Hello from Hong Kong and for the first time, I can post this myself since they don’t have the same internet blocking as the rest of China. Thanks to my brother Mike for doing all the postings thus far!
This is my last day in China and it’s been a wonderful 22 days! First, thanks to Milly (Ming) our Chinese tour leader on our GAP trip. Milly was just terrific, very organized, yet relaxed and lots of knowledge and fun. She took us to the local places to eat which maybe we wouldn’t have tried on our own and we got much better and cheaper food options, We’re glad we’re the first group she went ballooning with!
And cheers to all my GAP travel mates! I feel very lucky to travel with such a great bunch of folks from around the world. Everyone got along very well and we shared so many laughs and good times. Georgi, remember to triple check this time! Where is Ricky again? – how many 10 yuans does he owe for being late!
Yesterday felt very un-China like as Paul decided to go to Hong Kong Disney on his quest to visit all the parks (along with all the wonders of the world, like me!) Mans and I decided to join him. The park is like mini-Disneyland, a much smaller scale, but many of the same attractions. It had a huge Halloween theme right now and scary houses and alien invasions to visit. The highlights were Mans grabbing MY arm in the scary elevator ride. And when the brave men made ME go first to get jumped on by all the scaries, I could see a figure lurking in the darkness and yelled, “ah, he’s going to jump at me! I have to kung fu him!” Then proceeded to attempt my best kung fu fighting moves. Jill would have been laughing to death at my sad, non-Krav bumbling. But it was hilarious!
Mans kept his serious Mans pose during Space Mountain so Paul and I decided to imitate him for the photo on the ride he skipped! But most all of the food at Hong Kong Disney is still Chinese style, so that was one of the only signs we’re weren’t back in the states.
I thought I’d finish my China part of the blog with a couple of observations about the country and traveling here.
It was MUCH easier to get around with a local guide. There is little English and most signs are only in Chinese characters. I think that’s why so many savvy and experienced travelers came together for the GAP trip, and we all benefited from it.
We rarely saw tourists in the places we ate. Like the stares we drew at the noodle place where each dinner cost about 50 cents and we learned the brown eggs had been hard boiled in tea and soy sauce – yum!
But really we never saw soy sauce on tables and no fortune cookies at all!
The local people love to push and cut in line! It’s like a large family where you have to be aggressive to get anything or it will all be gone. I had little old ladies shoving me with surprising strength to get onto trains first! That part was hard to get used to as Westerners and I won’t miss it.
I was surprised how huge and hazy and pollution filled all the cities were. Even the ones we thought were going to be more small and rural had 6 million people or so. To house everyone, there is an epidemic of huge ugly concrete skyscrapers that can really overshadow the beautiful historic temples.
I was definitely impressed with how industrious everyone is! Everyone works! Even if means having 12 people doing a job that one person could do, like planting flowers, it does give people employment and purpose. And I rarely saw people kicking back or taking breaks. Most all were busy and productive and definitely speaks to this country’s determination to advance on the global economy at every scale.
And nobody is going to lounge around and sleep late in these hard beds! Every hotel was known for extremely firm mattresses that were a bit of an adjustment! When the Chinese go abroad the must sleep horribly in our soft mushy beds!
And lastly, one thing we saw consistently was little kids with an open slit down their trousers! Heck with diapers, these kids were ready at a moment’s notice letting it all hang out! Though knowing babies, I was concerned for their mothers’ clothing during any accidents. However, everyone seemed to have it well down!
Overall, China was fascinating and I’ve truly enjoyed my experiences here. I’ll look forward to cooking veggies with chiles and garlic – yum.
I’ve really liked the Kindle and finished two novels about China while here. The netbook has also been great, as has my trivia game on my iTouch. The camera Eric gave me has been TERRIFIC and everyone has wanted copies of pics. I also have a number of amusing videos. My packs and gear have worked quite well, though I remember my year long trip with just one pack on my back and one little one in front. With all the souvenirs and stairs, I’ve been lugging around more than usual!
Early tomorrow I had for Borneo though I just heard from Kat that there was an issue with her flight and she will have to arrive a day later! Such a bummer that she’ll miss part of the jungle safari time! Hopefully we’ll both get to hold an orangutan like I did a panda! And REALLY looking forward to a break from the heat and humidity with the diving trip.
I likely won’t be able to write until I hit Cambodia in just over a week. It will be wonderful to stay in one place for a while and get to the actual volunteer part of my journey! Hopefully I’ll also be closely following the Sox on their way to their next world series win!
Hope the fall is nice in New England! Miss everyone…
Val
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