of giant gold fish. They were all tame and I got to feed them. It was an unforgettable experience having thousands of gold fish, all at least a foot long, flopping and splashing about madly and sucking my fingers with thier wierd fishy mouths. Definately a highlight so far 😊

The thing about travelling is it definately brings to your attention the small things we take for granted in our own countries. One of these being laundry. In Australia I know that I can use a laundromat if I need to clean my clothes. If I cant find a Laundromat I could ask anyone on the street and they could tell me where to find a laundromat. No so in China. Im sure most people here wash thier clothes, how I am not so sure. My hotel claimed to have a "self laundry service". After looking thoroughly along all the corridors I couldnt find anything remotely laundry lke so I asked at the front desk. The receptionist told me "2-13" (???), so I went to the second floor and looked for a room 13. Not being able to find one I wrote down "Where is the laundromat" in chinese and showed it to the receptionist. She just looked at me blankly, then asked the other receptionists and made some phone calls. Eventually I was lead up the the second floor where they had a washing machine....in the stinky mens toilet. I paid 30juan for the privelage of using this machine while men peed in urinals right next to me. There was no soap, so I used shampoo. Once the clothes were clean I was faced with the problem of how to dry them. Feeling a little frustrated I took my wet clothes to reception and flopped them onto the front desk. "Where can I dry my clothes?" I asked tersely. Another blank look. "Maybe in your room?" was her solution to my problem. My room was a musty cupboard with a bed, not going to happen. I was leaving Guangzhou in the morning, I needed my clothes dry. So I stood there at the desk with my wet clothes and demanded another solution. She made some phone calls and a housekeeper took me up to the roof were they had a clothes line.....in the pouring rain. So I went back to my room, mildy irritated, ripped the phone cord out of the wall and made a make shift clothes line. And the next morning, surprise, surprise, my clothes were still sopping wet when I packed them. Grrrrrr.

Which brings me to the Guangzhou train station. You know that Simpsons episode where everyone adopts the mantra "be like the boy" and then everything goes pearshaped and they blame Bart and the frame zooms in as the angry mob decends on him and he says so poignantly "Eep". That is what I said quietly to myself when I got to the Guangzhou train station.

It was like wading through an angry sea of pushing, spitting, yelling heavily burdened pack mules. On top of this you add the problem of trying to find where to buy a ticket, buying a ticket, deciphering where I catch the train and then finding where I am supposed to catch the train. The exhausting process took the better part of the day. But I can proudly say that, not only did I get on a train, It was the right train too. Hooray.

The train itself wasnt too bad. It was very crowded and there werent enough seats for everyone so there was a mad rush when the train pulled up. But I got a seat and the journey went fairly smoothly. It was only about three hours to Zhoaqing, and on the way I got to watch some amazing scenery rattle past.

Stay tuned for next issue when you will find out what surprise(s) were waiting for me in Zhoaqing

Chow 😊

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