Solo journay to rural China (Part I)

[Woodson]

We thank Raymond Seid for permitting us to post his article from the Seid family forum. It is long but interesting.

www.seid.name/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8

SOLO JOURNEY TO RURAL CHINA - July 2004

By Raymond Seid


NOTE: Be forewarned that the following travelogue is deliberately lengthy and quite detailed. The intent is to present my travel experience in China in such detail that would enable the reader to learn something about Chinese culture and what it was like for me to travel alone to rural China. Timely travel tips are noted throughout the travelogue for those who may wish to take a journey to rural China in the near future.

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This is my 4th trip to China, and my first trip to travel solo here. I invited several friends and family members to come along, but there were no takers. I am Chinese, born in America. I was apprehensive at first due largely to my limit language skills in Chinese, but it was a trip I felt I had to make, even to do so on my own. Some of my friends and family have forewarned me about villagers asking for money or favors, but I would encounter no such thing. Speaking some local-dialect Cantonese, unable to read nor write Chinese, I embarked upon a trip to rural China.

Essentials for the trip included medicine such as prescription antibiotics, Bayer aspirins, Excedrin pain pills, diarrhea pills, and Rolaids for upset stomachs, as well as medication for treating mosquito bites, disinfectants, and an insect repellent. Also, it is important to bring a roll of toilet tissues just in case Iin an unexpected situation where I have to use a public toilet, especially in the village. Public toilets are not equipped with toilet paper in many places in rural China. Of course, light summer clothing is recommended. An English/Chinese dictionary is also helpful.

It is also a comfort that Imet several friends and relatives on my last trip to rural China 3 years ago, and have contacted them beforehand to inform them of my itinerary and to make some advance preparations. This alleviated much of the anxiety and initial reservation about traveling alone to China. As for money, I brought cash and credit cards. Cash seems to be the preferred method of payment in rural China, and this meant safeguarding my valuables during my travels was even that much more critical. In fact, I did not even use my credit cards at all, nor did I use the ATM.

I found the internet to be quite useful in planning my itinerary. When I discovered that there was a bus that would take me from Hong Kong airport to Xinhui City (also spelled and pronounced Wuiin local dialect) in China, I seized the opportunity to do so in spite of the 9-hour wait at the airport for the next available bus. This would save me the expense of staying at a hotel in Kowloon overnight in order to catch the one ferry service to Xinhui City the very next morning at 8:45 am. Via the internet, an email, and a phone call, I found out that the only bus servicing the airport to Xinhui City was through China Travel Service (CTS) - - a 7:30 am departure. My flight from Honolulu via Narita airport (Tokyo) arrived in Hong Kong airport at 10:30 pm the night before - - thus the 9-hour wait. Obtaining an arrival card (and departure card) visa for entry into Hong Kong was a breeze. Very few flights came into the airport after midnight. I busied myself taking a light 2-hour nap and reading a book. I also spent about an hour upstairs on a computer checking my email. Use of the computer is free, but I had to buy something from the coffee shop in order to use it. Ilimited to 15 minutes of usage if someone is waiting, but at this hour passed midnight no one was waiting.

Thanks to information gleaned from CTS and a Hong Kong-based travel agent (Beautiful Locations, LTD), the CTS bus counter at the airport is located just as theyindicated - - Arrival Hall, Exit A, Counter #A04. The counter closes at 9:00 pm, and opens at 7:00 am. Itnow the morning of July 16, 2004, Friday. The counter is now opened. I was one of the first in line to purchase my bus ticket to Xinhui City. The cost: HK $280. Iexchanged US $100 upon my arrival at the airport earlier. CTS could even procure a Mainland China visa for you on the same day if needed, but I had already gotten my US $60 visa when I purchased my airline ticket from my travel agent in San FranciscoChinatown, Starlite Travel Service. CTS personnel put a sticker on me indicating that my destination was Xinhui City, and tagged all my baggage likewise. Soon CTS marched a small group of us, along with our luggage bags, downstairs to the waiting bus.

The bus ride was air-conditioned and 4-5 hours in duration. The driver handed out an immigration entry form for Mainland China and a health declaration card to be filled out. At the Mainland China border crossing at Huanggang, I surrendered my Hong Kong departure card to Immigration Department Hong Kong on one side, walked to the other side, and re-boarded the bus that was already awaiting us. The bus had only driven us a few yards away, before we were instructed to take all our luggage from the bus and go through Mainland China immigration for permission to enter. That was done smoothly without a hitch. Once done with that, I carried my 2 luggage bags and one backpack to where I found my bus waiting again. Here it was literally like a Chinese fire drill indeed - - there were at least 15-20 buses parked here at any one time from a variety of bus and tour companies. The stalls were not numbered, and all the signs and writings on the buses were in Chinese. Throngs of passengers were everywhere exiting Mainland China immigration and waiting and scurrying around looking for their respective buses.

My bus driver was taking his smoke break inside a nearby coffee shop. I could not take a break since I had to guard my luggage next to the bus. After about 30 minutes and no sign that my bus was leaving, I got concerned. I flagged down a CTS employee (they were easily identified with their uniforms and name badge), and she informed me that I was supposed to change to another bus that will go to Xinhui City. She instructed me to just wait where I was standing. (I did not know I was supposed to change bus.) 15 more minutes passed, and she was no longer in sight. At that point I could see that my bus driver was done with his smoke break, so I flagged him down to ask him in Chinese where is the bus that was supposed to take me to Xinhui City. He instructed me to wait while he finds out what bus I should be on. A few minutes later he returned and escorted me to the correct bus to Xinhui City. Had I hesitated for a few more minutes I would have missed this bus because it took off very soon after I boarded, and I believe there was only one CTS bus daily that goes to Xinhui City but I was not certain of that.

After placing my 2 luggage bags in the storage bin compartment beneath the bus, I proceeded to board the bus. I asked the driver in Chinese to make sure he informed me when we have reached Xinhui City. With his acknowledgement, I proceeded to a seat in the back. A middle-aged lady sitting next to me is yakking away loudly and picking her feet at the same time. These are things I had to get used to fast. Locals talking loudly almost to the point of shouting and not considered rude, and people picking or playing with their bare feet in full public view without a second thought. The bus went through the major cities of Zhongshan (also spelled and pronounced Sahnin local dialect) and Jiangmen (pronounced Muenin local dialect). Zhongshan, originally named was quite massive in size, sprawling with all its more recent industrialization and developments. We passed large developments after large developments, factories after factories. It took us over an hour to go through Zhongshan proper. Jiangmen was also highly developed but to a much lesser extent. Notable in Jiangmen was the dozens upon dozens of giant storefronts and manufacturers of industrial and commercial lightings of all sorts on display.

