I cried and cried and cried. I cried so much that concerned, kind strangers stopped to ask if I was OK. I nodded as tears streamed down my face. I was clearly not OK. Of course I was looking forward to going home to see family and friends, but right now I was leaving. Leaving Asia, leaving my adventure, leaving the traveller’s life and, most significantly, leaving Rudy.
One team, two months, three time zones, four countries and thousands of laughs. We’d been together pretty much all day, every day and leaving him was a real wrench. I enjoyed travelling with him so much – much more than travelling by myself. He’s kind, generous, fun, reliable, interesting, observant, thoughtful. And happy. Watching him spread his happiness had been incredible to watch and I felt privileged to have travelled with him. But now it was time to say goodbye:
And so, after two smooth flights over some rather inhospitable-looking terrain:
…. I arrived home. I’m kinda numb to it all – it seems real to be home, but not real. I think it’ll take a while for my brain to process it. And then I’ll write again.
A travelling day on a first-class bus to Kuala Lumpur:
… where I was treated to dinner in the KL Tower – a revolving restaurant affording 360 degree views of the city:
… as the sun went down:
… and the thunderstorm arrived:
A new type of sink design – guess how you turn the tap on?:
Nope, nothing to give it away. This is what UX people call a “lack of affordances” – nothing to push, pull, turn or lift, so you’re at a complete loss as to how to use it. So a sticker is required (if something requires a sticker, it usually means it hasn’t been designed well):
The international buffet was amazing – spoilt for choice and way too much to exercise my usual “a little of everything” approach:
A special evening, with amazing views and wonderful company – another highlight:
Singapore instantly reminded me of Florida: the humid hug as you exit the airport, the trees, the houses and the vibe. And nobody wanted to take photos of me anymore. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little sorry about this. Restaurants now didn’t welcome “outside food and drink” (a pleasant surprise of SE Asia where almost everywhere was happy for you to use their toilets and facilities).
But it was also distinctly Asian: not quite as clean, shops open to the street, street cafes and lots of Asians. Hong Kong was different to all other destinations on my trip so far in that it was truly multicultural – part of what made it feel like London. Whilst it’s clearly not just locals, we’re back to the majority being of Asian descent.
It was a bit sad to leave HK:
But some great views from the plane:
It was dark by the time we were walking to our hotel, located in a non-touristy area. And with the night came the nightlife: gambling, prostitution. No photos, obviously. Stalls on the street hawking medicines were a first for the trip (it looked like Viagra and the like – even though this is not my area of expertise, it didn’t take a lot of imagination to guess what they were selling).
Tomorrow we start exploring, but we’ll go to the city centre for that 😉
Chinese people are far and away the best thing about China. With very few exceptions, they have been friendly, fun and kind. So, despite the language challenges, tourist circuses and lack of major tourist destinations in the south, I’ve enjoyed my time here. But it’s good to be moving on…
… to Hong Kong. Technically it’s part of China (a “special administrative region”), but has a border crossing, it’s own currency and they drive on the correct side of the road 😉 One person I spoke to described it well: it’s like China is the parent company and Hong Kong a subsidiary which is has its own management.
We’d taken the high-speed express train to Kowloon. Once again the train was fast, efficient and clean. And the toilet had the flush button in front of you so you didn’t have to turn round in the small cubicle. UX* people notice these little things, you know 😉
At the border, things were serious and official, but still fast and efficient. So why was it taking Rudy so long to get through? I peered over. He was laughing and chatting with immigration officer #facepalm. Eventually he emerged and we compared tickets (no stamps here anymore). I’d been given a six-month stay (UK), him only three (Belgium). “Yeah,” he explained, “she wants to see me again soon.” I couldn’t help but feel there may have been an element of truth in this 😉
It didn’t take long to start seeing the differences from mainland China, such as:
Throne toilets, with paper provided
No spitting on the street
No table bars to whack my knees on
People queue to get on the bus
Nearly everyone speaks English
Signs are in English and Chinese rather than Chinese and (maybe) English
But some things were the same:
Shops open out on to the street
Squat toilets were also available in public conveniences
And I felt oddly at home. Or maybe it’s not odd as Hong Kong was a British territory from the opium wars until 1997 and so much reminded me of London, little things like the escalators: stand on the right, walk on the left. And the high prices and tiny hotel rooms. And I mean tiny: two beds and a bathroom in 7sqm. But it was surprisingly functional – the shower was over the toilet, the beds butted up in an L-shape and plenty of under-bed storage.
