ResoluteRoving

During the day one can clearly see the fog and pollution not just in the sky but the streaks it leaves of buildings, the grime on the windows and even the rubbish on the pavements. But once the sun goes down, the lights turn on. The pollution is no longer visible, the grime and dirt hid in behind the florescent lights, the rubbish in the shadows. The appearance and feel of the city is no longer one of industry and growth but now filled with sights to behold and the thought of what is to come.

The night is cooler, less crowded with people but what becomes a common sight is rats. Scuttling around the food st. Darting between garbage that four hours ago was swept into a corner. I can assure you, not a delightful sight considering I ate there only a few short hours ago. But they are not constricted to just the dark hours, even in the light when the pull of easy food is too much, the little guys emerge amongst the people to feed in discarded bags and non-disposed trash.

Delightful really. The daylight may pollute our lungs but at least it reduces the number of critters sighted. Out of sight, but really out of mind?

The typhoon season is seen as the end of the hot summer months in Southern China. The locals say that when the rain comes it comes for good. Often heavy rain for a full day or more. We have now entered the third day of continuous rain. Mostly heavy, a few lighter showers. Always raining.

I was heading back from Shamian Island when it started. The boat took we all way the to Canton Towner. So I thought, why not start this “running thing” and run back to the apartment. A leisurely twenty minutes down the river. Well they say that the rain is refreshing. It sure was. Drenched and thoroughly refreshed the perfect time to start running is in the rain.

I have always had this feeling that the rain washes the dirt and grim away. But no, not in China. It makes the rubbish more noticeable. The few local cleaners that sweep the paths are unable to work. The rubbish accumulates and builds into soggy, random piles. Bunching wherever the water flows.

I am told this weather is due to the typhoon that skimmed past the South of China and is headed towards Taiwan. This is just the tail. Three days of constant rain. And counting.

From the 1st of October to the 7th it is Golden Week. A week long public holiday created in the late 90’s to encourage domestic tourism, improve work-life balance and showcase the beauty of China. The dual effect of state investments in transportation & infrastructure coupled with a rising middle-class with growing disposable income has resulted in over two hundred million Chinese travelling domestically during this weeklong public holiday. A word of advise. Do not travel during the Golden week.

We had planned to zip away and visit the “Most beautiful area of China” on the 28th of Septum and return on the 1st, thereby missing travel during the “busiest migration period in China”. Guilin situated on the Li river, surrounded by cascading mountains and the Longsheng rice terraces, this was going to be a three-day, two-night escape from the hustle & bustle of Guangzhou.

Being unable to book a ticket on Ctrip (the booking site for China transport) we decided that we would rock up to the ticket counter at Guangzhou railway station and purchase tickets for the next train out. Agreeing to the meeting time of 7am was easy. Turing up at 7am was not. Half of us arrived at 7 on the dot. The remainder of us, due to “sleep-ins” and misjudging the metro system arrive little after 7:30am.

China bureaucracy strikes again. Train tickets have to be purchased by a single person with their passport or identification papers. They are unable to purchase tickets on behalf of another person. Hence by the time the latecomers arrived, all the tickets for the entire day had sold out. There were 8 trains that day.

But rather than cry ourselves to sleep. We spent the day planing a forty eight hour trip to Shenzhen. It went something along these lines:

“Screw this, where else can we go?”
“Shenzhen?”
“Done”

Tickets & a hotel room were booked. The next morning at 10am, The train was boarded. Arrived at 11:15am.

First stop was the Window of the World. The biggest attraction Shenzhen has to offer. The attraction is simply a scaled down sized of all the “major attractions” of counties around the world. Eiffel Tower, Sydney opera house, the White House and the list goes on & on. We didn’t pay, it was an absolute waste of money. If you have absolutely nothing to do in Shenzhen, don’t go here. It is a degrading site of self-pity. Nothing can compare to actually visiting countries, experiencing the & history behind these monuments and if you do go there I don’t want to hear about it.

Next up was checking out the Oct Loft. This old communist-era factory has been taken over by artists and transformed into a hip self-contained district. Full of art galleries, local cafes, interior designers and workshops this is worth spending the afternoon walking around and peeking inside buildings.

Then we ventured into the electronic markets. Fake iPhone after iPhone. Cameras, batteries, LEDs, screens and all manner of equipment. Unless you have something in mind to buy I would advise against going in here. It is massive. With so much of the exact same goods you can easily grow bored and restless.

Finally a visit to the food streets. A two story building lined with delicious selections of local food and drinks. We wandered around here, beer in hand, for just over two hours sampling anything and everything.

