Vietnam

Hey everyone,

I'm settled in Luang Prabang, Laos, at the moment, so now I'm all caught up - you can check my Facebook if you'd like to see more pictures.

We became the unofficial sponsors for Smoothies Takeaway.
L-R: Me, Cecilia, Jen, and Roxy.

In Vietnam I had a much different experience than in Cambodia, not only because it was a different country, but also because...I had friends. I was a solo traveler no more. It all started with a fellow American named Roxanna. I met Roxy in Cambodia while she was on her way to Vietnam to both meet up with her two friends and to start looking for teaching jobs in Saigon. When I arrived in Saigon (today called Ho Chi Minh City, we just liked the old name Saigon better) we reunited, plus I got to meet her two friends Cecelia and Jen, who were spending two months traveling in Asia. It turned out that I had roughly the same itinerary as them, and with Roxy staying behind in Saigon to teach, it seemed to work out that I was adopted as their next travel buddy. It was really fun to be part of a group, with people to share experiences with, and I'm looking forward to the next two countries I meet up with them in.

We spent a few days together in Saigon, which was a big, bustling city with more motorbikes than you can count on the street at any given time. Remember when I compared crossing the street in China to Frogger? Well, in Vietnam you follow the same basic rules, except you're playing a more advanced level:  you have to deal with motorbikes, which are a little trickier than they seem, since they can weave around you at any given point in time. Roxy's advice? "Stay consistent," meaning if you're crossing the road, don't stop halfway or hesitate or you're basically roadkill. It takes practice.

Besides  walking around the city, eating delicious Vietnamese dishes for very cheap prices, and stopping for fruit smoothies here and there, my two big, and quite sombering outings in Saigon were to the War Remnants Museum and the Cu Chi tunnels.

 I went to the museum alone, as the girls had gone a few days before, and I was glad to be by myself so I could process it more fully. I also had to have some alone time so I could take breaks from holding back my tears in between some of the exhibits. I learned, in those two hours, so much more about America's role in the war than I had ever learned before. I knew before I went that the museum had a notorious anti-American bias, evident by the display translations, but what struck me the most were the pictures. Pictures don't lie. All I could think when I looked at the horrific images was "Why?" Hopefully someday that question can be better answered.

My next excursion, with the girls, was equally as eye opening, but this time it was more 'hands on.' We went to the Cu Chi tunnels, about an hour outside the city, to tour part of the extensive, 200 km network of underground tunnels, built and used by the guerrilla Viet Cong troops to make their attacks against the Nationalist and American armies. There were traps, false tunnels, and hidden passageways all along the network, and it was eerie to be walking around in the very jungles where the war had taken place, 40 years before. It was real, it was scary, but it was good to see and to put things in perspective. We even got to crawl through the tunnels (what I meant by 'hands on,' quite literally) which was pretty claustrophobic.

From Saigon, we endured a very long 23 hour sleeper bus ride - the problem wasn't as much the time as it was the leg room and lack of personal space, both of which are low priorities in Asia. But, even our abrupt, roadside drop off couldn't deter us from our excitement at reaching our next destination: Hoi An, Vietnam.

Hoi An was every tourist's dream town. It was cute, it was small, it was historical,  it was easy to walk around in, it had nice, cheap, clean guesthouses and tons of delicious restaurants and cafes. There were boat rides, bicycle rentals, river strolls, spa treatments, and  photo opps to be had. And don't even get me started on the shopping. I challenge you not to like Hoi An.

 Oh, and I forgot to mention one of the best parts: it's about 5 km away from the beach.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves by shopping, strolling, taking pictures, eating, and even venturing out to the beach one afternoon. The stretch of beach we were on is just south of the famous China Beach, with waters just as clear and sand just as soft. It was a great stopover, and we ended up staying an extra night in our adorable guesthouse.

Hoi An by night. 

But, as always, it was time to move on. Our next destination was Halong Bay,  which we had booked a tour for, so after a 13 hour sleeper train to Hanoi (stunning coastal views, China Beach pictured below), we got in, hopped in a taxi to the tour company's office, then left Hanoi within two hours to start our 2 day tour.

Welcome aboard

Halong Bay is a 'must do' in Vietnam and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has a lot going for it. Its famous limestone karst peaks jutting out from emerald green waters made for some great scenery everywhere we turned.