The bus made several stops to drop off passengers on the way, and one stop for a toilet break. One thing I noticed right away was whenever departing passengers reclaimed their luggage bags from the bus bin below, several passengers onboard would carefully watch them to make sure that their luggage bags were not removed from the bin. I supposed some passengers had lost their luggage bags in this manner in the past. Taking a cue from them, I too started to peer out the window at each stop to ensure that my bags were not removed from the storage bin.

At 12:30 pm my bus arrived in front of the Overseas Chinese Building where I had reservations for a room for 2 nights at their hotel. In local dialect the hotel is called Que Dai HaThe only other stop the bus makes in Xinhui City is at the Gang Zhou Hotel (aka Xinhui Cui Heng Cun Hotel and pronounced Joe Bun Guenin local dialect) where the only McDonaldin town is located. The Overseas Chinese Building is where many returning Chinese to the area stay during their visits. Xinhui City is the major city serving the Xinhui District or County area. It is one of the 4 districts or counties in this region collectively known as Siyi (or Yupin local dialect) literally meaning Districtsor CountiesThe other three are Taishan (also spelled Kaiping (also spelled and Enping (also spelled
The family of the wife to my oldest brother lives in Xinhui City. Having been informed of my scheduled arrival ahead of time, her mother and younger sister greeted me warmly as I disembarked the bus. I had met the mother on my last trip 3 years earlier. The sister helped me check into the hotel. I paid for the room with a 500 RMB currency deposit since the clerk strangely did not appear to understand what a credit card was. (I had pre-arranged for the sister to exchange US $100 for me upon my arrival.) The double-bed room was air-conditioned, and costs 160 RMB per night, or roughly US $20. The room was reasonably comfortable with a Western-style toilet (not the squat type) and a shower-tub, but the hotel had no elevators nor does it have seats in the lobby. My hotel room also does not have a safe, which would have been a big plus for securing my valuables. I supposed I could have left my valuables downstairs with the front desk, but I chose to keep my valuables locked in my baggage instead. There is a Kentucky Fried Chicken located downstairs in the same building, and it is the most crowded KFC I have ever been in, packed with people at nearly all hours of the day! KFC is comfortably air-conditioned, very clean with good service and tasty food, and there is a play room for the kids. Everything is written in Chinese. This is a marquee Western standard food establishment, and the residents here seem to take a liking to it despite the comparatively higher cost of eating here.

After helping to bring my luggage bags into my room, the sister introduced me to a local hole-in-the-wall eatery where she treated me to a good size bowl of porridge (aka for lunch for a mere 3 RMB which is about US $0.35. (Her mother had already walked home which was nearby, about a 10-minute walk.) Afterwards she went home, and I went to my room for a quick 1-hour nap. Then I walked around a bit to familiarize myself to the area. I noted that the banks in town have ATM machines leading me to believe that I could actually use my ATM cards to obtain cash here, but I did not try and do not know for certain.

The family had insisted that I have dinner at their apartment home, so right at 5:00 pm the sister stopped by to escort me to their home. Their apartment was very basic, one floor up in an older building and fan-cooled. There I met the father again, being that I had met him 3 years earlier, and I met the older sister for the very first time. This was the first real test of my Chinese-speaking and listening ability. These folks are a humble, country-folk type of a family, very hospitable and friendly. My oldest brother and his family live in Mississippi, and these are his in-laws. Dinner was excellent with a soup, 2 meat dishes, and a vegetable dish - - almost like meals Mama used to make when I was a kid in Mississippi. We had hot tea right after dinner. At the request of my oldest brother, I gave them a photo album of his family which they thoroughly enjoyed having. My oldest brother has 3 young sons. Then I shared with them a packet of various photos I had brought with me. Photos are always an excellent conversation piece and a good icebreaker. Surprisingly, I was able to communicate reasonably well, but I had to consult my English-Chinese pocket dictionary to get my point across on a few occasions. My oldest brother and his wife called from Mississippi while I was there, so I had a chance to tell them that I arrived in Xinhui City safe and sound. By 9:00 pm I was pretty tired and left to turn in for the evening at my hotel.

The next is July 17th, Saturday. I woke up early and had breakfast at the same hole-in-the-wall eatery a block away - - 2 bowls of jook this time. Afterwards I walked around on my own and took a few photographs of street sceneries. Then I relaxed and had coffee at KFC. The sister met up with me around lunch time to show me the sights around town. We had lunch at the same eatery - - I had 2 bowls of wonton noodles for around US $0.60 a bowl. Iasked her to help me locate an internet cafso that I could check my email. After lunch we set off to locate an internet cafUpon consulting with a computer store, we located one upstairs in the public library. I was on the computer for about 45 minutes, and the cost was a mere 5 RMB or so, which was about US $0.65.

Afterwards we hopped a local bus to a place known as Jade Lake, apparently the most popular tourist attraction in the area. It is a huge nature park with a large lake filled with carp fish as its main feature. It was rainy that day, so we only walked around for about an hour or so before I returned to my hotel. I rested some in my room, while she returned home. I had offered to treat the family out for dinner that night, but again, they insisted that I have dinner at their home. I had a late afternoon Pepsi at KFC. The sister met me there around 6:00 pm to escort me to their home for dinner, again. The dinner was similar to the first one, and again was very homey and tasty. The family wanted me to deliver some jewelry and some Chinese CDs to my oldest brotherwife. Of course, I was glad to accept these for delivery. Before saying my goodbyes, I exchanged another US $100 for RMB currency with the father just to be sure I had enough money for my upcoming trip to tiny Gujing Town (pronounced in the local dialect) in rural China the next day. The sister was to meet me right at 11:30 am at the hotel the next day to make sure I had safe and proper transportation to Gujing Town. I turned in early that evening again.

It is now Sunday, July 18th. I woke up early to pack for my trip to Gujing Town. Early on I had attempted to make arrangement for an English-speaking friend Imet 3 years ago from the Gujing Town area to escort me to Gujing Town via public bus, but the plans were not confirmed and thus I was uncertain if the friend would be meeting me at my hotel. I intended on waiting for her at the hotel until as late as 1:00 pm before leaving on my own. For one final time, I had a bowl of jook for breakfast at the same eatery. By this time the owners were accustomed to my eating there and were making small talk with me. Somehow they knew I was from America. Afterwards, I grab a Pepsi at KFC before going to my room to bring down my luggage bags. The sister and her mother show up around 11:30 am and together with the help of the hotel floor warden, we carried everything downstairs.