Confectionery in the 7-11 also reminded me of home:
But then she short-changed me to remind me that I was, in fact, still a tourist 🙁
Spent a very pleasant hour touring the harbour (one of only three natural harbours in the world – can you name the other two?**):
With this guy spending the entire trip (really, the *entire* trip) making a video starring himself:
Hong Kong Convention Centre was designed to resemble a soaring bird, and hosted the Sino British handover in July 1997:
The Colosseum’s claim to fame stems from its construction method – the roof was built and the hoisted up before the non-load-bearing walls were added to create this striking inverted pyramid (image courtesy of Google as mine were rubbish):
This clock tower is the only thing left of the railway terminus of the line from Canton (as was, now Guangzhou), somewhat ironically the rest was demolished to make way for the cultural centre:
Also, a mini London Eye:
A beautiful sunset:
And a visit from some of the locals:
Rudy admitted the light show (“it’s amazing”) was a bit of a let down. But the general ambience and friendly vibe made it worthwhile.
Random stuff from today starts at breakfast when my noodle soup had a salted duck egg in it (remember those Laotian snacks from a few weeks ago?):
It was actually really good 🙂
David and Lucy: they were on our train and we got chatting at the border. They met online three years ago and struck up a friendship (he’s late fifties, she nineteen). I obviously didn’t pry (another western trait) but I got the impression he’d had a major life event (divorce?) and decided to teach in China. Came over in September, secured a position very, very quickly, had to return home and was now out a few weeks before the start of term to explore. Step in Lucy who came across as a shy, intelligent and kind lady. If you’re a native English speaker with reasonably good literacy, the world really is your oyster. I wish them both all the very best 🙂
Finally, a T-shirt slogan that makes sense:
Overall a very enjoyable introduction to Hong Kong 🙂
* UX = User eXperience = making things easy and satisfying to learn and use.
** San Francisco and Sydney (is this actually right? I mean they might not be big, but I’m sure there are more natural harbours than this..? Update: Wiki advises there are, in fact, lots of natural harbours in the world – I lost count)
China really knows how to travel by train – it’s clean and efficient. Plenty of space and airy carriages make it a very pleasant experience indeed:
And it’s fast:
Because the lines are straight – as I’ve mentioned previously, they’ve money and vast amounts of land (and I’m guessing, but I suspect a Communist government helps – as Sene said, the big wigs decide, nobody dares object and it gets done).
Outside, the landscape changed very quickly (no, not just because we were going almost 250kph):
But was still defined by lots of karsts:
Passing through numerous towns and cities, the homogeneity of the buildings was marked – metal and concrete, box-like, mostly symmetrical. Aesthetics clearly aren’t valued, which surprised me a little considering their elegant written script, descriptive language and cultural heritage.
The metro was in the same vein as their trains, the glass screen improving efficiency – very similar to London’s Jubilee line, the newest Tube line, so their transport system is clearly quite new. Plastic tokens this time, instead of thin card tickets – you place them on the sensor to enter through the barriers, and put it in the slot to exit. Efficient, sustainable and environmentally friendly. Regular travellers had plastic cards, again a better solution. Another difference was the seats – plastic and not divided by arm rests. I’m in two minds: on the downside, everyone was sliding all over the place as the train pulled away stopped at stations (which a metro is wont you do); on the other hand, they’re easy to clean. Eating was not allowed – this wouldn’t be a popular change on the Tube, but it would improve the experience for everyone (and I say this as a regular Tube eater although, for the record, I’m extra careful not to make a mess).
