We arrived in Mainland China expecting it to be scary and very third world. After being here a few days I can say for certain that I it is really not scary. As far as being a third world country it is hard to tell. You can look around and see the dilapitated buildings and the poverty stricken faces of those selling crafts and think that it is. But you can also talk to these people, hear their stories as they go out of their way to help you feel welcome, and you start to feel something very different.

You might think we are in Beijing now but we took a detour to get out of big cities for awhile and flew from Schenzen (1 hour from Hong Kong) to Guilin.. which is a small city surrounded by beautiful moutains and the Li RIver. Our arrival in Guliin was a bit tricky as our flight was delayed four hours by rain and we got there at 1:00am. At 1:00am in a small airport we climbed aboard an airport bus that promised to take us into the city. Well all of a sudden our driver pulls over to the side of the highway and tells us to get out. There is a black town car there and another airport bus. I won't say I wasn't freaked out but then a stewardess in a cute red dress appeard and i felt a bit safer. She took our luggage to the other bus as I think our bus driver was tired and watned to go home. Upon dropping us off we hopped in a taxi who assured us he knew where our hostel was. Well 1.5 hours later we still could not find it after asking one policeman, a group of late night partiers, and two other hotels. Finally our driver took us to a three star hotel and we bargained to stay there for 24 a night.. 12 dollars each! The whole time our driver was so nice and trying to speak on our behalf even though no one in the equation spoke any english.

So this should give you a taste of how nice the people of China really are! I know there are more good times to come!