Trip To South China Part 5

5-4-10

Next morning we got up around 7 and Charlie joined us at 8:15.  We called a cab after checkout and was soon on a bus back to Guangzhou.

Once there we checked into a really nice hostel right by one of the major rivers.  There was a full western bathroom in our room, including a shower fully enclosed by glass and away from the toilet!  I think we all danced our country's version of the jig.

We then followed Charlie and got on a ferry that took us across the river which was kind of cool.  Then we walked through a medium size fish market and boarded a subway.  We ended up at the Chen Ancestral Academy.  Chen is Charlie's family name, his real name being Chen Liang.

Anyways the place was super cool and had engraved roofs and various carvings everywhere with excruciating detail.  There were even insanely nice ivory carvings which were the first I had ever seen.  I wish I could have gotten better pictures of them but the stupid glass kept casting reflection from the outside sun.

After that we walked for awhile and got some lunch.  They were selling various fish as well as mealworms below the restaurant… I try not to think of the implications of that.  Once we finished lunch we walked to the subway once more to find the city center and to say our goodbye's to Charlie as he had more work to finish up in Gaoming, dealing with his house, and probably putting some history behind him.

Out of the station we walked towards the nearest cool building.  But we couldn't quite reach it because varius construction projects blocked our way.  So we went to the next one that we could see, and the next, and the next.  3 hours later we had yet to go see the top of one these neat looking buildings.  You know how they say a majority of the world's cranes are in China?  We found them, and they were a pain in the ass.

Stopping in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for a potty break was a wonderful idea, even though we still didn't get to see out the top floors, the bathrooms were still super ritzy, and at that point in time that was really the only thing that mattered.  We soon had to see ourselves out though, we certainly didn't wanted any sort of attention, and it was time for us to begin our long journey home.

It was at this moment while wondering around I spotted It; It of course being the only "it" deserving of a capital "I", a Rolls-Royce.  The car was just sitting there (as cars sometimes do), in the middle of a building, just waiting to be bought.  The car was gorgeous, and by gorgeous I mean you could throw a naked Anna Kournikova on their and she would actually detract from the beauty.  Luckily the sales people were kind enough to let me take pictures.

But all good things must come to an end and we must continue on our wayward journey.  Eventually we found what use to probably be some sort of park but were now in the midst of being transformed into a giant outdoor stadium, museum, and some other building.  After some walking we finally asked someone at this point for help cause the construction made the map we were carrying practically useless.

We expected the group that we asked to just point us in the right direction and we would be on our way.  But in true Chinese style one guy broke away from the group and led us back the way we came, and would continue to lead us for over a mile till we were at the metro.  We would have been lost for hours without his help.

Back at our hostel we decided to go out to dinner after failing to order pizza because we were too far away and out of delivery range.  Instead we walked to a nearby Chinese restaurant.  There I ordered some peppered beef rice which was tasty and also made a new friend.  Baldwin from Germany, but grew up in Belgium, and now on a two month journey across Russia, down through China, and heading onto the islands.

He was pretty cool and we talked a lot about our experience in China.  We also walked along the river which was really cool, even ran across a large group of old women dancing!  He agreed by the way that girls from the south of China are much prettier because he said Beijing is just depressing on that front.  I can't wait to tell Booz. =P 

But we parted ways and after the day's journey quickly fell asleep.