And another baffling slogan for the collection:
As usual, we hadn’t booked a hotel but as soon as we exited the metro we were presented with an offer of a hotel. The trick is to know the going rate (thanks, TripAdvisor). Rudy negotiated from 188¥ to 148¥, so we followed the guy to the hotel… where the room rate was set at 168¥. Dilemma: we were prepared to pay 168¥ but didn’t want to encourage his dishonest practice. Or let him off the hook. We put him on the spot; he did the Chinese embarrassed laugh and shaking of head. Point made, we went for dinner – a local(spicy) fish specialty which was delicious (also saw an African woman – haven’t seen any Africans during my travels so was a point of note):
… And then checked in at the hotel he’d brought us to 🙂
Another hotel aimed at Chinese, but I’m used to them and they’re good value for money (and usually come with respirators which is obviously very important).
We’d ended up in the * real* part of town – a trading estate near the station. Walking round that evening, we immediately noticed all the Africans – the lady in the restaurant hadn’t been a one off. Stopping to talk to a group hanging out on the street, it turns out they’re here to trade, sending (fake) goods back home – most of them are from Tanzania here on a one-year visa. But they can only stay thirty days at a time, so each month they make a day trip to Hong Kong. And with the Africans come African home comforts (mostly food). So on our last day in China, we found Little Africa 🙂
Thus far, noodle soup has not been given the time and space it deserves. I feel the need to correct this:
It started as a love-hate relationship – easily available, cheap and healthy, but my body was still conditioned to crave western breakfasts. As SE Asia is accustomed to western tourists, western breakfasts are easily available. Occasionally I tried to “eat local” for breakfast but my body just didn’t want it. Then I came to China. She’s not used to western tourists, so toast and eggs weren’t available. Noodle soup it was. Didn’t take long for my body to adjust and it now wants a nice bowl of noodle soup every morning.
It works like this: you choose your meat (of which you get very little, of course, because this is Asia and their diet is predominantly carbohydrates), they lower the noodles (you might get to choose which type) into some boiling water for a minute or so, the noodles are dumped in a bowl and various bits are added (meat, beans, peanuts, leafy veg – each place does it slightly differently), the bowl is topped up with stock, you add extra bits (again, it varies, but chili sauce, small green beans chopped with chili, coriander and spring onion are almost always offered) and finally you eat it (maybe wishing you hadn’t gone quite so heavy on the chili). Wherever makes it, it’s basically a bowl of fresh noodles – the rest is to make it more palatable. I’ve had it for breakfast every day since arriving in China, the Hilton buffet being a notable exception when I made the most of some western influence. So anyway, after noodle soup:
… we got on the bus to Guilin (actually we were in a tuk-tuk going to the station when he waved down a bus, pulled over, chucked us out whilst pointing at said bus saying urgently “Guilin, Guilin”, and snatched our fare out of my hand (despite the fact that we’d only gone half a kilometre down the road)).
We’d paid 22Y to get here, so I knew the bus fare. Short changed. I signalled more. Straight away she gave me more and continued down the bus without a word. I’m getting very fed up of this – it makes the travelling less enjoyable no matter how much I try not to let it. One of the things I’m looking forward to when I go home is not having to be on constant guard for overcharging – it started in Dubai and hasn’t stopped. I’m not even safe in supermarkets that have displayed prices as their tactic is to not “beep” it but put the value in manually. I’ve got wise to that one, too. And our hotel owner in Yangshuo had massively overcharged us for our bamboo raft tickets – I mentioned it politely, and she made excuses. I let it go as I’d made my point. I’ll let TripAdvisor do the hard work 😉
On a positive note, when I told the bus conductor that I needed the toilet, we pulled over at a petrol station less than five minutes later. That’s the Asian way.
