Guangzhou

I have arrived in Guangzhou successfully after a long meander through suburban Guangdong. This is a large city of 5 million people or so and it feels pretty different than the smaller places I've been in the last week or so. Kind of like arriving in New York City maybe after touring through northern New Jersey. It's refreshing to be in a place where not EVERYbody is staring at me. There are still a few but with hundreds of years of being the sole Chinese contact with the west, people here are at least slightly indifferent and accustomed to the presence of foreigners.

I went yesterday to a large temple in Foshan called Zumiao where the best part was a large exhibit about various Kung-fu masters and their students and their history of association with Foshan. In particular the exhibit centers around Yip Man, Bruce Lee's original teacher, and Huang Fei Hong, one of the most portrayed and famous martial artists in China's history. The rest of the temple was beautiful enough but after a while they have all started to blur together a bit. A pagoda here, a giant Buddha there, thousands of incense sticks, people staring at me, etc. I also went for a meal again at the Happy Cafe which didn't work out so happily this time. The girl behind the counter confirmed my selections were vegetarian, twice, and then sure enough I was eating, noticed something that looked meat-like, asked about it, and though they were somewhat apologetic, it was meat sure enough. It was a small amount of diced meat in a plate that was otherwise vegetables. I don't think I ate too much of it and didn't seem to suffer any ill effects, though I went back to my hotel room after to relax for a while just in case. Kind of a bummer, the food the previous day there was really good and I had been excited to find it. They were open 24 hours too, which would've been a promising find for Morethansalad, but now I'm undecided as to whether or not I can include them given that they definitely understood what I asked, but gave me the wrong information. I have a lot of restaurant information that I've yet to include on the site, so I'll evaluate that at a later time when I actually sit down in front of a computer again for an extended period instead of these short stays at internet cafes.

So the internet access at this particularly cafe is also 3RMB per hour, way better than the 50RMB per hour they want at the hotel which is kind of insane. The first time I walked down here, maybe 25 minutes from the hotel, which was fine, but then I arrived and for the second time since I got to mainland China I have been asked for my ID to use the internet. In Foshan they didn't care, but at this place and one other somewhere along the way they needed it. I don't know what this is about, but it is not just for me, everyone using a computer has to show an ID. Also, from different places, different websites do not work while others do. I believe this to be work of the Great Firewall which I'd love to link to on Wikipedia, but guess what website I can't reach from here. It definitely bugs me to think that the government is actually restricting access to information here, that people who want to look up something on a free encyclopedia are not allowed to do so. Of course nobody in this venue appears to care all that much, they all seem to be immersed in different games. I'm the only person who I can see actually using a web browser, everyone else is blowing things up or fending off dragons with shotguns and things of that sort. Some people are just playing solitaire or other card games.

I rode the Guangzhou subway system one stop to get down here the second time, since the first time I had to go back and get my passport. It's really fancy and new, and looks almost exactly like the HK subway. Perhaps they were built by the same company or designed by the same people, because it is virtually the same. The only variance is the payment system. 2RMB got me a small token which I held over a reader at the turnstile to let me pass. I then deposited the token upon arrival. Other people appeared to be using smartcards similar to the HK system. All in all pretty slick, and Guangzhou definitely feels a lot more active and international of a place than any other I've visited except Hong Kong.

I thought of a few random things I wanted to mention. Walking down the street, there actually isn't a whole lot of trash strewn about on the ground. They seem to have people on almost every block in almost every city I've been actively cleaning throughout the day. They sweep, pick up trash, and empty out the ashtrays that exist on top of almost every single garbage can. It is amazing what a difference no cigarette butts on the ground can make. So the streets are really clean, but in contrast to that, there is no concept of letting anyone else go ahead of you, standing on line, holding the door for somebody, or even saying thank you when somebody holds the door for you. Now I've seen this happen to Chinese as well, so it's not just because I'm a foreigner. It seems to be the cultural norm. I've been on a whole bunch of buses where upon arrival, the whole bus is going to disembark. Everyone will just stand up and nobody will pause to let anyone who is still sitting out. If you don't make a break for it, you will be the last person off the bus. Standing in line anywhere like at the bank for instance, people will step directly in front of you in line without blinking. New Yorkers have a reputation for being rude, but most people I think will generally go through these basic motions of polite behavior towards one and other. Maybe it is my foreigner sensibilities, but it seems to me to be a lack of basic consideration for each other. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, I welcome comments on that topic.

So I made a few calls and I'm having a drink tonight with a girl who lives in Guangzhou who I met on Couchsurfing and hopefully some of her friends. I also spoke with an American friend who is currently on business travel in Guangzhou and hope to see him tonight, tomorrow, or whenever. I know a few other people here who I've yet to call. A social outlet will be a welcome change from the last week or so of generally being on my own and only having Chinese conversations. That does remind me however that last night I went out with these two Chinese guys in Foshan and I'd say got a little drunk for the first time since being here. They took me to a bar/disco a little bit off the beaten path and we drank and played this dice game for a while where the loser has to drink. I'd say it was my first authentic Chinese night out. The bar was kind of a loud and noisy disco with lots of techno music and people having seizures on the dance floor, whilst others played dice and watched. They have this weird thing which is apparently common here, where instead of buying a round of drinks and then when you're done buying more, you buy some large number up front, like say 8-12 drinks, they bring you a bucket with a whole bunch in there, and keep refilling them til you finish. So we bought 12 beers for 120RMB, which is like $15US, and apparently whatever you don't finish they will hold for you and you can come back and drink it another time. At least that's what I understood. The language barrier was compounded by the violent and relentless kick-drum, but I think good times were had by all, certainly by me.

I'm waiting for pictures to upload, so maybe by next time those will be ready. The internet here is pretty slow so it is taking a while. I may have to pay $.43US for another hour so they have time to finish. In the meantime, I hope you all are well, certainly the longer I go deprived from my friends and the many conveniences of New York, the more I think I appreciate them. Stay in touch.