I checked out, and waited for my Gujing Town friend to show up. The sister waited with me in the lobby while the mother went home. By 1:00 pm, I decided that my friend was a no-show, and proceeded to find transportation with the assistance of the sister. I had debated whether to take the public bus to Guijing Town which would have been only about US $0.50, but decided to take a taxi due to the amount of luggage bags I had. Itold that by taxi, it is only 30-40 minutes ride. So, we flagged a taxi driver wetalked to earlier the previous day, and agreed to a 70 RMB fare, about US $9. The sister was overly cautious and a bit hesitant about my taking this taxi because there have been instances where some taxi drivers from Northern China were robbing unsuspecting tourist passengers. However, I was comfortable with this taxi because the young driver spoke our local dialect and was from Xinhui City.

So, after saying goodbye to the sister, off I went enroute to Guijing Town. We crossed a newly-built bridge, and as we neared Gujing Town, we passed the large hill where my paternal great grandfather is buried near my paternal ancestral village called Sahin local dialect. Then we passed the village of Wanwhere the surname is prevalent, the village of Liewwhere the surname is prominent, and then the village of Lauwhere the surname is prominent. These are the villages that are visible from the road. Things were starting to look familiar now since I had last come here 3 years ago. At 2:30 pm, 40 minutes after leaving Xinhui City, I was at the front door of my hotel. I liked the driver and got his phone number just in case I needed a driver for the future. I gave him 10 RMB extra just for being nice.

The name of this hotel in local Chinese dialect is Que Lin Dai HaItanother one of those hotels where many returning Chinese Americans from overseas stay while visiting the area. The hotel only has about 15 rooms. I had stayed at this same hotel 3 years ago. The hotel clerk immediately said that she had been waiting for my arrival. I had the English-speaking friendfamily make the reservation for me for the next 10 nights. She showed me a room, very basic for 100 RMB per night, about US $12.50. It had a Western-style toilet, not the squat typeis a big plus! Then she gave me an option to upgrade to a much better room which had been recently remodeled all around with a brand new refrigerator that the other room did not have, and that was on the 2nd floor and was going for 120 RMB per night, about US $15. The room had 3 twin beds, all with hard mattresses. It too had a Western-style toilet. Well, the right choice was clear to me - - for an extra US $2.50, Ibe getting the best room in the hotel that is reasonably more comfortable and clean. I opted for the best room in spite of the open shower setup which shares the same floor level as the toilet (as a result, the toilet seat gets wet whenever the shower is in use). The clerk immediately went out to buy me some sodas for the refrigerator, for which I paid her back. Then she brought me a brand new hand towel and some English-language magazines. Shegiving me the VIP treatment. And to top it off, she offered to find a female companion for me during my stay, which I sort of chuckled at and left the subject at that.

This is the very same room that my Dad stayed in when we were here 3 years ago. She informed me that a Chinese American, married to a Caucasian lady, comes to Gujing Town every year and stay for about a month in this room. He has contributed a lot of money towards the building of this hotel. Theyjust checked out right before I arrived - - perfect timing. He had contributed money to remodel this room. They live somewhere in the South, like Tennessee or Mississippi, Itold. The manname is Man FookA large plaque adorning the doorway to the room attests to his generosity.

Please see part II

[Woodson]

Solo journay to rural China (Part II)

by Raymond Seid

Anyway, after settling in I went downstairs to call my English-speaking friend to let her know that I have arrived safely at my hotel in Gujing Town. (My room telephone can receive calls, but I cannot make calls to the outside.) She was somewhat surprised that I made it to Gujing Town because she and her brother had gone to my hotel in Xinhui City around 10:30 am that morning and was told that I was not a guest at that hotel. They then returned to their village home (called Jownear Gujing Town. Later her auntie, who lives in San Francisco and spends 3 months every year at a 2nd home here, called me to inquire about the mixup. I found out that the friend had asked for me by one of my brotherChinese name, not mine. Anyway, the auntie invited me for dim sum at 7:00 am the next morning. I fended for myself for dinner on my first night in Guijing Town. The town has progressed some over the years and now has several more choices for restaurants for dining, however none very upscale. I stumbled onto a very casual hole-in-the-wall restaurant near the hotel. It had some roasted goose hanging on the window. Gujing Town is famous for its roasted goose. So, I sat upstairs in an air-conditioned dining room and ordered roasted goose and tender greens with rice. It looked like they gave me half a goose to eat and a hefty plate of greens. And the bill was a mere 17 RMB, a little over US $2! Afterwards, I turned in early for the evening, watched some Chinese cable TV programs (because very little English language programs were available), and fell asleep.

Monday, July 19th Bright and early right at 7:00 am, I hear a knock on my door. Itthe lady from San Francisco. We walked about 40 yards over to the only other major hotel in town called Bun Gwenin local Chinese dialect. This hotel is larger and has a restaurant that serves dim sum. It may be the only place in town for dim sum. We met the rest of her family and friends, all of whom Imet from my trip 3 years ago. Among them was the English-speaking girl whoattempted to meet me in Xinhui City to escort me to Gujing Town. I had brought a care package of English-learning books and other things for her. Everyone was happy to see me journeying back to hah(i.e., the village) for a return visit. We ate in one of the private dining rooms that was air-conditioned. I understand there is an extra charge for that. Dim sum was pretty good considering the small size of the town and the rural nature of the area. Having lived in San Francisco for many years, Igrown accustomed to using the more Hong Kong-style of dim sum there as a basis of comparison. As customary in China, throughout my visit the duty of the youngest members of the table was to make sure everyoneteacups were always filled with hot tea during the course of the meal.

Cleanliness and tidiness at restaurants were not up to Western standards - - apparently they donchange tablecloths after each seating and the floors were often not swept. These observations were pretty universal throughout rural China. But dining out was grossly inexpensive, so whoto complain? One ritual that would be repeated over and over again throughout my stay is the automatic rinsing of all the chopsticks, bowls, plates and teacups with hot water or hot tea by the diners whenever and wherever we ate. This degree of over-sanitizing is not practiced in the US. At most, wewipe clean our utensils and dishes at Chinese restaurants in the US. I did not understand why the restaurant here doesnactually do this as standard practice if they see us always sanitizing their dishes and utensils. This must be a routine practice for diners because most of the time the waitresses would automatically bring a thermos of hot water or tea for us to rinse our own dishes and utensils. Ipuzzled.

As at any meal, for the Chinese the dining table is the primary setting for socializing and catching up on the latest news and happenings. My Chinese vocabulary is quite limited, so much of the chatter at every meal went into one ear and out the other. Ioblivious to most Chinese conversations. If a conversation piece is directed at me, in most cases I would struggle to understand what is being said or asked. And if there is a loss in translation, they would just kindly and understandably pass on the conversation as not important enough to dwell on further. Anyway, when we finished our dim sum, it was time to fight for the check - - just like we do in the US.

