David's Big Adventure in China

I spent 5 days in Langkawi, Malaysia mostly just relaxing, eating and reading. Langkawi is a pretty big island and it would take at least an hour to drive all the way around it. It is mostly a tourist island with some nice resorts and a lot of budget accommodations. There is a Sheraton Resort there with rooms starting at $200 and a Four Seasons Resort with rooms starting at about $450 per night. The first night, based on the recommendation of a guy I met in Penang, I stayed in a guesthouse that cost me about $9 but didn’t have a/c or hot water. I did have a full bathroom in my room and the cold shower somewhat offset the lack of cool air but I decided the extra $6 per night it would cost me for a nicer place with cool air, hot water, and a tv would be worth it so I moved! A couple folks asked me if I wanted to share a rental car with them for a day of sightseeing and one of them had lived there for 5 years so I jumped at the chance to have a local tour guide at a bargain price. We saw the sites of the island and ran some errands, did some shopping and had dinner. We saw many monkeys along the sides of the roads (see pics).

I returned to China on July 31 to make sure I didn’t have any problems getting back in since my visa expired on August 5. On Monday, August 4 a student from the school where I will teach went with me to the police station to get a 30 day tourist visa to hold me over until the school gets my resident visa. I had to stay here in Nanning until I got my 30 day visa and my passport back from the police. I figured out the other day that 10% of the time I have been in China the police have had my passport while working on getting me a visa. It’s a bit unnerving to be without my passport knowing I can’t travel anywhere without it. I was stuck staying at the hotel at the school while waiting for my passport and my room there was not very nice but it only cost me about $8 per day. It did have a/c, hot water from 5:00 p.m. to midnight, and a tv with HBO. I spent the week catching up on some things and getting to know my way around Nanning and the school.

On my flight back to China someone gave me a copy of the Asian Wall Street Journal which on page 2 reported that a man who posted pictures of schools that collapsed in the earthquake has been sent to a labor camp for a year. The article said that people here can be sent to a labor camp for up to 4 years without any formal charges or a trial. The article goes on to say that officials have pledged to investigate the collapses which many parents have claimed were caused by poor construction and government negligence. It also said that local authorities have begun offering compensation to parents if they pledge in writing to stop speaking out and pressing for inquiries.

I will do some local travel this week and next and then I can move into my apartment at the school on the 25th. Next time I’ll tell you more about the school and my apartment there.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 1:16 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.