So without much fanfare I crossed into China this morning by bus and made my way to Nanning (near my ancestral village). I had planned to visit that as well, but given the recent snags in Vietnam that squandered much of my time, I'll have to hold off until later. After arriving in Nanning, I rushed around in a taxi looking for a bank that would accept my bank card to withdraw money - things don't quite work as smoothly as you'd think. Finally by evening, I boarded a bus immediately bound for Guilin, famed for its landscapes immortalized by generations of painters and poets alike. Upon arriving in Guilin late at night, the pretty girl sitting next to me on the bus offered to call her friend to give me a ride to my hotel ($5 a night dorm bed). I have enough time to see nearby Yangshuo, Longshen and Guilin before taking a bus to Shenzhen on the night of the 16th and arriving on the 17th to head to HK just in time to fly out to India. Rush, rush, rush.
My first impressions of China are by far positive; especially compared to Vietnam. Just crossing the border at "Friendship Gate" was a surprise - for one, the mystical foggy mountain landscape so much depicted in Chinese paintings immediately show forth. There are actually real expressways rather than mere dirt roads. Even in Nanning and Guilin, China seems thoroughly modern. Perhaps the two Serbian professors I met in Halong Bay were right in their regard of China now as a first-rate world superpower. I'm sure there are many part of China still developing, but the consensus of many is that, already, China is poised to lead the next century.
There is much to be seen yet. After India I'll round back into China and spend a good 6 weeks or so touring temples and sacred moutains.
Lastly, sorry for not posting any photos - it seems that some sites like the one I'm using to host this blog is censored. I'm only able to post via email.
No comments:
Post a Comment