Afterwards, we took a stroll through town and on to a friendhouse, about a half-hourwalk. This friend lives along a road in a commercialized area known as Sing Hayin local dialect near the village of LiewShe and her family has a sewing shop. By now it was around 10:00 am, and rural southern China is hot and humid this time of the year with periodic rainstorms. It was easily close to 100 degrees F, and the humidity was almost like breathing in water vapor at times. I havenexperienced this type of sweltering climate since I was a kid growing up in Mississippi during the summer months. There was no wind to speak of, and the bugs and insects were abundant - - again, just like it was in Mississippi. Within a few steps outdoors, I am already drenched in my own perspiration. Luckily, I was familiar with this type of sweltering heat having lived in Mississippi. Other visitors may very well opt to visit here in the spring or fall when the weather is much cooler and less humid.

This region of rural China, the Pearl River Valley, is literally the bread basket of China. Fruits and vegetables, meats and poultry were abundant as well as fish and seafood. It is now near the end of lichee season, the middle of season, and a bit too early for dragon eyes. At the friendhouse, we had a bag of lichees and to munch on. They tell me that had I come a month earlier, the lichee would have been juicier and much sweeter. I had a simple, tasty home-cooked lunch at the friendhouse.
Afterwards, I hopped a motorcycle taxi and visited another friend whom Imet 3 years ago. Her familyvillage is a smaller village nearby called Heenin local dialect where some residents with as their surname live. Heenis near Wanvillage. Her older sister is married and lives in a larger village nearby called LiewAs with all the rural villages in the area, there seems to always be sizeable ponds adjacent to the homes in the villages. Itold that they raise fish in those ponds. And the astonishing thing is the fact that almost every pond has a public outhouse where human wastes are discharged directly into the pond where these fish would be eventually eaten. Likewise, many villages have pig pens adjacent to homes, and the ammonia-like aroma would be a sure sign that a pig pen is nearby. Anyway, the house in Liewis large and the lay of the land was bountiful. From the upper floors of the house you can see acres upon acres of expansive farmland - - rice paddies, fruit orchards, and vegetable gardens everywhere. At the house they had lichee, and dragon eye trees all in the backyard. So, naturally they invited me to pick some from their trees which were overloaded with bunches upon bunches of them. Later they sent me off to my hotel with bags of lichees and to keep in my refrigerator for my eating pleasure. The sister has a couple of kids, so I passed out a few trinkets to them before I left. I also showed them some photos that Ibrought with me, eliciting many comments and queries about Hawaii, and about Dad and the rest of my family.

Later that evening I had a great dinner with the lady from San Francisco and her family and friends at a local restaurant. One of the dishes of course was roasted goose, definitely a premiere dish in Gujing Town. Another extraordinarily delicious dish was freshwater lotus roots which are grown in abundance in the area. I donknow how it was prepared, but it appeared to be wok-fried in a delicious sauce and then steamed to perfection. I was to have this at nearly every meal during my stay in Gujing Town along with their famous roasted goose.

Tuesday, July 20th It was rural Chinarainy season, and today was a testament to that. It rained nearly all day. I spent nearly all of today at a friendhome in Jowvillage where many of the Lum surname live. Jowis about 10 minutes by motorcycle from Gujing Town. The San Francisco lady and her brother have a home there, and their relatives live in the home. The son of the family picked me up at my hotel around 11:00 am on his dadmotorcycle. Off we went in the rain. I got soaked a bit and had to borrow one of his fathert-shirt to wear. There I had a nice home-cooked lunch there that the mother had prepared. Naturally, among other things, there was the delicious lotus root dish, and roasted goose that was store-bought. Afterwards I relaxed as they showed me some photos. Soon the son cycled me back to the hotel for afternoon nap only to pick me up again for dinner at their house. We had another delicious home-cooked meal along with some leftovers from lunch. Later they sang some Chinese karaoke songs while I relaxed. By 10:00 pm the father cycled me back to the hotel during a lull in the rainstorm.

Wednesday, July 21st It had stopped raining. Today was to be spent with the friends from Liewvillage. They came by my hotel promptly at 7:00 am. We walked over to the hotelwhere they treated me to a pleasant dim sum. Afterwards, we slowly strolled through Gujing Town. They had to buy grocery to prepare the meals for the day, so we headed towards a narrow street where vendors lined along with their goods for sale. The vendors simply lay a tarp down on the street pavement and whatever goods for sale were placed on top of it. The street was packed with vendors and shoppers. There were live-chicken vendors, fish vendors, pork vendors, and vendors of fruits and vegetables of every kind. The bird flu did not seem to be a big concern here. Also, I did not see any civet cats from which SARS originated. However, I am told that villagers do eat cats, dogs, and rats. I have always been impressed by how meticulous the Chinese shoppers are with purchasing the very best and freshest of anything, and bargaining for the best price too! It is no different here in rural China. I took ample photos of the open-market street scene while they shopped. Later we took the shortcut back-alley route to Liewpassing through a quiet and peaceful village called LauMy fathereldest sister and her family lived there before she passed away a few years ago. On the way to Liewwe passed just-harvested rice paddies, lotus root gardens, fish ponds, and vegetable gardens. It was midday, the hottest part of the day. So, peasant farmers arenseen in the fields - - they work in the early mornings and the late afternoons when it is much cooler.

After about 20 minutes, we arrive at their home in LiewWhile I sat and relaxed, they had already started to prepare lunch. Lunch was a good home-cooked meal which included a black-meat chicken that theybought at the market freshly-killed. Of course, there were roasted goose and lotus roots. Inever tired of eating those two dishes. After lunch they provided freshly-picked lichees and and later they bought beer and peanuts for me to enjoy. The afternoon passed pretty quickly. After I awoke from my brief rest under a mosquito net-equipped bed in one of their guest rooms, they were already preparing dinner for the evening meal. I had another pleasant meal, finishing up some of the leftovers from lunch and more. It was dark already, and none of the villages had street lamps. By flashlight theyvolunteered to walk me safely out of the village and onto the main road. They had a bicycle with them, and unexpectedly decided to walk me safely all the way back to my hotel which was a 30-minute hike. About 2/3 of the way there, the sky suddenly opened up and sheets of rain poured onto us. One umbrella was useless among the 3 of us. By the time we arrived at the hotel, we were all totally drenched. I provided them with clean, dry clothing for their bike ride home. It was 11:00 pm already. There was a lull in the rainstorm, so they quickly took advantage and headed for home. I hung my wet clothing on the clothesline in the bathroom to dry.