Our boat tour included meals and some excursions, and much as I don't like tours there's really not much other choice for seeing Halong with limited time. I will secretly admit it was nice having someone else in charge for a while though. Shh.

Happy Birthday Jen!

We went kayaking, swimming, (until we saw some jellyfish  hanging out by our kayaks) cave exploring, and hiking, in between sunbathing on our little balcony and relaxing on the boat between meals. The meals were fantastic, with a variety of seafood, vegetables, curries, rice, and fruits for dessert. After eating on the cheap for a month or so, we felt very spoiled with all our food.

We had a fun birthday dinner for Jen, and the staff got in on it too, coming out with flowers, a birthday shrimp cocktail, and a cake for her. Our group was small, so we got to know the other travelers a bit, conversing in a mix of French, Spanish, and English.

The girls decided to stay an extra night on one of the nearby islands, but I chose to head back to Hanoi the next day so that I could have some time to explore before hopping on a bus to Laos. So, last stop of Vietnam: Hanoi, the capital city.

Hanoi just celebrated its 1000th year as the nation's capital. It's seen occupations by the Chinese, the French, the Japanese, and now the Communists, but it's still going strong. One book I read described Hanoi a a quieter, calmer version of Saigon, and I'd have to say I agree- still crazy with the motorbikes, but not quite as crazy.

Hanoi's 1000th birthday.

Besides walking around the Old Quarter, with its twisty turny angles and roads packed with travel agencies, restaurants, cafes, street vendors, and of course, motorbikes, I was able to see a more cultural aspect of Hanoi. After walking around the central lake, which holds the tale of Hanoi's origin involving the Emperor, a turtle, and a sword (I swear that's what the book said) I headed to the nearby National History Museum.  It was a beautiful museum, but unfortunately it was quite scarce in the English department- I'm sure I would have appreciated it more if I had known what I was looking at and the significance. Interestingly, I noted the 'subtle' omission of about 1000 years of history, from about the first century BC to the 10th century. This was the period of time when Vietnam was occupied by the Han Chinese, and actually became a part of China until the Vietnamese fought and won their independence.

So ends my journey through Vietnam. I did everything I had wanted to do in Vietnam since I first started planning the trip in high school: I took the train up the coast, I swam on the coastline, I went to a coastal town, and I visited the two major cities on each end. And then some. Now it's goodbye to the land of pho and spring rolls and hello to a brand new country. More later, hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend! Take care, and see most of you in less than two months.

Oh, but I must leave you with one lasting, resounding statement that pleased me to no end: in Vietnam, they really do wear those pointy hats. 

Cambodia

Cambodia affected me in a way no other country ever has. I only knew a few things about its history and culture, mostly from my friend Sokhom, who is Canadian but with Cambodian parents. It wasn’t until this summer that I had a chance to learn a little more of their history, as all I knew was that there was a terrible war and genocide sometime after WWII. And of course, I knew that I had to see Angkor Wat, the ruins of a thousand year old temple, in the running for one of the modern World Wonders. 

But that was about it. Coming in from crossing at the border with Thailand, what I found was a beautiful country, on the road to recovery after the ravages of war and a terrible genocide. If you want to learn more about the Pol Pot regime and the Khmer Rouge genocide, read here. I recently learned that Cambodia was not only recovering from the Communist devastation, but also the effects of a government coup in 1970, the Vietnam War, (and the mostly unheard of American bombings of Cambodia in pursuit of North Vietnamese forces who had crossed the border) the previous Japanese occupation until 1945, and the French occupation both before and after the Japanese. Colonialism hadn’t been kind to this little country, though the French occupation arguably prevented Thai and Vietnamese forces from officially overtaking the monarchy. In other words, Cambodia has been in a constant struggle for the past few centuries, caught in the middle of different nations vying for power. 