From the bus window I saw lots of buildings. All single skin with no apparent damp proof course. Black damp was already crawling over even fairly new ones. It’s strange that cavity wall insulation, central heating and double-glazing hasn’t reached here yet, despite their climate being very similar to ours.
I spent much of the trip exploring Rudy’s music collection, tunes that I hadn’t heard in a long time, many of which brought back memories, and new stuff: Dire Straits, Aerosmith, Paul Kelly, The Eagles, Melissa Etheridge, Dream Theatre, Enya…
Walking the city streets later, we found those pizza bases again – must be a local delicacy – and “orange hand grenades”:
Then to the bus station where my latest app is coming in very useful by providing Chinese translations – technology can be wonderful.
And the photos – some sneaky, some requested. Sitting outside near a transport hub of some kind we were people-watching and noticed a group of young girls a few seats away.
“They want a photo,” said Rudy.
“Why don’t you go up and sit next them – it’ll make their day?”
“No, I want to see how long it takes them to summon up the courage…”
About five minutes later, one finally approached: “Can I take a photo?”
“Yes, of course you can.”
I think we made their day! Her English was pretty good so we chatted to the group for a while which was really nice – but again we forgot to ask them why they’d wanted a photo with us. Next time, I’ll remember next time.
To end, some clever packaging (I told you there weren’t so many interesting sights in China) – this yogurt packet had an air-filled compartment:
I think it’s to protect the main compartment so that, when under pressure, it doesn’t burst. Ingenious. If, indeed, that’s what it is. If you can confirm or deny, I’d be most grateful – I’m intrigued.
I like the Chinese. Not only are they generally kind and friendly, they keep telling me I’m pretty. I’m self-aware enough to know roughly where I sit on the ugly-beautiful continuum, so it’s somewhat baffling and surprising, but I’ll live with it. Maybe China has different criteria (i.e. a western look).
Airport-like security at bus stations is fairly pointless: I threw my backpacks into the machine but kept my bumbag on me; and one time, those who were presumably supposed to be monitoring said machine were playing cards. It’s just not scaleable. If London did things the same as here, nobody would ever get anywhere. It dawned on me that, at some point, TfL may tighten security so I should appreciate the ease with which I can move around now.
Waiting for the bus, I spotted a street snack that I hadn’t seen before:
I’m not really a pizza girl, but these were simple, crispy and tasty:
Bad driver. Really bad driver – he went too fast, made bad judgements and, most significantly, took risks that were simply unnecessary. For instance, stuck behind a slow construction lorry (of which there are lots due to the huge amount of building going on), he pulled into the centre of the road to start overtaking. It was clear that there was no way he’d get past before the oncoming bus reached us. But no matter, he was going to try. He pulled out and beeped his horn aggressively. The other bus gave a long, hard blast on the horn and then, two-thirds of the way into the manoeuvre, our driver finally acknowledged he wasn’t going to make it and retreated back behind the lorry. Oh, and the whole thing took place on a bend. Bad, bad driver. Sam’s artistic score: 2; Rudy’s technical score (remember he’s a professional driver): 1 (only because he didn’t actually crash, but it’s just a matter of time).
Tried to distract ourselves from the imminent danger by looking at the beautiful terrain:
Finally, we arrived. To hordes of women trying to sell tours:
Markets are nearly always interesting and Yangshuo’s was no exception with cockerels:
Ducks:
Hard-working employees (or maybe he was the boss):
And, unfortunately, unscrupulous traders. Don’t try to overcharge us for oranges – we know the going rate and will take all our business elsewhere if you try to scam us.
Walked through the town:
Back to the restaurant where Rudy had left his backpack (not a light traveller like me – perhaps I can teach him a thing or two about this travelling lark), where the kind lady owner sorted a taxi to our hotel at a decent price for us. Thank you 🙂
Into the limestone karsts we drove (not literally, obviously), past monkeys who had been dressed up and were being used for tourist photos – the Chinese seem to like and approve of this; it breaks my heart to see the animals degraded so.
