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Guilin, I think, or maybe Kunming. Creates a level of stress only found in a place with millions of busy people. Oh Lao how I miss you. Hello everyone!
I have spent quite some time writing and rewriting this latest blog post as I found it was becoming very negative. In order to make this easier I have decided to break it up in to two sections, Positive and Negative. For those of a positive nature, you can just read the first section and ignore the rest.
Positive.
Well I have been very pleasantly surprised by the type of traveler you get in China, I have met some really great people and not a dreadlock in sight. I spent most of the last three months avoiding my fellow travelers but in China they seem to be a different breed entirely. I have had several really good nights and several corresponding hangovers.
Individually the Chinese can also be thoroughly decent, good natured and generous. The ones that aren’t just using you for English practice (sorry some negative crept in) seem to genuinely interested in you and your views on world issues. They are aware that they are not always told the truth and are eager to find out what you think.
On the 18 hours hard seat train ride from Kunming to Guilin I
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A huge pot noodle, the breakfast of Champions. Actually it was both my breakfast and tea as I couldn't order any other food from the undecipherable dining carriage menu. enjoyed seeing the Chinese at their most relaxed and sociable, playing games and offering around food.
The scenery here in Yangzhou is undeniably gorgeous but I will let the pictures do the talking.
And the food is great, I am indulging in far too much Sweet and Sour Pork, leading to weight gain.
And some of the girls are simply stunning although not all of them are the sort you would want to introduce to your mother.
Sure China is a challenging place to travel in, but I did not come here expecting an easy ride, this is travelling after all. The language barrier is immense but understandable, do you imagine a London Taxi driver to speak Chinese? No, so it’s no different.
The more I travel in this country the stronger and more confident I get, Cambodia, Lao and Vietnam were a walk in the park compared to here, You cannot sit back here and let things happen, you have to be proactive and take a degree of control or you will be the poor mug sat in the bus station hours after the bus has left. This will give me a good grounding
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They love a good smoke over here, being on a train is no reason to stop. for the rest of my trip.
Ok, so all is well and I am surviving. If you do not like negative things switch off now.
Negative.
First I must start by asking several questions. I have been finding myself walking around with a grimaced face, quite openly complaining about certain things, the great thing about this country is that you can do this and they won’t understand you, and even if they did this is Planet China, so they wouldn’t actually care.
Why does nothing work properly? Why is nothing actually built to last more then five minutes?
Why if you actually want to DO anything is it so expensive?
Why is everything so dirty, why is there not one river or stream that is not filled with toilet paper and plastic bottles?
Why must they beep constantly and drive like nothing else matters but them?
Why is almost every friendly greeting of “Hello” then followed by immature giggling when you reply?
Why is nothing easy here? You ask for the bill, your offered a pen, you ask again for the bill you are offered a beer?
Why do the
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I took myself on a chair lift in Dali, I am scared of heights. mobile phone rings have to be so loud? And why when they pick up the phone does every conversation have to be an argument?
And why are they so loud in general? Why do they shout at each other so much?
And why are they so ignorant? Comical Hitler T shirt anyone? Apparently they appreciate his strong leadership skills ignoring the fact he was a genocidal maniac and quite possibly the most evil man in history.
Why is every….single….bus and train so busy? Why does it need three days notice to book a ticket?
And why can’t you book a ticket on-line? Necessitating a hugely stressful trip to the ticket office or a hugely costly commission service to do it for you.
And why is so many of the building stock drab decrepit and depressing? Most cities look like huge versions of Milton Keynes or Knowle West, only slightly more cheery.
And why don’t they ever slow down for people? I have seen old ladies almost getting knocked over by rushing commuters, this suggests a huge lack of respect for the elderly.
Why do they have no concern for animal welfare? Cute booties
on dogs? Pet rabbits carried around in tiny cages? And why do they still insist that eating a tigers crown jewels makes you strong and virile when it clearly doesn’t and there are hardly any tigers left?
And why are there so many of them? And why can’t you escape the blighters?
And why do they stare at you? Especially when you are eating?
And can some one please explain to me the purpose of the Chinese Tourist? Like the Mosquito they descend in parasitical hordes on any slightly attractive place making it intolerable to normal humans and leaving you itching with annoyance.
And why oh why Karaoke? Why?
I tell you, China is a terrifying place. There are so many of them and the demand for “stuff” is growing so quickly. The balance of power is certainly shifting from West to East but the big question is what culture is being created here? That’s the really scary bit.
The one child policy (which effects around half the population) means there are going to be millions of Chinese that have no concept of sharing with a Brother or Sister, no concept of Aunts or
Uncles, Cousins or Nephews.
The information controls mean that they are worryingly ignorant of the outside world, not all of course, but the average Zhou in the street certainly seems to be.
This concept of “face” means they can be incredibly wasteful, to order lots of food only to leave most of it shows the people around you that you have made it, that you are rich. And they certainly are getting richer, that is evident.
These elements combined have the potential to create a very individualistic, destructive and insular society in what will soon be the most powerful nation on earth. Just when the Planet really can’t take any more abuse.
In a Country like Lao you feel the need to be very culturally sensitive, you are be aware that your behavior will have either a negative or positive influence on the local population. In China you simply don’t care, they are so wrapped up in “Planet China” that they are oblivious to everything around them.
I may well regret and retract the above comments in time, but this is just how I feel right now.
So, its fair to say I am
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A rare posed shot. Up the mountain in Dali. surviving China, not exactly enjoying it. Due to a hugely complicated Visa situation that I will explain in a separate post when I get the energy, I am off to Hong Kong tomorrow.
I wasn’t planning on going to Hong Kong, mainly due to cost, but now I am looking forward to some English sanity that I hope is still evident even though it is not ours anymore. Roads such as Gloucester Rd and Humphreys Avenue beckon, should be bliss.
As always I hope you are all well and sorry if I have not replied to messages.
All my love
John
PS
Map followers among you and so I can remember in the future
Dali – 7 hour bus ride to Kunming for 2 days – 18 hour train to Guilin for 2 days – 1 hour bus ride to Yangzhou for 3 days – 1 hour bus ride to Xing Ping for 2 days
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