However, you wouldn’t guess Cambodia’s tragic history by chatting for more than thirty seconds to anyone you meet in Cambodia. Allow me to provide an example. Cambodia is desperately dependent on tourism as a source of income right now, therefore the number of tuk tuk drivers and shopkeepers outnumber the tourists who need or want them, especially in the low season. Though the frequent call of “Lady, tuk tuk?” or “Lady, come have a look?” tended to get grating after a while, I knew from experience that the best response is an acknowledgement, a smile, and a “No, thank you.” Well, Cambodia is the first country I’ve ever been in where tuk tuk drivers actually smiled BACK at me and said “okay, thank you!” either out of politeness, or out of genuine thanks for the acknowledgement. This is only one of many examples of kindness and courtesy I experienced during my week in Cambodia. 

My first stop in Cambodia was Siem Reap, the cute little tourist town (actually the second largest city in Cambodia, only the ‘tourist triangle’ seems small) built along the river, as the jumping off point for future tomb raiders like myself. I gave myself a couple of days in Siem Reap before seeing the temples, due to weather and recovering from a cold. So, my days were spent wandering the shops and markets, enjoying coffee and Cambodian food at little cafes, and reading up on some of my history. One of my favorite expeditions was to the Angkor National Museum, to see its impressive display of Angkor remnants as well as learn more about the Khmer people, the name Cambodians give themselves. Ankor Wat, and most of Cambodian society prior to the 13th century, was actually a Hindu temple, thanks to influences from India and Sri Lanka, which settled in Cambodia due to sea trading in the early millennium. It was interesting learning more about the ancient Indian mythologies and texts, much of which I learned about when I was traveling in India. I was especially struck by the stone steles engraved in Sanskrit, a testament to how much of the world as we know it today was shaped by so many exchanges of culture and ideas, hundreds of years before our time. After the museum and a quiet evening by the river, I was ready to see the temples.

Angkor Wat day. After asking a tuk tuk driver out of the blue on the street (I tried to find a guy who wasn’t calling out to me) if he could take me for the sunrise the next morning, I found him waiting nice and early for me at 4:45 AM to make the trip, then stay with me for the day. The temples are only about 15 minutes from the city center, and while it’s suggested travelers take a bike out for a pleasant day at the ruins, I would have had no idea where I was going in the dark, and didn’t want to risk missing the sunrise. Instead, my guy took me straight to the ticket booth, where I not only paid my $20 entrance fee, but also had my picture taken and printed off on my own little day pass. After that, it was a few kilometers to the entrance, where I was dropped off and my guy went off to hang out with his tuk tuk friends until I was finished. Hopefully he got some more sleep. 

I followed the crowd with their flashlights (smart!) and soon I could see the famous looming five peaks shining against the dark blue sky. I was here. Everyone veered off to the left, to get a view from the pond, which appeared to have magical reflecting power. From there, I spent almost an hour watching the beautiful sunrise through the clouds, illuminating the temple with the moon still shining high above. I was blessed with a beautiful morning, considering it was the rainy season, and was in awe of the magnificence of the temples in person. They didn’t look huge from where I was, but they were certainly majestic, and I couldn’t wait to get closer and explore.

Once I got into the ruin sites, right away I found my favorite part of the whole day: the bas relief carvings that was over 1 km long in total, wrapping around all four sides of the temple and depicting eight different scenes, either from ancient Hindu tales or from the King himself. They were preserved and intact, so well that it was hard to believe they were carved almost a millenium ago. 

The rest of the morning was spent climbing – yes, climbing – on ruins, marvelling at the sheer size and structure of the temples. I’m sure in the future people won’t be allowed to actually walk all over the huge blocks, which had been transported from far away for the construction of the temples, but for now it was fun. After Angkor Wat, which actually isn’t that big and you can see all of in a few hours, I also went to Angkor Thom, which is what is left of an ancient walled city, former pride of the Angkor civilization. Inside the walls the traces of a city could still be seen, with toppled over blocks and stones, but the highlight was the Bayon, in the center of the city. The Bayon is famous for its dozens of giant stone faces carved in the temple blocks. Some say the face is the face of the Buddha, some say it is the face of the rather pompous King Jayavarman VII, who built the Bayon. Either way, the faces were  a little creepy, but mostly cool. 