And on our evening walk round this little village we met Ma Ma Moon, the matriarch of Moon Hill and its closest village. Speaking ten languages (including Flemish, which Rudy was most pleased, and surprised, about), she’s grown up in these parts. With a fire in her eyes, she was engaging, enthusiastic and entertaining. And over seventy years’ old.
Back at the hotel, we finally sampled a local delicacy: fish in beer (served with home-grown veg and endless supplies of rice):
Another interesting day, but not that exciting. Time in SE Asia didn’t go for long without interesting, exciting or amazing things happening. But China’s different. It’s organised and touristy, although those tourists are now Chinese rather than western. The experience is simply being in the country and observing the melting pot of western and Asian cultures. Without speaking the language, it’s difficult to get under the surface, to find out what the Chinese think of China, how they feel about their lives, their hopes and fears. Next time. Next time I’ll learn some of the language. Watch this space 🙂
China is building. Lots. And fast. Cranes and rubble are everywhere – big cities, small towns, ethnic villages. It’s a country on the rise, quite literally with all the buildings changing the skyline (but Chinese investments ended the year down, so something else is obviously going on that I can’t see).
Nine-and-a-half-hour bus journey from Kaili to Guilin through more limestone karsts that look almost handmade:
Here they don’t move mountains, but just break them down if they get in the way of the relentless building programme. Literally break them down.
I’m not sure whether you can see it on this pic, but the trees were in lines again – Buddha was obviously a very neat chap:
Boarded the bus to see these little ‘uns in our seats – I told you Asians board a bus and immediately start eating:
As predicted, they started puking not long after. Is this some kind of ancient ritual, handed down from generation to generation? With the amount of food their father had with him, it would appear so.
Barking from below gave away the dogs in the hold, but they had better prospects than the hounds on this passing lorry (was that subtle enough?):
Arriving in Guilin, we were accosted by the usual groupies, found a hotel and were led to our room. The key didn’t work. This isn’t unusual- we seem to jinx these electronic keys. Again and again he tried the door, each time being greeted with the universal noise for “I’m in charge, and there’s no way I’m letting you in”. He paused. The door opened from the inside and a middle-aged man was standing there. He smelled strongly of alcohol. A lady arrived and everyone chattered away in Chinese. Eventually we were taken to a different room, complete with optional extras of ladies’ and men’s’ underwear, a copious supply of condoms and the necessary emergency breathing apparatus. The whole experience was very surreal.
Making the most of our Hilton experience and still not feeling 100%, we had a lazy morning in our room and an eleven-course buffet breakfast:
At the train station, a young lady pushed in front of me as I entered the turnstile lane… And then realised she’d gone down the wrong side. I backed out and went the right way so her rudeness backfired. We both saw the funny side of it 🙂
Buying tickets for the 2pm train, the clerk pointed to some writing in red on his screen, looked mildly concerned and then offered me the 1646. When I confirmed I wanted the earlier train, he again pointed at the red writing. Problem was, it was all Chinese to me. Context gave away nothing, either. Turns out it was unreserved seating and it was busy. But, seeing our backpacks and western faces, once again the Chinese came into their own, making room for us to get ourselves comfortable:
It was just like being on the train home from London 😉 Except that smoking was allowed. Albeit only between the carriages. But it was still extremely unpleasant, especially for someone with an allergy. But apart from that, it was fine and after a main stop an hour or so into our journey, loads of people got off the train so we had a comfy seat the rest of the way. The carriages themselves were comfortable, large and clean:
Three times the (kind and friendly) guard cleaned the floor during our journey. That’s three times more than I’ve seen the floors of South West Trains being cleaned in the years that I’ve been using them. England, please take note.
Small hillocks defined the terrain:
In one town we passed, those in the way had been removed, leaving a chalk-coloured mound.
