Hi all.
We've just had three fabulous days in Guangzhou (formerly Canton) We had a gap between finishing in Cambodia and starting our Wendy Wu package tour in China and after tossing around lots of ideas of how to fill it in we decided on Guangzhou and we're very glad we did. Third biggest city in China but not really on most tourist routes so amongst the first thing we noted was how"odd" we feel!! So much so that three times yesterday we were asked to pose with locals for photos!!! It also means not a lot of English signage and even less spoken. But enough to get by. And plenty of gestures and pointing - have taken our chances at a couple of local restaurants pointing at pictures on the menu (no English) Mostly it's turned out quite well!
Navigating the underground metro has been very easy and that's one place there's plenty of English signage. Public transport is SO cheap too. Less than 2 dollars to get from airport to city. 50 centres for a ferry ride.
So here's a few somewhat random observations of Guangzhou, which of course may be quite different elsewhere in China.
* people here seem quite affluent. Most very well dressed. Majority have got their smart phones in their hand most of the time.
Very little sign of poverty in the city (I'm sure it exists elsewhere). A few disabled beggars outside the temples and cathedral.
* we are staying right next to a major retail area. Beijing Road "walking street" which means "pedestrian mall"!! Pricing of general stuff like clothes bags and shoes is very similar to Aus.
* it's pretty hot and we have seen some sunshine (smog isn't that bad here!) But the locals don't wear hats or sunglasses. They prefer to use umbrellas for shade. (thankfully we haven't needed them for much rain - only one evening). Oh and if you heard about typhoons in China - it had no affect here.
* it's very clean. Virtually no rubbish lying around
* plenty of trees and flowers. Beautiful parks and gardens.
* way less motor bikes and bicycles than Cambodia and Vietnam. A few motorised push bikes.
* traffic lights cannot be trusted. The green walk sign may be on but most likely a car will still come through against a red light
* there are tourists here - but they are almost all Chinese. They love selfies and selfie sticks!
* MacDonalds and KFC are here 😊 Yes I've had a couple of burgers!!
* a lot of people are very rude and pushy (David thinks its necessary in such a crowded country- survival of the fittest!)
* they DON'T give up their seat on the train for seniors!
* it feels very safe. Plenty of police around and there's video surveillance in the streets.
* we've walked a LOT including doing a walking tour with a guide taking us up and down some back streets seeing very interesting sights. Visited numerous temples and a museum.
* the most tourist thing we've done is go up Canton Tower. 108th floor 440metres. Is the tallest structure in China if measured right to the tip of the telecommunications tower on top.
* tower is brilliantly lit at night, as are lots of buildings and bridges (went on night cruise on river last night)
* people still smoke a LOT! But its progressively being banned in public places (eg the trains)
* there's NOT as many people as we expected. Easy walking in the streets and most train travel quite ok. A few times its been a bit squashy but still not packed.
*The men like to pull their t-shirts up to their armpits to expose their bellies to cool off.... or take them off completely...Eeeww NOT PRETTY!
* people gather in the parks doing tai chi. They also play cards and Chinese checkers! And sing karaoke... really badly!
* not only is Facebook blocked so is a heap of other stuff including anything to do with Google... makes checking anything on the internet tricky - lucky I have Bing installed! Can't use google maps, gmail, blogger, etc....
So we've survived our few DIY days in China. Flying off to Beijing this afternoon to join the package tour which will be quite a change for us.... but I'm looking forward to having everything organised for us and be able to just sit back and enjoy.
Jenny and David
We've just had three fabulous days in Guangzhou (formerly Canton) We had a gap between finishing in Cambodia and starting our Wendy Wu package tour in China and after tossing around lots of ideas of how to fill it in we decided on Guangzhou and we're very glad we did. Third biggest city in China but not really on most tourist routes so amongst the first thing we noted was how"odd" we feel!! So much so that three times yesterday we were asked to pose with locals for photos!!! It also means not a lot of English signage and even less spoken. But enough to get by. And plenty of gestures and pointing - have taken our chances at a couple of local restaurants pointing at pictures on the menu (no English) Mostly it's turned out quite well!
Navigating the underground metro has been very easy and that's one place there's plenty of English signage. Public transport is SO cheap too. Less than 2 dollars to get from airport to city. 50 centres for a ferry ride.
So here's a few somewhat random observations of Guangzhou, which of course may be quite different elsewhere in China.
* people here seem quite affluent. Most very well dressed. Majority have got their smart phones in their hand most of the time.
Very little sign of poverty in the city (I'm sure it exists elsewhere). A few disabled beggars outside the temples and cathedral.
* we are staying right next to a major retail area. Beijing Road "walking street" which means "pedestrian mall"!! Pricing of general stuff like clothes bags and shoes is very similar to Aus.
* it's pretty hot and we have seen some sunshine (smog isn't that bad here!) But the locals don't wear hats or sunglasses. They prefer to use umbrellas for shade. (thankfully we haven't needed them for much rain - only one evening). Oh and if you heard about typhoons in China - it had no affect here.
* it's very clean. Virtually no rubbish lying around
* plenty of trees and flowers. Beautiful parks and gardens.
* way less motor bikes and bicycles than Cambodia and Vietnam. A few motorised push bikes.
* traffic lights cannot be trusted. The green walk sign may be on but most likely a car will still come through against a red light
* there are tourists here - but they are almost all Chinese. They love selfies and selfie sticks!
* MacDonalds and KFC are here 😊 Yes I've had a couple of burgers!!
* a lot of people are very rude and pushy (David thinks its necessary in such a crowded country- survival of the fittest!)
* they DON'T give up their seat on the train for seniors!
* it feels very safe. Plenty of police around and there's video surveillance in the streets.
* we've walked a LOT including doing a walking tour with a guide taking us up and down some back streets seeing very interesting sights. Visited numerous temples and a museum.
* the most tourist thing we've done is go up Canton Tower. 108th floor 440metres. Is the tallest structure in China if measured right to the tip of the telecommunications tower on top.
* tower is brilliantly lit at night, as are lots of buildings and bridges (went on night cruise on river last night)
* people still smoke a LOT! But its progressively being banned in public places (eg the trains)
* there's NOT as many people as we expected. Easy walking in the streets and most train travel quite ok. A few times its been a bit squashy but still not packed.
*The men like to pull their t-shirts up to their armpits to expose their bellies to cool off.... or take them off completely...Eeeww NOT PRETTY!
* people gather in the parks doing tai chi. They also play cards and Chinese checkers! And sing karaoke... really badly!
* not only is Facebook blocked so is a heap of other stuff including anything to do with Google... makes checking anything on the internet tricky - lucky I have Bing installed! Can't use google maps, gmail, blogger, etc....
So we've survived our few DIY days in China. Flying off to Beijing this afternoon to join the package tour which will be quite a change for us.... but I'm looking forward to having everything organised for us and be able to just sit back and enjoy.
Jenny and David
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