Aside from the Bayon, my favorite part of the walled city was just wandering around through the forest, in between crowds of Asian tourists, and stumbling upon my own little pile of stone ruins. I felt like an adventurer who was discovering pieces of the past, bravely venturing where no one had dared to go before…but of course that wasn’t true. I saw some of the famous ruins from Tomb Raider, including the tree that had grown its roots right in the middle of the temple, causing the stone to break. After many hours of wandering, taking pictures, and skirting around tour groups, the rain came just as I was finishing, my cue to head back to Siem Reap. The experience had been fascinating, and far more mind blowing than I was expecting. I concluded that it was the coolest place I had ever seen in my life.  

I left for Phnom Penh that night, and arrived at 7 am the next morning. After immediately checking in to my hostel and taking a much needed shower, I headed to the Vietnamese embassy to drop off my passport in hopes of receiving a visa for Vietnam. I was meeting my friend at 2, so decided to spend my morning at S-21, otherwise known as Tuol Sleng, a former high school that was turned into a communist headquarters which held prisoners until they were taken to the Killing Fields to be executed. Here's where things are going to get a little heavy. 

This was not an easy visit. I had immersed myself in an extremely informative book about the Killing Fields the afternoon before, so I knew most of the basic outline of the story. I'm going to throw some history at you here, but I think it's important to know and learn about, much like the importance of studying the Holocaust.  Basically, the way I understand it is this: shortly after Cambodia's fairly prosperous decades after liberation from the French in 1953 under King Norodom Sihanouk, things started to go bad when the Vietnam War began spilling over into Cambodia and Laos. Namely, the Americans started secretly bombing Cambodia in hopes to subvert Viet Cong and Northern Vietnamese forces from using Cambodia as their route from north to south. Hundreds of civilians were killed and many villages destroyed in the wake, which Pol Pot and his Communist forces, the Khmer Rouge, used to rally much of the countryside against the National Army and the 'imperialists.' As a result, the Khmer Rouge grew larger and more powerful until they finally reached the city limits of Phnom Penh and 'liberated' the capital on April 17th, 1975.

Thus began a four year reign of terror as civilians were forced out of the city and their homes to be relocated in the countryside and forced to work in labor camps. Families were separated, children parted from their parents, and every day people were taken away from the camps, never to be seen again. Their crimes? Being intellectuals- doctors, professors, engineers, basically anyone who wasn't a farmer and therefore not a member of the 'bourgeoisie.'

That's where Tuol Sleng, or S-21, comes in. Many of the prisoners, who could also be charged with false accusations of being enemies or spies, were incarcerated in S-21, usually to sign a false confession and await their death sentence.The classrooms of the former high school were turned into prisons, torture chambers, and confession rooms. Today the building remain largely unchanged, with traces of bloodstains remaining on the walls and floors. I won't describe any more for you, but just know that, to borrow the phrase of author Edward Gargan, "I left Tuol Sleng shaking."

View from Tuol Sleng.

But as awful as it was to learn about, it was necessary, to understand what happened, to prevent anything like this from ever happening again. I had one more stop to make before I could move on- following the same path as the Khmer Rouge and their victims waiting to die only 35 years earlier, I headed to the Killing Fields from S-21.

To break the tension, I'll throw out that my ride was much more enjoyable than you might imagine, as I was on the back of a friend's zippy little motorbike (sorry Mom) and got to see more of the city and countryside than from a vehicle, plus I saved 6 bucks for not hiring a tuk tuk driver.

The Killing Fields themselves have actually become quite beautiful, with bright green vegetation hiding the once mass graves where hundreds of bodies had been carelessly tossed aside after a brutal beating and execution (bullets cost too much money to kill with).

Every year after the heavy rains, remains of bone and clothes emerge from the ground, as subtle reminders of what had occurred beneath the grass. The memorial had an audioguide tour for listeners to follow as they walked along the path outlined on the guide, which preserved the silence and peace of the grounds.

Surrounding countryside of the Killing Fields. 

After a very emotional and powerful morning, I was ready for a break. I headed back to the Vietnamese Embassy to meet my friend and pick up my visa, (all clear for Vietnam!) then told her we needed to just chat about some normal stuff at a cute cafe or something. She followed my request to a T, suggesting a lovely little restaurant near the riverside of Phnom Penh, where street children are trained to work in the service industry, providing them with job and English skills. The food was excellent and the atmosphere light. It was fun to catch up with my friend, who was leaving that night, though I would catch up with her yet again in Vietnam a couple of days later. We said goodbye and I headed back to the hostel for some much needed sleep, but not before watching a little of Tomb Raider to fall asleep to, worried about the effects of the day's events on my dreams. 