Train travel is quick and efficient – China has the money to go through mountains and over valleys:
Arriving in Kaili we went in search of a hotel. All full. Out came the Lonely Planet and, two taxi drivers later, we were stood outside their recommended hotel. It was shut. Pants. We wandered again. Full. Full. I began to wonder if this was the tourist effect in reverse: language difficulties (nobody speaks English here) make us too much hassle. Eventually we found somewhere. Small, damp and smelly, but dry. To bed early, tired and looking forward to our trip tomorrow (and, hopefully, a nicer hotel!).
Merry Christmas, everybody 🙂 Christmas is not so all-consuming here, a funny mix between shopping, a gentle festive vibe and business-as-usual. Which was lucky as it turned out to be a travel day. So we “rode forward” on the metro:
… to the (very busy) train station.
A totally chilled day watching the world go by (well, China anyway), through the changing landscape:
… fuelled by copious quantities of coffee (by my standards at least, which means I got through almost one teaspoon):
Learning my lesson from train travel in Vietnam, we booked the soft sleeper, and had the cabin to ourselves. Result 🙂
Staff were very willing and helpful throughout our journey, but they didn’t seem to fully appreciate that we didn’t speak Chinese. So we rolled with it: after clearly signaling that we had no idea what she was saying, and getting a response of a friendly smile, nod and further instructions in Chinese, Rudy preceded to have a conversation with her, with neither understanding the other (“Ah,” said Rudy, holding the disposable slippers, “one on each foot, yes.”). I was crying with laughter. Maybe you had to be there.
The journey whizzed by all too quickly. We really didn’t want to arrive.
But I’m glad we did because Rudy had booked the Hilton. Awesome Christmas present. Thanks, Rudy 😀
But first we had to get there. Taxi driver didn’t understand “Hilton” (isn’t that a universal term, especially if you’re a taxi driver with a Hilton in your city?), and couldn’t read a map (!). Within moments, a young lady had stepped in to assist with her basic English, and even tried calling the number on my booking. Five minutes, and about a dozen locals later, we were on our way through Anshun.
Welcome cookie. Never had a welcome cookie before. I knew I was going to like this place 🙂
amazing views:
Full-size swimming pool with jacuzzi:
Gym and yoga studio also helped. Add into the mix a bath, rainfall shower, tonnes of toiletries, a mini bar, kettle and the comfiest bed ever, and I was one very happy bunny. Even the most independent, go-with-the-flow girl need a bit of luxury sometimes 😉
After a long, hard swim and long, gentle jacuzzi (where I had a long conversation with Bruce, courtesy of the app on his phone), I disappeared into the ladies’ changing rooms… followed by one of the attendants. She proceeded to take care of me: providing more towels than I knew what you do with, turning on the shower and adjusting it to a nice temperature, escorting me to the sauna when I was done (which I unfortunately had to decline due to time constraints) and keeping an eye on me whilst I got dressed (which was rather disconcerting, but done with the best of intentions). Cotton buds, hair dryer and three different types of hairbrush were provided, too. I emerged exercised, relaxed and beautifully clean and remembered how much I love swimming. Only a piano was required to compete the set and I figured a place the size of Anshun may have one somewhere. But I was very happy with the home comforts so far and food was higher up the agenda.
As we walked over the bridge into town, we saw the dancing fountains… and were spotted by the locals. More photo requests as Rudy tried to video, and we duly obliged. “You’re starting to like all the attention, aren’t you?” I asked Rudy. “Yeah, it’s great,” he replied, “I’ve never been this popular in Belgium!”
We spotted it at the same time. I couldn’t believe it, and Rudy knew what was coming. “May I play?” I asked the assistant; she nodded and signalled to the piano.
It was quite late by the time I’d had my fix and, the Asians being early eaters, our dinner options were limited. But we struck lucky. After perusing the menu of a street cafe…
… we pointed at dishes others were eating, and signalled how many of each!
Christmas dinner (the peas were amazing, and the first I’ve had all trip):
Then back to the hotel, fed, tired and happy, for a sleep in a big, comfy, warm bed. Today was one of the most memorable Christmas days ever 🙂