The night was started with a bottle of vodka and a short stint at the nightclub. The club was packed. Just down the street was a restaurant with outside seating. We pulled up, ordered beers and noodles. Got a pack of cards and played until two in the morning. Over the two hours spent there we witnessed the locals coming and goings. Beggars asking for one yuan. Musicians playing for one yuan. Local fishermen bringing their own fish to the restaurant for it to be cooked. Just three foreigners surrounded by local life.

Whenever there is a destination or attraction mentioned I try to give directions and information about the history and significance of the experience (yes, this is a travel blog).

But in some cases you will not find my experience on the map, nor can the direction be written down. I like to call it a case of the wondering-blues. Walking down side streets, misdirection is the only way to find these little gems. What I hope is that by reading about these experiences, you turn the other way. Find your own back alley, walk down that “other street”. Tear your eyes away from the Lonely Planet and take a look backwards, this will take you towards the little-known areas where the majority of travellers seldom venture.

One such place was a side-street restaurant where dinner was had the other night. The first time I ‘properly’ ordered in Chinese. Well I was able to order rice and beer, the rest I pointed at pictures. But the food was fantastic. The fresh fish was picked out of the fish tank sitting by the front door, deboned and cooked within minutes. The whole fish was flipped outwards, the meat & skin sliced and rolled inwards creating a beautifully easy dish to devourer with chopsticks.

What am I trying to say here? Find your own fish

A true Chinese paradox is present every evening down at the North Gate of the University. The reserved nature of the Chinese versus the very public dancing and signing that is taking place. Anyone is welcome to take down a drink and watch or even join in with the ladies twirling away.

The process of upgrading the visa has begun. I paid 650RMB (equivalent NZD$160) for a complete medical examination. I reiterate, it was a complete medical. Blood, urine, ECG, chest x-ray,  ultrasound, physical, hight, weight, blood-pressure, hearing, sight, AIDS and countless more diseases & infections. It only took a little over 2 hours. There were fully trained doctors, many with degrees from Western European universities and nurses helping at every station. How and why have we become accustomed to spending massive amounts on money on health care?

Taking a leisurely walk down the waterfront ensures many exotic sights. A team of 20 hairdressers giving haircuts right under the trees. Every stool was taken. Every haircut the same. Very efficient.

Tuesday the 15th September. Moved into the apartment. After giving a overall check we headed to IKEA for our sheets and supplies for our 5 months here. IKEA never fails to amaze. Needless to say we left with two big bags each and the inability to find a cab. Then just as we are about to attempt using Chinese Uber, up pulls none other than the mightiest of all transportation vehicles. The Tuk-tuk. This bloke would not leave us alone, so for 40RMB we pilled in. Bags, bodies and all. The poor machine needed at the least a new engine. But we spluttered home at a snails place, cars and trucks aggressively tooting at us on the motorways. Home in one piece. We made our beds, showered and slept for the first night in our apartment on the 13th floor.

Our apartment complex seems to be full of family and relativity well-to-do Chinese. There always seems to be events on or people laughing under the tree lined pathways throughout the complex. Mid-autumn festival is coming up this week. Lanterns have be strung up all around the trees, glittering red and gold at evening. A few days ago we had children games on. My favourite was the fishing game. Someone had inflated a paddling pool, filled it with water and fish. Big trout sized fish. The species I could only guess. Children one-by-one were allowed into the pool to try and grab a fish with their bare hands. Helpers there on the side ready to catch the fish in a plastic bag. The successful children had single handedly caught dinner. The unsuccessful cried.

Foreigners employ certain benefits in China. None more so than when out drinking. Staff at the clubs will give you cigarettes and light them for you. You can sit down at almost any Chinese table and they will start playing dice games, taking photos and pouring you drinks. Every Tuesday night at The Wave Club all drinks are free for foreign students. Show them your student ID and literally ask for anything. Anything. But the real questions is what do you do when you’re at club at 4 AM and Chinese men are buying you drinks? Only one answer. Ganbei!

Love at first sight. With views of the pearl river flat #1 turned out to be flat #1. Not worth even mentioning the others. We all sat down at the real estates office. There was a 4 channel negotiating taking place. The 3 of us, our translator, the agent and the landlord. Turns out we got a really good deal. All new furniture, new lick of paint and a half decent clean.

My room = Big. Ensuite galore. Killer view.

First day of class. Tony Fang, the professor, is a great speaker. A Chinese man that travelled to Sweden 40 years ago. Ended up staying, studying and never fully came back to China.

Class has students with talent. But you would expect that from a MBA class. Structure is full on, 6hrs a day for 4 full days (keeping in mind these days are Saturday & Sunday for 2 weeks).

The exchange students fit the demographics back home. You have the hard working Singaporeans. The “Boys” down the back from Europe. a handful of aloof french thrown in. The serious Germans and good looking Scandinavians. One kiwi, me.