I woke up refreshed and ready to continue exploring. The next day started off, as every day should, with a lovely cup of coffee along the riverside of Phnom Penh, a very built up/touristy area with nice cafes and restaurants. I had the day to myself, so I took off to explore the city on foot. 

I discovered lovely boulevards, shop lined streets, cafes and restaurants, bookstores, etc. All the typical things you'd expect in a city, but of course it is a city that is haunted by its past. It was heartening to see people - not just tourists - sharing a meal or a coffee, going shopping, strolling in the park - and of course, it's been a full generation now, so there are many young people who didn't experience the genocide with their own eyes. I don't know what the best way to move on from something like that is, but I hope the future generations can continue on trying to find their place in the modern world, as offset by the past as they might be. 

My time in Cambodia ended the next day, with some time at the museum, hiding out from the rains, reading more history, and trying to process all that I had seen and learned. Again, no other country has affected me like Cambodia has - I have been struck with a fierce desire to continue to learn as much as I can about what happened in this part of the world - from colonialism to imperialism to communism - and hopefully use that knowledge for something in the future, to give back and help in some way. As always, I'm continuing to learn more than I ever imagined out here, and I can't wait for what comes next. More updates from Vietnam, please continue to enjoy your fall.

P.S. In Phnom Penh, I had an interesting coffee date with a girl that I was connected to through a friend from church in Seoul. She is working at an NGO in Phnom Penh that was focuses on preventing human trafficking. She said that there are hundreds of NGOs, nonprofits, and missionary groups/programs in Phnom Penh and Cambodia, and while they're all working to make a difference, it's been difficult to unite together to all work towards something substantial. I asked about the orphanages and service industry training type non-profits, and her opinion was that although, of course, they were helping children and families off the streets, it should be more  important to train them for Khmer skills, so that they don't have to depend on tourism to increase the economy. She also told me about more community-oriented programs that focuses on childcare and education for families, so that they can stay together and the children can be provided for by their own families, not orphanages. It was eye opening and insightful to hear about the other side of a city I was enjoying myself in - of course, I'm fully aware that Cambodians don't eat along the riverside at cafes all day - but it's the behind the scenes information that really makes you think twice about what the country is going through. If you'd like to learn more about her organization and some non-profits she recommended I look into for information or prospective volunteer/donation opportunities, here are some links: 

Chabdai: Christians Working Together to End Sexual Abuse and Trafficking

SCCDO Orphanage

Children in Families

A non-profit based in Siem Reap that sponsors a local school and provides skills for street children:

www.theglobalchild.org

Koh Chang, Thailand

A few weeks ago I met my wonderful friend Sara in Thailand for a week of beach and relaxation. We planned the trip months ago, for the purpose of both celebrating both the end of our two fantastic years together in Korea, and the beginning of our dream years of 'freedom.' Both of us will be traveling, spending time at home, volunteering, and just plain enjoying life until next September, when reality will give us a good kick in the face and we'll have to get back to being proper citizens. But for now, we were going to Thailand with no worries.

We both had rough transit trips coming into Bangkok, so we were pretty zombied by the time we met up at the terminal at 7:30 in the morning. We were happy to see each other, after a couple of weeks apart, even if all we could manage were a couple 'hey.'s. We were also incredibly impatient for the five hour bus journey to the ferry port, but we calmed down once the island was actually in sight.

Koh Chang, which translates to Elephant Island, is a small island off Thailand's southeastern coast, very close to the Cambodian border. As of right now, it remains pretty quiet, but one of the beaches has already become pretty commercialized and we're guessing in a few years the rest of it will be too.

Our destination was Lonely Beach, which a couple of years ago was next to nothing, and now has about a dozen guesthouses, restaurants, and bars to choose from, either right on the beach or on a little dirt road off the main road (the entire island only has one road going around the perimeter).

So, bags in hand, our teeth rattling a bit from the bumpy ride to Lonely Beach in the back of a pickup truck, we set off down the dirt road in pursuit of what we had been thinking about and posting on each other's Facebook walls for months: a beach hut.