Thursday, July 22nd Today is dedicated to spending with my fathereldest sisterdaughterfamily. She is actually my first cousin. She and her husband have a son who teaches English at the nearby high school, the best in Gujing Town. The son met me at my hotel at 10:00 am. We walked over to his home. He lives in Gujing Town in a teachersvillage where all the residents are teachers. His wife and daughter are at home and greeted me warmly. I had met them earlier 3 years ago. I brought for them a bag of Kona coffee, and some English teaching books for the son since he teaches English here. Later his mother (my first cousin) and father came to visit with me as well. We all had lichee and hot tea, and looked over a batch of photos Ibrought with me. I was impressed by the sontea ceremony tray and the rituals hego through warming the cups, brewing the tea and serving the tea. Again, photos are always a good conversation piece. As I began to find out, many people here have no Earthly idea where Hawaii is located. One of the most common questions Iasked is how long it took for me to get to China from Hawaii, or where else have I been on this trip and where am I going next. Itquite helpful to have a map of the world with me (which I ripped out of the Japan Airlines magazine). On the map I showed them where Hawaii is located, then I identified where San Francisco is on Mainland US, and contrasted it all for them by identifying where China is located. Much to my surprise, many people here do not realize that Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The mother and father left early, as they tired easily. Soon afterwards, lunch was ready. The sonwife had prepared a tasty home-cooked meal. Again, there was roasted goose.

After a brief rest after lunch, the son offered to seek out an internet caffor me that Iqueried him earlier on. Hemade a phone call to one of his teacher friends, and soon we set out to locate an internet cafWe stopped at this small cluttered photo shop that had a computer. The shop was very busy with people waiting for passport pictures or some legal forms to fill out. The owner was using the computer to prepare photos for printing. After about 30 minutes I was able to get on the computer. The son watched me as I checked my email. He was amazed at photos someone had attached to one of my incoming emails. The shop owner did not want to take any money for my use of his computer. I gave him 10 RMBs anyway. We killed the rest of the afternoon at my hotel room talking and watching Chinese television. Soon it was dinner time, and we walked to a nearby restaurant. It was a homey place where many local people eat, nothing fancy but Itold the food is very good. His wife and daughter met us there. Of course, we had roasted goose and lotus roots, plus several other dishes. I found the food to be excellent - - very flavorful. We all adjourned back to my hotel room to talk and watch TV. I offered some of my lichee to them. The wife and daughter turned in early and walked home. The son got interested in some of the English magazines that were lying about in my room, so he stayed around for another hour asking me a few questions pertaining to some English grammar and syntax. He was to leave for Guangzhou on Monday for an English teachersconference.
Friday, July 23rd - This day is dedicated to visiting my relatives on my motherside of the family. I have 2 first cousins and their families who live in a town about 40 minutes away called JoeThese are my closest relatives on my motherside of the family tree. Their sister (also my first cousin) is a recent immigrant to the US and lives in Oakland. She is married with 2 kids. My maternal ancestral village is called Tinlocated about 20 minutes drive from Joeand includes crossing a river by barge. Many people with the Lee surname live in TinThe 2 cousins picked me up at the hotel around 9:00 am in a borrowed air-conditioned van. This is the first time I met them. Neither spoke a word of English. I found them cordial and hospitable, and very happy to meet me. Ithe first of my siblings to visit my maternal side of the family in the village. The cousins and I communicated relatively well with a few stumbling blocks here and there in my understanding their Chinese. We drove through a sizeable town called Gongon the way to JoeWe went for dim sum at a restaurant in Joewhere their wives and kids met us. One cousin has 1 girl, the other have 3 girls and 1 boy. The kids were all well-behaved and referred to me as Bockmaking me feel a bit elderly. None of the kids spoke English either. Dim sum was good. I passed out a few trinkets to the kids that Ibrought with me.
Soon we adjourned to the older cousinapartment, which was within walking distance to the restaurant, to get more acquainted. There I showed them the batch of photos Ibrought with me, generating more questions than answers. Soon the wife of the older cousin asked if Ibe interested in meeting one of her classmatesister who is 29 years old. My response was that I do not object to meeting new friends anytime. The cousins had the bright idea of getting my hair colored for the occasion. I went along with their game plan, and an hour or so later, like magic my hair was pitch black - - no more salt and pepper. They paid 35 RMB for the coloring which is about US $4.50. However, the stylist was sloppy with handling the color due and ruined my white polo shirt with black splotches all over the collar. Meanwhile at the apartment, the classmate and sister show up. The classmate is a physician in town and was asking me all sorts of questions about opportunities to practice in the US. Her sister was not as talkative and appears to be a bit introverted, but a nice person nonetheless. She is college-educated in Guangzhou in accounting. Afterwards I politely informed my cousins that she is probably a nice girl but not really my type. With that episode behind us, we all proceeded to do lunch at a nearby restaurant with outside seating along a river. The food was just excellent, the best Ihad so far. Their premiere dish is tiny-sized clams from the river steamed in a delicious sauce.

Soon afterwards we were all on our way by van to Tinvillage with the kids in tow. Tinis my motherancestral village where the surname is prominent. We made several stops along the way to pick up food to share at my maternal grandfathergravesite. We crossed a large river by barge to get to TinAs we approached the village, I was very impressed by the sight of acres and acres of beautiful, expansive farmland around TinOnce weentered Tinwe drove in as far as we could until the streets and alleyways were too narrow for the van. We then parked the van and walked a short distance to my maternal ancestral home, a small and old, but well-kept house where my mother was born. Streams of red papers with Chinese writings decorated the walls with good wishes and blessings. A crude wooden ladder led to a tiny loft upstairs which is the bedroom. Some newly-harvested bags of rice are piled up inside the house. My maternal grandfather had 2 brothers who still live in the village with their own families and offspring. They were at the house to greet me. I felt a bit strange meeting everyone for the very first time, yet I felt emotionally comforting that we have finally met. These relatives were not as fortunate as my other maternal relatives who had left the village for better opportunities. Those who remained behind are mostly peasant farmers.

Dad had served in the US Army during World War II. After the war, my paternal grandfather had arranged a marriage for Dad, which was a common practice in China. When Dad went back to rural China and married my mother, this opened the gate of opportunity for many of my motherrelatives to emigrate to the US. Most of them now live in New York City, including my maternal grandmother.

Anyway, we only stayed in Tinvillage for about 20-30 minutes before the relatives and I set off on the hike to the gravesite of my maternal grandfather. He is buried far up on a hillside which overlooked all of the Tinarea and more. The hike took about 20 minutes and much of it were quite steep going up the hillside. Near the top is his monumental gravesite, one of the largest on the hill. There the relatives cleared some of the overgrown weeds, burned the joss sticks and paper money, and laid out the food to feast with, and honor, Grandfather. Each of us did our routine 3-bows before the headstone, and sat around talking and eating some of the food afterwards. After taking a few photos, we started our descent down the hillside. It was already getting late in the afternoon and early evening. Once we reached our van, I shook hands and said my final goodbyes to the relatives living in the village.

