Well, I'm out. Finally, I've left China; and not a moment too soon. I really don't think I could have handled much more. Is it a co-incidence that of the two countries I've spent more than a month in, Vietnam and China, I've left both of them in tears? Hmmmmmm....
I'd spent a lovely 4 days in and around Yangshuo, which is as close to a backpackers hangout as I've seen in China. The town is about 65km south of Guilin, the gorgeous limestone peaks of which are immortalized on the Y20 note. However, Yangshuo is about 1/8 the size, making it a far more welcoming place. The main street, West Street, is lined with hostels, cafes, book swaps, and souvenir shops ~ camera stores, massage parlours, and internet cafes. Menus list pancakes, spaghetti, burgers, fries, and ice cream sundaes...this is NOT China, though it is. EVERYTHING caters to the homesick traveller, which was perfect for me.
I spent a couple of days alone, sipping lattes and staring at the mountains looming over the small town ~ and then had the good fortune to meet up with Mats and Carl, my favourite Swedes in all of Tibet! It was really nice to see them again for sure, though we spent the next 2 days in package tour hell. For whatever reason, I chose to spend my last day in China on a full-day bus tour to the Longsheng "Dragon's Backbone' rice terraces. To be sure, they are beautiful. But its a long 3.5 hour bus ride each way, which got me back into yangshuo about 7:30pm.
And then the mayhem started. In fairness, I should say that I was overtired and hungry...but still.....A bus ticket booked in Guilin instructed me to wait in front of the Happy Hotel, which I did. The girl at the front desk ran out, concerned that it wasn't a proper bus stop, and loaded me and all my bags onto a passing motorcycle to be taken down the road to the bus station. But he chose instead to dump me at an intersection, where I started to freak out. My visa expired the next day; I HAD to make it to Hong Kong or face a Y500 fine from the Chinese government. And it was already 8:36...my bus was meant to pick me up at 8:30!!!!! I could feel the tears welling up as I asked him to stay and help me make sure the bus stopped for me ~ a request he didnt' seem to understand.
And then ~ Mats and Carl appeared out of no-where. I managed to get out, "I'm about to LOSE it...!!" before bursting into tears, at which point they stepped in and helped me out. I really think the tears helped ~ the poor Chinese kid seemed desperate to calm me down, and I drew quite a crowd.
Eventually, after a number of phone calls, we determined that the bus would in fact pick me up in front of the Happy Hotel, but at 9:30pm. I got on in the worst mood ever, and wasn't much cheered to discover that 'sleeper bus' means 3 double decker rows of minute 'beds' that are far too narrow and short to consider sleeping on. The entire night was basically a precarious, smoky, hell. Bumpy roads made falling off the bed onto the person sleeping on the FLOOR!! a constant threat. It also took about 4 hours longer than it was meant to, thanks to constant and likely illegal pickups and dropoffs of huge boxes of god-knows-what.
Anyways, it dropped me at the wrong bus station, nowhere near the border of Hong Kong, and I managed to make friends with a Canadian-Chinese family who had returned to pay respects to their ancestors, and were equally unsettled by the country, after being in Canada for so long. They helped me take the taxi to the proper bus station, change some yuan for hong kong dollars, and put me on the appropriate bus to make it across the border.
Now, on arriving in Hong Kong ~ they had lost my reservation at the hostel......oh, what else could go wrong. I really think they've put me in the broom closet.....I literally CANNOT fit on the bed, if I stretch the top of my head hits one wall, my feet the other...and thats with my knees bent!!!!!!
I buckled under this intense pressure and escaped to a pathetic dinner at Starbucks...I've never been so glad to see that green and white circle in my life!!!!
And there, my luck changed. I met a nice british guy named Darren, and after chatting a bit we headed down to the local Irish pub for a few drinks. MMMmmmm, gin and tonic. At about midnight I headed 'home' to pass out, after making plans to meet in the morning to do some sightseeing.....things were looking up for sure.
We managed to fit in the Star ferry across the harbour, and went so far as to take the bus to the base of the Peak Tram, and then changed our plans. We chose instead to hop on the subway and go to Disneyland for the day, which was incredible. A little overcast (but what better excuse to buy a Mickey Mouse umbrella???) but so much fun. We went on Space Mountain, some sort of Buzz Lightyear alien shooting extravaganza, and took in a couple of Disney shows. Nothing like a huge, oversized mouse speaking Cantonese, let me tell you! Well....actually.....GOOFY speaking Cantonese is an even wilder trip, I think.
Anyways, I got my picture with Mickey again ~ 2 Disneylands down, only 3 (i think..??) to go. I'm pretty sure theres just Japan, Paris, and Orlando still to see...can anyone correct me on this??
Second piece of good luck ~ Skotty, my friend I visited in Beijing, is in Hong Kong right now! I'm just trying to get ahold of his girlfriend Alex so we can get together for the second time in Asia....this is literally a feat of timing, as he arrived the day after I did!!!
Oh yes, and I did make it to Shanghai last week. It was incredible ~ I was the biggest tourist in the world and took in the Bund, the tourist tunnel under the river, and the Oriental Pearl Tower. The entire city seems surreal to me; like a futuristic Jetsons backdrop against which a bustling modern population of foreign expats and Chinese locals live. The pedestrian shopping streets are an insane jungle of flashing neon lights, 3 story high coca-cola bottles, and tiny noodle vendors competing for business against mcdonalds, pizza hut, and expensive restaurants.
I preferred the noodle joints though ~ I made friends with one young guy at my favourite shop. All they sell is noodles, so when you walk in you just say, 'one!' and he immediately sets out to hand pull a portion of noodles for your soup. Its really amazing to watch. They cook for a couple seconds, then you get a huge bowl of yummy broth, with even yummier noodles, and you add cilantro and chilis to taste. SO good.
So thats it. My dying days in China were accompanied by tears, but things are looking up now after all. I'm in Hong Kong right now, hoping to track down Skotty and Alex, and then will be headed to Macau on Sunday to meet up with a girl I met in Cambodia, who is willing to be my tour guide for the day there! I guess I can't complain too much ~ one thing I'm learning for sure is, something ALWAYS comes along. I feel really fortunate to have such great timing ~ meeting Darren, Skotty being in town, and Louise agreeing to show me around Macau.
Hope you all are well.....
xoxoxo Laura
ps. yes, i know the title makes no sense. but....i had to use that phrase at least once.