We were in luck, as during the low season there were plenty of rooms to spare, and for about two dollars each we had ourselves a hut. Unfortunately, the low season was due to the humid temperatures and rainy season, so our first few days there we mostly stayed under the shelter of the main open air lounge area: this wasn't too difficult to enjoy, as you can see.

At first it was difficult for both of us to just sit still and lounge, without a multitude of tasks to worry about, as we usually kept ourselves pretty busy in Korea. But then we figured that if it was sunny, we would just be laying on the beach anyways, so it was okay for is to just lay around when it was raining out too. When pockets of non rain would appear we ventured down to the beach. Perfection.

We soon fell into a rhythm of sleeping in, waking up and having coffee, muesli, and fresh tropical fruit (something I think every backpacker succumbs to in southeast Asia at some point or another- that or banana pancakes) and then reading or hanging out until it was time for the next meal or the next fruit shake. We both ate pad Thai every day, with no question or hesitation. Our evenings were spent enjoying the sunset, usually with a Chang beer in hand, then heading to whichever one of the beach barbecue parties was going on that night.

We made some local friends, and found that traveling in the low season yielded many restaurant an bar owners to pay you lots of attention in between their own rainy season lifestyles of sitting around and passing the day by with their friends and families at their establishments.








Lucky for us, after three days of rain we finally got a break and woke up to partly sunny skies! Determined not to get sunburned (we're getting older and wiser) we slathered on some coconut sunscreen and basked in the sun, alternating laying with dips in the warm turquoise waters.

Unfortunately, we learned the hard way that cheap Thai brand sunscreen was not to be trusted (again, getting wiser.) We paid for our time in the sun with a pair of nasty sunburns, so the following day, our last full day on the island, was another 'indoor' day.

However, we had some new housekeeping tasks the last couple of days as we had moved from the little jungle street huts to huts right in the beach for about 4 dollars a night. The showers were questionable, but what could beat waking up to this view?

We had some good sunset moments, usually talking about our future plans and how lucky we were to be doing what we were doing. There are sacrifices, to be sure, but we decided we were willing to make those sacrifices to see the world and see what good we could do in it.

And as we both took off early on our last morning- me to Cambodia, Sara to Tanzania- we had to say our goodbyes for three months, the longest we've been apart for over two years. We agreed that a week of no worries in Thailand had been the best way to begin our  'years' and the most appropriate location for us to say goodbye, go our separate ways, and began living our dreams.

Reflections on China

The remainder of my China trip was a whirlwind of one city to another, via trains and buses, with a mission in each place to get a new set of maps, go charging off after the next place, get terribly lost and formulate a new plan as I went along, then recover in cafes. I loved it. Instead of going through them one by one, I’ll just hit some highlights of each place I went after Beijing – reading through them quickly will probably give you a better sense of just how fast the time went by to me.

Shanghai

My time in Shanghai was greatly enhanced by having a lovely host, Megan, who put me up after knowing me for about six hours total. We met in April at a concert in Seoul, for which she flew in from Shanghai to see with Katie, our mutual friend who had also invited me. I told Megan that I was planning to travel to Shanghai this fall, and she graciously invited me to stay with her whenever I made it down there. I was so glad I took her up on it – to have home comforts like eating popcorn while watching TV on a cozy sofa is even better when you’re on the road, and Shanghai couldn’t have come at a better time – I was worn out from Xian and Beijing. 

The French Concession

After Megan finished work she took me up to her fantastic apartment, right in the French Concession, and then after I showered and dumped my stuff, we went out for a delicious Schezuan dinner and caught up. She has lived in Shanghai for nearly four years now, and had some fantastic insight into living in China as an expat. After a luxurious sleep in her guest room, I got up the next day and hit the streets for a full day of walking around, seeing the best of Shanghai while Megan went to work.

Shanghai = architecture. From the European style houses in the French Concession to the weird, moderny art-y new buildings, to the Art-Deco 1920s buildings of the Bund, to (not done yet) the futuristic skyscrapers and weird looking rocket ship thing of Pudang (below left), and even to traditional Chinese architecture…Shanghai has it all. So many buildings, so much foreign influence, so much fun to see. I spent the whole day walking across the city, and decided that my favorite part was the Bund (below right). Read more about it here. 