We drove back to Joefor a brief rest at the younger cousinapartment. Soon we had family dinner at a restaurant whose manager they apparently knew. We opted to sit outdoors. The food was outstanding, with one of the dishes being Joeclaim to culinary fame, the tiny river clams. Up for discussion was the cousinsoffer to show me around Zhuhai the next day which is a major developing metropolis located across the way from Macau. Ita 1-1/2 to 2 hour drive. The kids were all clamoring and lobbying for me to go so that the kids can go too. I had become fond of the kids. The kids said that they had not gone anywhere all summer, and that this is the perfect excuse and opportunity for them to go somewhere before summer ends. These were good kids, and theyall blood-related to me. Much to their satisfaction and delight, I said that I would go. This made their day and apparently salvaged their summer. Afterwards, we had a brief recess at the younger cousinapartment where I distributed more trinkets and candies to the kids. Kids just love them trinkets. Afterwards the cousins drove me back to my hotel in Gujing Town.


Continue in Part III

[Woodson]

Solo journay to rural China (Part III)

by Raymond Seid

Saturday, July 24th The 2 cousins came to pick me up at the hotel at 9:30 am. Theyalready forewarned me that the van we were to take is an older van and not air-conditioned. I told them that I did not mind. I think it was one of the cousinemployerdelivery van of sorts. He works as a delivery driver and part-time as a cook elsewhere. The older cousin works at a glove factory. Everyone was in the van ready for the trip except the older cousinwife, who stayed behind to entertain her sister visiting from Hong Kong. Indeed the rickety old van looked way past its better days. We headed to Zhuhai, and arrived at the waterfront right around noon. We snapped some photos of the Macau skyline across the way and walked around a bit. We left around 1:00 pm and stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch on our way to Zhongshan to see Sun Yat-senmuseum and memorial hall. The food at the restaurant was acceptable but not very good. I treated. Here was my first real encounter with a public toilet, a squat toilet that is prevalent throughout much of China with a barrel of water and a dipper for self-flushing afterwards. Of course, there were no toilet paper, and I neglected to bring the roll that Ibrought from the US. Lucky I had retained an assortment napkins in my pocket from various eateries, and all was well. Soon we were on our way to Zhongshan. Only the 2 cousins and I paid the entry fee to go in to see Sun Yat-senformer home and memorial hall. The rest went wandering around nearby to wait for us. About 1-1/2 hours later we were off again, this time to Zhongshan itself. We stopped at the city center for ice cream and to take a few photos. We walked around Sun Yat-sen Street which was pretty commercialized with shops and eateries primarily for tourists. We soon headed back to Joeand arrived around 8:00 pm. We had dinner at the same riverside restaurant. Again, the food was excellent. We adjourned to the older cousinapartment briefly. It was already getting late. Since this was the last time I was to see the kids this trip, I surrendered a ton of trinkets that Ibrought with me. They went a little crazy over them, and thanked me again for my generosity. I said my goodbyes, and the cousins drove me back to Gujing Town. Before leaving them, I gave the cousins some money and asked them to take it to the relatives in the village to buy a nice dinner for themselves. This they agreed to do for me.

Sunday, July 25th - It8:00 am, and my English-speaking friend and her young brother and uncle are at my hotel to meet me so we can walk together for dim sum at the hoteldown the street. It was another one of those hot summer days which will grow hotter and more humid as the day wears on. Dim sum was okay. I treated. For the four of us the bill was a mere 17 RMBs - - about US $2. Afterwards, we strolled through town. I wanted to get some money exchanged. The uncle directed me to a man sitting in front of a vegetable store, supposedly getting a better exchange rate than at the banks. I gave the man one of those new US $100 bill. He examined it closely and said it was too crinkled with use and asked for another. I gave him another new US $100 bill. Again he examined it closely and said it too was too crinkled with use. That was all the US money I had on me, so I never got my money exchanged here that day. Therean important lesson here: Bring crisp, new US $100 bills next time.
We took a long walk to the new farmermarket at the edge or town where the vendor stalls were all in one open building under one roof. It was a huge place, so large that many stalls were not even occupied. The old farmermarket has since been closed. It was ideally located in the center of Gujing Town, but was in very poor and dilapidated condition. I snapped a few pictures. Notable is a duck vendor where a duck is chosen by the customer among the flock, and killed and dressed by the vendor, all in about 5 minutes.

After an hour or so, I hopped a motorcycle taxi back to my hotel for a quick nap. 2 hours later, the young brother sent a motorcycle taxi for me. He and her sister were to take me to Xinhui City to spend the day sightseeing and shopping. We gathered at the bus stop. Public buses to Xinhui City run pretty frequently, and the fare is only 4 RMB per person, about US $0.50. The buses are also air-conditioned. 40 minutes later we arrived in Xinhui City. I have already gone to Jade Lake before, so there were not much more sights for me to see. We ended up at the city center shopping. I bought a nice stainless steel meat cleaver and a single-serving tea thermos. The brother and sister bought a bunch of back-to-school stuff since they will be going to Guangzhou in the fall for university studies. We had late lunch at KFC where the Overseas Chinese Building is located. As expected, the place was packed. Shortly afterwards, we did more shopping. They helped me find a nice tea ceremony tray made of hardwood - - I just had to have one. The only problem was the tea shop did not accept US money, so we had to scurry around to find a money changer because the banks had already closed at 4:30 pm. We were told to exchange money at a money exchange vendor who would be sitting alone just outside the Overseas Chinese Building. Having done that, we rushed back to the tea shop to make my purchase. I was very mindful of not buying too many things since I was traveling alone and did not want to be burdened with too many heavy baggage.

We had dinner at a restaurant at the New Gold Mine Hotel. We ordered ample dishes, and the food was pretty good. For the 3 of us, the tab was about 100 RMBs or about US $12. With our shopping loot in hand, we bused it back to Gujing Town. Luckily we were one of the first on the bus - - a few stops later the bus was jam-packed with passengers. It was already getting late when we arrived around 8:30 pm. Their father gave me a ride on his motorcycle back to my hotel.

After a brief rest, I proceeded to the photo shop just down the street to check my email on the internet. The computer was slow as expected, so I was on the computer for a long 1-1/2 hours. I had trouble getting my mail from Yahoo. Nonetheless, I gave the owner 10 RMB and thanked him. Soon after I entered my hotel room, the son of my first cousin on my fatherside called to confirm our dim sum appointment for tomorrow morning. Later on my oldest brother and his wife called to make sure that I was still doing okay.

