So I did it. I quit my job and I left for my longest trip ever. 4 months between Hong Kong and Chennay, South India, passing through Tibet and Nepal. I know it's not that long at all, but it is for me (and for my family, that tried to convince me until the last minute to cancel everything). The days before my departure I wasn't sure I wanted to do it. I was chilling out at home, sleeping in my nice bed, having nice food cooked by my mum... what could I want more? But now the excitement that comes with travelling has taken me and I am looking forward to what is coming.
I can't believe this is already the 7th day of my trip. I thought about it this morning, on the train from Guangzhou. My 4 months trip is made of 17 weeks. One week is gone already. This means that I have only 16 weeks left!! Doesn't sound as long as 4 months, does it?
Well, I've got to hurry up. I thought I could chill out during this trip, unlike my last ones where I had to travel from one location to the other no-stop. But this time as well, it's not like I have plenty of time at all! If I consider that I would like to spend at least 2 months in India.. But what is 2 months? 9 weeks. Really nothing!
I spent 3 nights in Hong Kong. I was expecting a really small city, as at the travel agency where I used to work we were arranging "half day trips" of Hong Kong. Well, I was wrong. It is so big that in 2 days I only managed to see a small part of it. Just a bit of the Hong Kong Island (the Victoria Peak and the area around Central) and Kowloon (northern part and around Nathan Road). I haven't seen at all the New Territories (a part of Hong Kong that was leased to Britain 50 years after the rest of it), the beaches in Hong Kong Island and many other islands.
I stayied at the Chungking Mansions, not a nice place at all, but one of the cheapest options in town. And I actually didn't have any safety issue.
Guangzhou, one of the first cities when you enter China from Hong Kong, doesn't have much on the cultural site at all. It's famous for its love for business and food. So I spent most of my afternoon at the hostel, so chilled and relaxed. I didn't even have a map or any information about the town. So when I finally went out to go to the station to buy my ticket to Chengdu I decided to stop at what looked like the centre of the town (I can't even remember the name of the station now). And luckily enough there was the Ranmin Park and a pedestrian street. The Ranmin park or square are usually places where chinese like to meet, during the day to chat or play mahjong, in the evening to dance or practice some sport. That was the best part. I love this group dancing that they do. They remind me of the popular dancing that we have in Italy during our summery town festivals. At one point they even danced a song by Michael Jackson. They are so good! For each song they have different paces. They must learn it since children. I remember the first time I saw something like that was in a small town near Wuyuan, and in that square there weren't many people, probably because the village was small. But in Guangzhou, there were 3 different groups, all with their radio playing different songs. I loved it.
And after a 26 hours train trip I am in Chengdu. Trying to get a travel permit a travel companions to Tibet.
I will keep you updated.