The food is good. Culture captivating. Language hard.

Currently haemorrhaging money as paying the deposit for flat on top of the Hotel. At least everything else about China is cheap.

Empty Flight. New faces. Strange noises. Smog filled skies.

Sitting on the hotel balcony, it is 8:22pm and 30°. The air-conditioning unit is humming away next to me. The room is basic but clean. A perfect cigarette burn hole grabs instant attention in the desk chair, right beside the only sign with an english translation “Please don’t smoke in the bed”. Thank god for that.

Guangzhou is big. 14 million people inhabit this city alone, the surrounding Guangdong provence has upwards of 40 million. It is hard to comprehend. But listing to the sounds of endless traffic & cicadas singing coupled with tall building stretching off into the distance, all lit up with neon signs advertising weird & wonderful products makes you believe that you are indeed somewhere alien.

The smog is instantly recognisable. There is not a star to be seen. The city lights cut swaths through the sky and makes the smog even more distinctive and striking. The city skyline is a little blurry and the horizon has not be seen.

The Campus is an oasis amongst the hustle and bustle. Buildings have been built around communal grassy areas and large trees line every street, footpath and road. The abundance of green in this concrete playground is both striking and calming. You feel removed from the everyday rush just on the other side of the wall. Protected and strangely isolated.

Pictures and words alone will not suffice to describe the uncertainty that a foreigner first feels in China. It is exhilarating mix of nerves and lightheadedness. The rush of people. The overflow of an tonal language. All punctuated by a precise question in broken English from a new friend. What does the world think of China? How do you answer a question like that. Where do you begin?

Tomorrow reality sets in. Figuring out a course to study. Finding somewhere to live. At least I was able to get a counterfeit mobile number today, it cost NZD$25 for 6 months, or that is what I am lead to believe. Who really knows. I get the feeling that everyone is just here for the ride. I know I certainly am, and I’m holding on with two hands, tight.

Long gone are the days of a young innocent mind looking out of a car window at the passing by Singapore. What is seen now is the flexing of an economic power-house with all the trends that envelop consumer driven economies of our time.

Nothing rings truer in Singapore than the accelerated pace of urban development. Teams of works are out building and digging the new MRT tunnels, high-rises continually push the limits of design and old parts of town get a lick of colourful paint and redecorated interiors.

Sites which I frequented as a child and teenager have been transformed. Orchard road is an onslaught of designer shops, all auspiciously empty of shoppers but the green eyes of passer-by’s can be seen glowing in the reflection of the polished windows. Holland Village is fully connected via MRT and as such has an engrossing eat-out culture behind the original buildings. Our old home at Rochester Park is no longer home to families but to a Hotel/Mall/Arts centre multiplex. The original Black-&-White colonial era houses of the British armed forces, once a sought after residential houses for expats are being slowly transformed into chick offices, Starbucks or left empty awaiting judgement by the state.

But beneath all the showy glossy exterior of the developed ‘Singapore’ a shadow of old filters through. There are still the markets in Bugis, filled with knock-off cloths, toys and juice of all varieties being sold for $1 a cup. Inside Holland village the old shops are still there, looking a little worse for wear but standing the test of time. Your can still visit Newton Circus and experience local culinary delights for a fraction of the price you would pay in a restaurant. Fort Canning is graciously devoid of development, a quick half an hour walk around this reserve is evidence that nature still plays an important part in the urban idea of this city state. MacRichie reservoir is still an outdoor & exercise oasis. East Coast Parkway is the space needed to learn how to roller-skate, ride a bike and experience space which is a scare commodity here. HDB’s can still be seen dotting the horizon, washing flapping on poles from the 44th floor.

You can still feel the pull of high-paying expatriates jobs. A walk through Raffles Place at lunch time will expose the mix of bankers and financial high rollers darting out for lunch. Executives going to restaurants on Boat & Clarke Quay, the workers at food stalls in the nearby malls and stalls. The diverse mix of races shows that Singapore is in no way afraid of hiring the best talent, regardless of where they come from. A refreshing take on the capitalism of the new-world. No longer are Fat Cats allowed to sit around and receive big bonuses for the hard work of their teams. It is a cut-throat environment where success is rewarded and failure results in severance and a plane ticket home.

Many “icons” have not been mentioned in this article. Marina Bay Sands, an expensive elevator ride even if the view & pool is spectacular. Gardens by the Bay, an expensive look at some flowers and unnatural waterfall. Sentosa, still “so expense nothing to see anyway”.

Singapore has a pull that can not be denied. No doubt a combination of childhood experiences & the opportunity that can only be seen by immersing ones self in an society that activity pursues success & growth. This short visit has just reinforced the idea. Next time it will be for a little longer.