stark contrast
Hanoi, Vietnam to Nanning, China
At customs I wait at the back of the sideways-swelling queue until a British guy gives me my first Chinese culture lesson: you’ve got to be pushy – elbow your way to the front of the queue, shove your passports through that window and don’t let anyone else in until you get them back. It works!
Boarding the Chinese bus was an immediate contrast. It was clean, so clean Rob took a photo of the white covers 😉 The attendant smiled and welcomed us, soon she would be making sure everyone had done up their seatbelts (their WHAT???!!!!) and offering bags to put rubbish in. The roads were different too – wider, smoother and no-one was honking their way along them. We climbed over a thousand metres and the only indicator we were gaining altitude was our popping ears – the bus did not slow to a crawl, it didn’t struggle at all.
The scenery has been distinctive on each journey, and this time along with rice paddies under limestone mountains there were acres and acres of sugarcane (biofuel? we wondered). The fields were comparatively empty of people – whereas in Vietnam there had been hundreds of field workers, here there were very few.
Sometimes the mountain backdrop gave way to cities – not just hamlets or villages or towns, but sprawling urban centres, complete with many buildings seven storeys tall and some towering even higher (Laos was a two storey country, Cambodia three or four storey, Vietnam five or six – there is probably nothing significant about this – it’s just a random observation we have made).
Nanning, our destination this day, is a city with the same population as our hometown (just under 1.5million), and while our home populace is spread across a huge area, Nanning’s was concentrated on its main street when we arrived. Little black heads bobbed along the street, propelled either by foot or electric pedal bikes. Many more were crammed into busses, or on yet another tuktuk variation – these ones with metal covers protecting the passengers.
I took two boys to scout out accommodation for the night. A cyclist and motorcyclist touched front wheels, but managed to stay upright, as they turned to stare at us waiting at the traffic lights (yes, the traffic obeys the lights here, another contrast).
What was it going to be like walking along the street with all of us? We didn’t have to wait long to find out. I was at the back of our group as we headed up the road, lagging somewhat behind, a perfect vantage point for watching everyone – ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE – turn around and stare as The Bunch passed. In fact, tomorrow, when Rob uses an ATM for one minute, I’ll position myself to take photos of passers-by turning and looking….
Hotel. Another contrast for the day. We stay in a hotel instead of a guesthouse. This means there’s a lift to the fifth floor, one room is carpetted, shower caps are provided, as well as a kettle. There is not, however, a shower head on the pipe sticking out of the bathroom wall, and if you fail to state you want the room for only an hour, you’ll be charged for the whole day.
Food. More contrast. Every eating establishment and clothes shop and mobile phone shop, in fact every shop along the street, has loud high-pitched music competing for airwaves, blaring out from speakers on the pavement, and no two songs the same. The foodie places also have the music directed inside the shops too. Eating is not a quiet event. Screeching music, screeching people. Loud, but cheap. Excellent tasty food costs next-to-nothing. This is one contrast we like!
Tags: housing, money, postcard: China, transport
rayres
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