Monday, July 26th At 8:00 am the cousinson showed up at my hotel room. We walked over to the hotelfor dim sum. Later his wife and daughter met us there. By now, dim sum has become pretty routine. I gave them a few more trinkets since I did not want to bring any back to the US with me. We came back to my hotel room for a short rest. The wife and daughter left to return home while the cousinson stayed to talk and watch TV. Later on in the early afternoon hehave to catch a bus to Guangzhou for his teachersconference, so this was the last Isee of him on this trip. I asked him how I could go about buying a ferry ticket to go from Xinhui City back to Kowloon. He readily agree to find out the details for me and excused himself while I waited in my room. 45 minutes later he came back with the exact answer to my question. He had done his homework. He explained to me that I would not have to go northward to Xinhui City just to catch a ferry to Kowloon. He recommended catching a ferry at the port in Doumen City which is located south of Gujing Town. And the added advantage is that the fare for the ferry at Doumen also included a special bus that will pick me up at the ticket agentoffice in Gujing Town, whereas for the Xinhui City ferry, I would have had to find my own transportation to that ferry port. Besides, Kowloon is in the southward direction, so a ferry from Doumen would be more sensible and quicker. Having said that, he escorted me to the ticket agentoffice located on the other side of town center. I purchased my ferry ticket. It costs 150 RMB, about US $18. With that task accomplished, I said my goodbye to the cousinson as he headed home to ready himself for his trip to Guangzhou.

I had some time to kill, so I took some photos around town and decided to stop by a local hair salon for a haircut. The place was small and very casual. The people there were nice and friendly. I had gotten my hair cut at this salon 3 years ago but now the new personnel there do not know me. I had a nice haircut, a shampoo, and a wonderfully relaxing head and shoulder massage, all for 15 RMB (less than US $2)! What a deal! I lingered around there for a while because it was raining outside. One of the girls there had her baby son and daughter there. I gave them some small toys, and they were thrilled. Toys and trinkets diplomacy does the trick for icebreakers when in a strange place.

Dinner that evening was dedicated as a goodbye dinner for the Liewvillage friends. They showed up at my hotel around 7:00 pm. The restaurant I chose was the same local restaurant that I had dinner with the son of my cousin and his family earlier. It is just a short walk from my hotel. We had a private dining room with air-conditioning. The food is very good here. Of course, we had the roasted goose and lotus roots dishes. They beat me to the punch on the tab by faking a toilet break and paying for dinner. We adjourned to my hotel room afterwards. I unloaded most of my remaining trinkets, and said my goodbyes. Later that night an uncle from my motherside called from New York to catch up on my travels. Then one of the Joecousins called to make sure Idoing okay.
Tuesday, July 27th 7:00 am sharp, the lady from San Francisco is at my door. We had agreed to have dim sum. I had just gotten up, and told her Imeet her and her family and friends in about hour at the hotelCamaraderie with this group of close friends is always good. Dim sum is a good time to catch up on all the happenings. Afterwards, I successfully exchanged 2 crisp US $100 bills for some RMBs at the same money exchange vendor. I had brought 2 crisp US $100 bills with me this time. I would need the RMBs to pay for my hotel tab the next day when I check out. I had one of the friends accompany me to the money changer because there have been instances where fake 100-RMB bills had been circulated. My friend examined each bill to ensure that I wasngiven any fake bills. This would not be a big concern had I exchanged my money at a bank, but I believe the rate would have been lower. Afterwards, I wandered over towards the new open farmermarket alone taking a few snapshots of the countryside on the way and of the farmermarket when I got there. I chatted with my English-speaking friendfather who is a pork vendor there. It was near noon, and he had only a few pieces of pork left to sell. He said there was not much money to be made selling pork. He had to get up every morning at 4:00 am to buy a pig and ready it for sale at the market. His wife does the same at a smaller market in Jow
Soon I wandered back to my hotel. It was getting near the tail end of my stay in Gujing Town. I had ample leftovers from past meals in my refrigerator. So, for lunch, I ate some of the leftovers from my refrigerator along with some of the remaining lichee and fruits I had. I spent the afternoon wandering around the neighborhood near the hotel. I noticed the buildings housing the storefronts in the area serve two purposes. Downstairs of the building is used for the business (e.g., a family-owned grocery store), and the upstairs is the familyliving quarters. Then I realized that most all the early Chinese-owned grocery stores in Mississippi were similarly designed for living/working convenience - - grocery store in the front and living quarters in the back. Afterwards, I strolled over to the adjacent countryside at the edge of town nearest to my hotel. It was another hot and humid day, but I wanted to take some photos of the countryside and farmlands before leaving rural China. The countryside was absolutely beautiful and peaceful. There were plenty of photo-ops, mostly rice paddies and the few peasants braving the afternoon heat and humidity to work the fields.

Itnow late afternoon, and I strolled over to town center. As I walked along the main road, I hear a voice yelling out nay fon lay Goo-jeong hai mah!(translated to mean came back to Guijing Town, didnyou!
Puzzled, I looked up. The voice came from a smiling lady sitting behind an old sewing machine at the entryway to the storefront of a fabric and linen store. I returned the smile and approached. I recognized her from my last trip here 3 years ago. Still smiling, she queried git fun may uh?(you get married yet?).

I answered git fun(not married yet).
She further queried gai may uh?(why not?).
I responded awk fun ho nuey jai wuh(ithard as hell to find a good girl).

yo ga ho nuey yee sup sahm suey wuh - - ngor gai sieu nay, ho mah?(I have a good 23-year old daughter I want to introduce to you, okay?) she replied.

This dialogue must have been played and replayed over and over in this town. I came to rural China for cultural enlightenment. Upon finding out that I am a single guy from America, nearly everyone here assumed that I came here to look for a wife. I saw at least one Marrieddecorated car in front of a Chinese restaurant. In addition, what on Earth is a tiny town like this doing with a full-fledged wedding shop with 3 mannequins clad in a variety of fancy wedding gowns???

It is my last night in town, so I treated the lady from San Francisco and her family and friends to dinner at the local restaurant I stumbled onto the first night I arrived in Gujing Town - - the one with the roasted goose hanging on the window. The name of that restaurant is Heungin local dialect. The food is quite good. Itold that they roast their own goose on the premises. Again, we had roasted goose and lotus roots, among a whole host of other tasty dishes. As usual, the camaraderie with this group of close friends is good. The dinner tab for 11 came to 265 RMB, or a mere US $30. Soon it was goodbye time, and I said my farewells. I adjourned to my hotel to start packing some things ahead of time.