                                                   

Lucky for me, the Bund was even more beautiful at night that during the day. Megan took me to a rooftop bar overlooking the Pudang skyline, while viewing the Bund from the top. It couldn’t have been a more perfect last evening in Shanghai, and I decided it was my favorite city in China thus far. 

 Guilin

Guilin was a last minute change in my itinerary. I was originally planing to go to Nanjing, but after three big cities in a row, soon to be a fourth, I decided against it, and instead made my way south to Guangzhou (where my flight was from to get me to Thailand) via Guilin. Gulin and its surrounding area’s claim to fame is its karst topography, the little green mountains that kind of look like giant thumbs sticking up from the ground.You can see just a hit of one of them in the background of the photo. If you’ve ever seen the recent movie The Painted Veil, starring Naomi Watts; you've seen some of Guilin.

I knew I only had limited time, and I hadn’t done any research prior to leaving, so my plan was just to enjoy what scenery was close by and relax. Luckily, I found a hostel close to the river, the same river I remember reading about in my mom’s journal, so I ventured out there for a lovely evening sunset walk. There isn’t much karst topography that you can see without taking a trip outside of Guilin, so I didn’t get the beautiful images that you see in postcards (see right, from Google Images.) However, just being out in the country, with quiet streets and small buildings, was enough for me. I had spent some time gazing out at the Chinese countryside from the train window that morning (pictured below), and now I finally felt as though I was seeing more of ‘real China’ instead of just big cities. The sunset and night market were a fun way to end the evening and my time in the countryside. 

Guangzhou

I spent approximately 20 hours in Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton, and most of it was spent wandering around in a foggy, sleep deprived haze, as my night bus came in 4 hours earlier than I expected it to. It turned out when the ticket lady said “eight” when I asked what time I would arrive Tuesday morning…she meant I would arrive after eight hours instead of at eight in the morning. I had left Guilin at 8:30 the previous night. You do the math.

Nevertheless, I had a fully day to occupy myself until I flew to Bangkok on a redeye that night. My first stop? Dim sum for breakfast. I joined a cute little crowd of old people (see them all lining up at the entrance, ready for the 7 am door opening?) who apparently were regulars, and sat down with their newspapers, while having their tea poured and prepared for them. I had no idea how to order or what to do, so I just watched for a little while, then I figured it out. Here's how you do it: traditionally I think they roll it around in carts and you just pick these little basket/plate things that you want to eat. This restaurant's style was more buffet-type, but you have to wait for them to bring out a fresh batch of something, then swarm. Yes, swarm. Another reason I patiently waited and observed instead of fought old ladies for some steamed buns - no one wants to see that fight since they would probably win. But, I was successful in the end by waiting it out. They mark your little paper you carry around with you so that they know what you've taken, then you go back and enjoy, pay later. Dim sum and soup for breakfast – yum.

After dim sum I took a walk around and ended up on Saimen Island, which is an ‘island’ approximately 2 meters from the mainland that you ‘cross over to’ on a footbridge. I discovered that it used to be the British and American concession during Canton’s heydays, which made for cute streets, a nice little park, pretty buildings, and, always my godsend, a Starbucks.

 Normally I’d love to include a top ten list about my travels in China, but as time is pressing for me to board my plane to Bangkok, I decided I’d hit on the top five cultural elements of China that had the greatest impact on me. You read about what I did and saw, now here’s more on how I felt during my two week trip:

1. The people. Chinese people are sassy. They’re not afraid to let you have it, to be rude to you, or to cheat you blind. By ‘you’ I refer to any touristy-looking-foreigner they come into contact with - not hard to find in any given city in China. But please don’t get me wrong – though there were a few encounters with not-so-helpful people, my overall impression was that Chinese people are friendly, kind, and helpful. I always got to where I needed to go or received whatever help I needed when I asked. 

My first encounter with a Chinese person was on the plane, when I sat next to this cute little old lady who was fascinated with my illegible scribble that I was writing in my journal. She didn’t hide her curiousity, nor was she bothered by the fact that I didn’t speak a lick of Chinese. I took out my iPod to show her Google Earth’s map and demonstrate that I was from America, but I was a teacher in Korea. I don’t think comprehension was registered, but she had lots of fun spinning the little digital globe with a swipe of her finger. She showed her enjoyment by continuously prodding me for the remainder of the flight, just to smile at me when I looked up, and motioning for me to write my name on the barf bag. Chinese people are great. They get an A. 

