Yip Timmy is, as Confucius would say, going to Bangkok. I fly out of Guilin on Saturday afternoon. It feels so strange to finally be leaving China after spending quite a long time here.
China is so different from any other country I've been, or can imagine for that matter. Its also very difficult to make any general conclusions about the place as the country is so vast and its different people so varied; but, as the saying goes: "That which can be put into a nutshell should stay there". I have found some people to be really genuinely friendly and generous, especially in Beijing, and others to be downright rude and abusive. Some places are also incredibly beautiful, and historically fascinating, but this is interspersed with massive, ugly cities choking under polluted skies.
I really will treasure my time here though. Putting effort into learning Chinese, even if it is bad Chinese, has made my time so much more memorable. I find the language to be a real puzzle, which is stimulating in itself, but I really love the reactions people give me when I speak to them. They really do seem delighted that I'm trying. I'll miss that when I head into SE Asia and will have to rely on the local peoples' English and my "point and shoot" form of sign language.
China is so different from any other country I've been, or can imagine for that matter. Its also very difficult to make any general conclusions about the place as the country is so vast and its different people so varied; but, as the saying goes: "That which can be put into a nutshell should stay there". I have found some people to be really genuinely friendly and generous, especially in Beijing, and others to be downright rude and abusive. Some places are also incredibly beautiful, and historically fascinating, but this is interspersed with massive, ugly cities choking under polluted skies.
I really will treasure my time here though. Putting effort into learning Chinese, even if it is bad Chinese, has made my time so much more memorable. I find the language to be a real puzzle, which is stimulating in itself, but I really love the reactions people give me when I speak to them. They really do seem delighted that I'm trying. I'll miss that when I head into SE Asia and will have to rely on the local peoples' English and my "point and shoot" form of sign language.
My last stop here, Yangshuo, has been really cool (when it hasn't been over 40 degrees that is!) Its been good just to relax a bit and get to see a different side China from Beijing. We've spent most of our time exploring the surrounding area by bicycle, except of course for the last few days when we've all been down with stomach bugs. But being able to buy new DVDs for R5 has made even that bearable. I also did a cooking course whilst here, so look out for Tim's "sweet 'n sour pork" or "Yangshuo beer fish" on my return!
Timmy gets down to business in the kitchen during a cooking lesson.
My traveling buddy from Guilin, and room mate in Yangshuo: Geoff (from Queenstown NZ). From the top of Moon Hill near Yangshuo.
No comments:
Post a Comment