Wednesday, July 28th Today is final packing day. My bus will be picking me up at 2:00 pm sharp at the ticket agentoffice. Iup at 8:00 am. I had already paid for my hotel tab the day before, a whopping 1200 RMBs, or about US $150 for a 10-night stay. Wow, what a bargain! The hotel personnel are all nice and pleasant, and the room was satisfactory. I wouldnhesitate a moment to stay here again on a return trip. After showering, I finished my packing and ate what remaining leftovers I had in the refrigerator. It was only noon, and I had a few minutes to kill, so I went downstairs. Much to my surprise, a woman downstairs offered to introduce her daughter to me before I left. Shecall her daughter over right away on her lunch break. Oh, what the heckventured, nothing gained, right? I waited in my room. My phone rings. Itone of the San Francisco lady friendrelatives who is offering to help me take my luggage down to the ticket agentoffice. I could easily walk my luggage over. However, I accepted his offer. Meanwhile, the downstairs woman comes to my room with her daughter. I am pleasantly surprised - - she is a lovely girl! I took a few pictures of her, and had only a few minutes to chat with her. Her mother had already given me her phone number earlier. Iset. Lunch time is over, and the lovely daughter leaves to return to work.

My ride shows up with his motorcycle. I sling my large luggage bag over his motorcycle, and off he went sputtering away. I said goodbye to the hotel clerk with a promise to call, and started walking to the ticket agentoffice. On the way, I meet the lady from San Francisco and the wife of the friend with my baggage. I had a little room left in my baggage, so they helped me purchase a straw mat that I could use in Hawaii. We arrive at the ticket agentoffice at 1:15 pm. My luggage is already there. Later the wife of the son of my cousin on my fatherside also arrives to see me off. Promptly at 2:00 pm my bus arrives to pick me up. I was the only passenger at the Gujing Town pickup. The bus made a number of pickups and drop-offs along the way to Doumen port. Apparently, this is a milk-run route on the way to Doumen port. By the time wearrived at Doumen port 1-1/4 hour later, I was the only passenger left on the bus. The rest of the passengers had disembarked at towns and villages along the way. Again, I kept an eye on my luggage at each stop to make sure somebody isntaking off with my luggage.
I arrived at Doumen port at 3:15 pm. After I surrendered the bus portion of my ticket to the driver, I proceeded to the waiting room area. I was the only passenger there because I was early for the scheduled 4:30 ferry departure for Kowloon. First, I checked in with the counter. She assigns me a seat and writes the seat number on my ticket. Right around 4:00 pm a whole slew of passengers started arriving, mostly from tour buses. Soon the room was packed with passengers. At 4:15 pm or so, the loudspeaker announced that it was time to go through China immigration and customs as we exited China - - this was a breeze - - no problems whatsoever. Everyone had to carry their own luggage through and onto the ferry as well, so traveling light is a big plus at this point. I must have purchased an economy class ticket because my section of the ferry was packed with people with little room to move. The ferry ride was very quick - - only 2 hours and wearrived in Kowloon already. I filled out another Entry Card for entering (and later to exit) Hong Kong. Going through Hong Kong immigration and customs was smooth without a hitch.

I had prepaid via my travel agent in San Francisco for 2 nights at the Pruton Prudential on Nathan Road near Austin Road. It was only a few blocks away from the China Ferry Terminal, so after getting my bearings straight I walked to my hotel (about 20 minutes, with luggage). There I presented my hotel voucher and claimed my room. Ipaid $65 for a normally-priced $130 and up room. I was familiar with the hotel already from friends staying there about 5 years ago. It is one of the nicer, cleaner and more conveniently-located hotels along Nathan Road although the rooms were smaller. Istayed at the Miramar and the Imperial, both on Nathan Road, and they were comparatively substandard, in my opinion, to the Pruton Prudential. As for convenience, the MTR Jordan Station is a block away that will take you to Hong Kong Island and other points. The Night Bazaar is about a 6 short-block walk for bargains abound. Of course, restaurants and small eateries are everywhere. Anyway, after a quick bite to eat, I turned in early after a long day of travel. That night a huge thunderstorm came through, and sheets of rain continuously came down my 14th floor window pane most of the night. Itmonsoon season in Asia, and Hong Kong was no exception.

Thursday, July 29th I woke up around 10 am. It was still rainy outside. I went out for some jook for breakfast, and shopped at Watsonfor some Chinese ointments and balms. Afterwards, I went to exchange some money. The exchange rate is HK $7.8 per US $1, but the banks charges HK $50 for each transaction. At the money changers, you get a low HK $7.0 7.1 per US $1. At the hotel I could get HK $7.2. In haste, I ended up using a money changer. For the future, although I did not do so, I think it is best to use the ATM for getting HK $In the afternoon I hopped the MTR at Jordan Station to Central Station in Hong Kong. At 4:00 pm I met up with a longtime friend in front of Lane Crawford and spent tea time with her for an hour at a restaurant. I had noodles; she had coffee. Afterwards, I wandered around alone for a couple of hours in the area taking photos of the open farmermarket street sceneries. Then I headed back to Kowloon side, and finished purchasing a few things at WatsonSoon I was headed to the Night Bazaar to buy a few trinkets as my final shopping spree. You can bargain for anything and everything here, and most everything is inexpensive anyway. Having spent nearly all my HK $I grabbed a quick bite to eat and turned in for the evening.

Friday, July 30th It is 7:00 am. I woke up early to ensure ample time to pack. After completing my packing, I had about an hour to spare to grab some jook for late breakfast before checking out of the hotel. Checkout time is 12 noon. My flight on JAL is at 3:00 pm. I learn that the hotel has a shuttle to the airport for HK $100 (about US $14) but you need a reservation for that. The most economical way to get to the airport is by public bus. The A21 CityFlyer bus will take you and your luggage to the airport for HK $35 (less than US $5), and it runs pretty frequently. Travel time to the airport is about 50 minutes. Since I had ample time, I planned on taking the public bus. The nearest bus stop for the A21 is at the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station on Nathan Road, about a block away from my hotel. I checked out just before noon, and hopped the A21 to the airport. The bus made several stops along the way picking up passengers at each stop. I arrived around 1:00 pm with plenty of time to spare. Hong Kongairport is ultra-modern with shops and eateries aplenty. I bought a couple of tourist maps of Guangdong Province and the Pearl River Delta because although mostly written in Chinese, these are always handy to have on hand when explaining to friends where I had gone during my travel. Hong Kong airport is huge, so don't be fooled to think that the gates are close together - - they are not! I doodled around so much that I had to literally run to my boarding gate at the end. I'd underestimated how far my gate was. My flight was 3-1/2 hours to Osaka, Japan for a plane change, and then nearly 8 hours on to Honolulu.