Touched down in Sydney late on Monday night. It was awesome just to hear one of the airport staff say 'No problems mate' in that trademark Australian accent. After one day back in Sydney the differences between here and China are much more obvious (having been in China for 11-12 weeks).
Anyways Hong Kong was basically shopping, shopping and shopping. To ensure I didn't go to shops everyday I went to the Peak (good view if it wasn't for excessive fog and mist), Hong Kong carnival theme park (went on the Vomitron, made famous by the Footy Show), Macau (gambling, gambling and awesome Portguese egg tarts). The rest of my days were spent shopping, eating char siu fan and gai lan, going to weird Hongkie karaoke bars and playing dice, shopping and .... shopping. But don't get me wrong, Hong Kong was still mad fun despite my increasing levels of homesickness. This was probably because I hung out quite alot with some friends from Sydney who are living and working in HK, big thanks to Sarah & Ip! After this trip I've concluded Hong Kong is THE place to shop if you want genuine goods. If you want cheap, fake goods go to China.
Things I won't miss from China (what I can remember) :
- Super dry air or extremely humid air (nothing in between)
- Bad quality air (full of dust and other bad stuff).
- Excessive spitting, discharging of snot (don't know a term for it) & heavy passive smoking.
- Not being able to go to a church or having fellowship with other Christians.
- Crazy traffic, not knowing if you'll live to see the other side of the road (when crossing the road).
- People blatantly pushing in at any opportunity.
- Travelling solo, it got pretty lonely at times.
- Toilets that aren't clean, squat toilets, toilets with no privacy. In general, the toilets.
- People offering massages and ladies every 5 minutes (in the main areas at night).
- Getting haggled and pursued by street sellers at every tourist site (looking like an Asian meant I had an easier time of it compared to the Anglo foreigners).
- People giving random directions when asking them for help (thus ending up getting lost).
Things I will miss (what I can remember) :
- Ultra cheap and good food (will miss this the most)
- All the cool Chinese and foreign friends I met and hung out with there.
- The markets full of cheap and interesting goods, and also haggling and bargaining.
- Cheap everything in general.
- Jian Bing (see picture above) at 3am-4am in the morning for 2 kuai (less than AUD$0.35).
- The guy selling latest movie DVD's for 5 kuai (80 cents AUD) outside my apartments at Beijing.
- The general peacefulness, no hoons in cars, no drunk idiots walking around starting trouble. Generally the biggest troublemakers were foreigners who had too much to drink.
- A good rail transport system, CityRail doesn't really match up.
- The cheap taxis and the craziness/quickness of the drivers in heavy traffic (or any traffic).
- Acting immature with my mates (picture below, yellow wall) and playing the 'penis' game in Beijing (damn funny because not as many people understand English there). Ed, on the far right was always the champion, whilst John (the white guy) always got the blame from the locals.
Things I learnt (apart from Chinese language)
- Chinese people (in China that is) are generally damn hard working. They have crazy working hours yet don't complain too much. Old people do lots of physical activity (carry heavy loads, ride bicycles, etc). I'll try to keep this in mind next time I complain about working too hard, etc.
- It isn't easy for Chinese people to learn English, as it is for English speakers to learn Chinese. Must keep this in mind next time I feel like dissing a fob accent, because I've got a 'fob' accent when I speak Chinese (really bad pronounciation and grammar).
- People are generally respectful there. Very humble people, not too much attitude going around. As above, no hoons in pumped up cars (but there are still some super fine cars there), no drunks being rowdy in the streets, no gangs looking to start fights (as much as I saw).
- Chinese people can drink. It's a myth to say asians can't drink. They are insane drinkers. World's fastest growing beer market and world's biggest cigarette market. And the funny thing is, they don't gloat about how much they drank the next day. Still manage to keep their humbleness.
- No road rage. Despite the fact that people drive like maniacs, drivers are extremely patient. Rarely see cursing. Compare this to Western countries where some drivers will pick fights, tailgate, etc. I have alot to learn in respect to my patience when I drive.
- The Chinese have a rich history and culture. Thus they all have a great sense of identity and really know their history. The patriotism will go crazy during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
I guess looking back I have no regrets about taking this trip. It was an awesome experience and I learnt alot of Chinese (my main objective). In addition to that, travelled to alot of places & saw many amazing sites and things. I also met many friends with whom I think I'll have lasting friendships. Learnt alot from both my foreign friends and the Chinese friends I made.
Quite a few things in my mindset have been challenged or at least changed on this trip. I also like China enough that I'd seriously consider working somewhere in China in the not too distant future if the opportunity presents itself. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking of going to China or learning Chinese.
Laters y'all!