He decided to photobomb and enhance my picture at T-Square... he made it better. 

2. The food. China Wok or Panda Express have nothing on authentic Chinese food. From my first bite of greasy street food to a simple, home cooked meal in the hostel kitchen, my mouth was happy with every bite. It’s cheap, it’s easy to grab on the go or easy to find a quick place to sit down and enjoy a meal. China is similar to Korea in this way, but I found a much wider variety of food that changed with each region I visited. The north has much heartier meals, such as dark, beef sauces with thick breads, while the south is much more rice, sweet sauce, and vegetable oriented. Just as in India, I enjoyed eating my way through China immensely. 

Don't worry, I mostly stuck with noodles and rice. 

3. The beauty. The word ‘China’ usually evokes misty mountains, peaceful pagodas, and crazy flexible people practicing tai chi. Cut to a busy city street with bikes, motorcycles, cars, and buses. It’s all there, but more often than not, you can find little pockets of beauty wherever you go. Little statues, random gardens, and people practicing tai chi or playing shuttlecock in public parks in the morning were all to be found if you knew where to look, or if you were just horribly lost and stumbled upon things, like I usually was. Evidence of China’s glorious past is still manifested in the rooftops, quiet neighborhoods, temple buildings, housing structures, and of course, monuments. And for the more musically inclined, there were many instances where I walked through quiet neighborhoods and heard a CD or radio playing traditional Chinese tunes, just for a little mood music. China has always been a proponent of beautiful culture, and their heritage lasts to this day, as they find their place (at the top, it seems) in the modern world. 

Okay, so that was it for the good. Let’s get a little ugly and turn the tables on China: two notes on things I didn’t particularly enjoy:

4. Something has to be said about Chinese bathrooms. I dealt with some pretty gross ones in India, but for some reason Chinese bathrooms just have this bright neon warning sign in my head – you can tell whenever you’re near one because you will smell urine. Not inside the toilet, like it’s supposed to be, but likely somewhere on the floor nearby the squatter where somebody missed. And then you have pee on your shoes. 

I was a very pro-active bathroom seeker – I planned my liquid consumption accordingly to when nature should call at an appropriate time, preferably when I was in a coffee shop, my hostels, or near a shopping mall.  I was actually surprised at the number of Western toilets in places like shopping malls and even the train station, occasionally. I have nothing against squatters, and perfected my technique while living in Korea, but for some reason the pervasive smell of Chinese bathrooms haunted me the whole time I was there – especially when I was on a night train. No way out. By the end of my two weeks I thought I had escaped the worst of it, as I only encountered varying degrees of metal and porcelain squatters, a far cry from the wooden troughs my mom described to me from her trip only thirty years earlier. But, as fate would have it, in its true desire to provide me with the full Chinese experience: on my last night in China during a rest stop on the overnight bus, I encountered not only a wooden trough bathroom, but one without stall doors. That topped it all. I did not include a picture of a Chinese bathroom.

5. And for my final cultural insight into China, I leave you with a question: How do you cross a street in China? Sound like a pretty simple question, right? Well, the answer is just as simple. Have you ever played Frogger? It’s like that. 

For those of you who don’t know what Gameboy game I’m referring to, it’s the one where you cross (is it ponds?) on lilypads, but you have to go one ‘lane’ at a time and then dash out when there’s a break between you and whatever it is that could potentially kill you, which is coming at you in a steady, unstopping stream. This is how you cross the street in China – the lights have no significance whatsoever, unless you’re at a super busy intersection. And of course, what could potentially kill you includes cars, trucks, buses, motorscooters, bicycles, what have you. It’s a dangerous life, being a pedestrian in this country. 

That concludes my top five for China. As I cleared the departures desk at immigration (still scary, even on the way out) and my time in China ended I reflected back as best I could in my foggy, sleep deprived state. I’ll miss the people, the food, the beauty, and my anonymity…but I won’t miss the bathrooms. 

Next up: Adventures in Ko Chang, Thailand with fellow adventurer Sara Mowchan. Take care!