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Published: December 7th 2007
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Guangzhou
We arrived in China and the first thing that hit us was that all of the signs were now in Chinese. No more english signs for the tourists! We couldn't even have a guess at what they meant. We tried to ask for help but next to no-one could speak english, the only way to communicate was by pointing at the symbols in our lonely planet. When we first arrived in Guangzhou we tried to take the metro into town but we couldn't match the names with the ones in the book. We took a walk along the Pearl river and it was a nice atmosphere. A guy was playing the guitar and singing in chinese. It was really nice music and the river was all lit up along the side. We found a vegetarian restaurant that night and stupidly all ordered sweet and sour pork. It was absolutely disgusting, it tasted like chewy eyeballs inside! Thank god for spring rolls and rice. Our next day in Guangzhou we were a bit more aware what was going on and felt more confident in getting around China. We visited the temple of the five immortals and the mosque dedicated to
the prophet. Whilst there we felt like celebrity's. Everybody wanted a picture of us. Whilst walking around we noticed that the men here sit on the edge of the street, squatting and playing cards, or relaxing and reading newspapers in their carts. It was also amazing to see how much they can fit on a small bicycle. We left Guangzhou that afternoon by bus for Zhaoqing.
Zhaoqing
In Zhaoqing we were the only tourists. It was obvious the people here didn't see tourists very often because everyone nudged their friends, said hello or even run away from us because they were too embarresed to talk to us - even to take our order! We also had a man following us taking pictures like he had never seen white people before. The following day in Zhaoqing we visited 7 star crags park. We hired a lady as our guide for the day and we all squeezed into her tuk-tuk like vehicle. It was beautiful scenery and the lady stopped at all the best points. We got to see the chinese countryside and the small shacks they have as houses along the river. On the way we met a group
of chinese guys who invited us out for dinner and to a bar. Only one of them could speak English and that night he didnt turn up. At dinner we couldn't even explain to them what we wanted to eat and we ended up having chicken claws with the toe nails still attached! It was disgusting and one of the guys even sucked the head of the chicken! After dinner we went to their room for a drink which ended being herbal tea in a can! Which was also disgusting. After that it was on to the club. When we walked in we were a bit wary becuase there were pictures of naked women on the wall and they took us into a private room. We were scared but relieved when it turned out to be a kareoke room. We had a go at the kareoke but they obviously didn't think much of our singing becuase they took the mike off of us quick. We were served small plates of snacks and wondered where the alchohol was. They came in with a crate of beers and served us them in shot glasses. They got drunk really quickly and started dancing
- Wierd!. We joined in and they probably thought the same about our dancing. Trying to explain we were ready to go home took about half an hour but they were gentleman. One of them went with us in the cab home even though we insisted we would be fine and they wouldn't let us pay for anything despite us trying to many times, they seemed to take offense from it. It was a strange night but we're glad we went because it was an insight in to Chinese life. The following morning we left for Guilin.
Guilin
Our bus to Guilin was interesting to say the least. We didn't realise that they stopped along the way to pick up the locals to earn some extra money. We had a screaming baby, people throwing up and poor Lucy had an old lady practically sitting on her lap. We were relieved to get off the bus. In Guilin we walked around town, visited the tea houses of Ronghu and Shanhu and booked a tour along the Li River for the next day. In the evening we walked along the night market and had our first great chinese meal. Our
tour along the Li River wasn't on an ordinary tour boat. We managed to find a fishing boat that would take us for a fraction of the price. It was amazing scenery along the river and there were huge rocks in unusual formations all the way. As we went along the river we passed people washing their clothes in the water, cattle drinking, it was clear the people used the river as part of their daily life. We left the boat in Xping Town where we took a kind of buggy through the countryside. From Xping Town we took another bus to Yangshou. Yangshou was a very beautiful town surrounded by mountains. It was very touristy but not in a tacky way. We visited the markets before taking a bus back to Guilin. The next morning we left by train for Nanning. When we arrived we were starving. We walked around for ages trying to find food and after a while gave up and settled for Pizza Hut. Nanning was an overnight stop to cross the border to Vietnam. To get to the border we were taken with all our backpacks by bike with a carriage on the back. No
wonder the cities we visited in China were so polluted, on our way to the border we passed a truck that was giving out so much black gunk we couldn't breth and this was typical all over China. We loved China, it is a beautiful country and the people were a lot friendlier than Hong Kong it was just a shame that so often the cities were covered in smog.
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Mum Sue
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Some interesting photos girls. How could they eat chickens claws!! aagh!!! This is one country I don't think I would bother visiting. Look after each other and be careful. Lots of love Mum Sue XXX