Reflections on China

So time to reflect.

Firstly, this was probably the most enjoyable holiday I have had since I went inter-railing 30 years ago. One reason for this is that it was, like inter-railing, a bit of an adventure. I didn't really know what to expect. There is a very different culture out in China, but unlike all my previous ventures to Far-Eastern cultures, this time I was right in it, not just travelling around and watching from the side-lines in coaches or pre-arranged excursions. Independent travelling is far more rewarding than a package tour, but of course also comes at a price, with its hits and misses. For example you would get regular meals. You wouldn't be left searching the streets of Beijing for an open restaurant.

I guess at the outset I had a number of preconceptions so its interesting to look back at how they turned out in practice. I suppose to start with I thought/feared that the country would be teeming with poverty-stricken jostling humanity, especially at the stations, that it would be hot, but more worryingly it would be wet (weather forecasts seemed to show storms every day). The food would be great but maybe challenging. The people (especially officialdom) a bit unfriendly. The pollution awful. Getting around a challenge, with little in English spoken or to be read.

Pretty much none of this turned out to be the case. Yes every city has populations in the millions, but the streets were never uncomfortably frenetic. The warning of Chinese stations being great free-for-alls was totally unfounded. People queued in a pretty orderly manner. There was very little spitting in the streets, even in Beijing. Folk were very friendly, although in Beijing we were surprised to be stared at so much, and have people asking to get their photos taken with us. I had expected to see more poverty, but in fact even in Beijing there seems widespread prosperity. All the cities were much more modern than I had anticipated. They worked. So for example, a massive contrast to Sri Lanka, which gives the impression of neglect and unplanned development since independence. Sri Lanka, outside posh tourist hotels, seems to have enjoyed little proper development in 60 years; China huge development in just 20. Sri Lankan development looks like shacks; Chinese gleaming towers.

Getting around was much easier than I imagined. All the metros had enough signs in English to allow one to get about easily, and they are spacious and air-conditioned and benefit from being recently constructed, rather than an extension of Victorian engineering like our own system.

Perhaps we were lucky with the weather. Hot and humid yes - we got sort of used to 30C+, but my brolly only really came in handy a couple of times. So in hindsight it wasn't such a bad time of year to come, despite all the advice to wait until October. Neither Thibault nor I have particular problems with heat - you just have to take things slower. And there is air-conditioning almost everywhere.

The air pollution is definitely noticeable, but with one exception didn't affect our enjoyment. You only really noticed it in Shanghai and Beijing because it left a pretty much permanent grey haze in the distance. But it was only a visual thing. The exception was in Hangzhou where not only was it visible but you could feel it in the back of your throat. I think the Chinese are taking steps to cut down on the worst of air-pollution in the main cities. The rest are behind. But Shanghai and Beijing were surprisingly quiet in one sense - all the mopeds were electric.

However, the waste of energy was also quite shocking. Especially in Hong Kong all the shops are air-conditioned, but also most have their doors permanently open to the street. They are effectively cooling the entire colony!

We sort of went in the deep end at Beijing. Shanghai is more Western oriented, and Hong Kong very much China-lite. Very few people seemed to speak any English at all, even in touristy spots, in Beijing. I wouldn't say its the easiest place to be a tourist, but nor is it all that difficult.

The food overall was great, although Thibault had started to crave non-Chinese by the end. We didn't eat as well as we ought to have done in Beijing - its not that they can't cook but they just don't make it easy for us - early closing times for example, and many of the better eateries seem hidden away. We fared much much better in Shanghai. But contrary to popular myth, we didn't find ourselves consuming anything dodgy.

The banning of things like Google was annoying, especially for Thibault. The restrictions seem more petty and pointless than oppressive. Its a far cry from the Eastern block under communism, or from Cuba.

The hotels we stayed in were without exception brilliant. Thibault and I had put in a fair bit of research in the internet and it evidently paid off. We enjoyed the luxury of everything just working perfectly, of enjoying the surroundings, and of having helpful, welcoming smiling staff at every turn. And we picked great locations, very close to the metro in the case of Shanghai and Hong Kong, and not far in Beijing. The joy of the hotel in Beijing was that while there are lots of huge modern hotels, we had an independent low-rise hotel with a courtyard in what felt like a "real", old part of the city.

But what made the holiday so brilliant was Thibault. Not just great company and all that, but because he was so great at organising things. He did all the bookings, and the research needed to get them all to work - to get train tickets between cities booked in advance and sent to our hotels. And for a person with my appalling sense of direction, the great glory was I could show Thibault where we wanted to go, show him a map and off he would lead. I could just switch off and enjoy the scenery as it were. I guess, without thinking about it, when I am on holiday on my own I am a little stressed, only in the sense of having to make decisions and work out how to fulfill them. Here I didn't, and that seemed to suit Thibault too as he likes organising. No competition.

My great concern, as outlined in my first entry for this holiday, was whether Thibault and I would get on for the two weeks. To my relief, I think we are still as good  friends at the end as the beginning. I hope I wasn't too much of a drag for my young friend. I have apologised for my snoring, which he tolerated, along with any other foibles, with remarkably good humour.We are both at least fairly relaxed about things. But one of the joys for me with going with a young chap like Thibault is he got me to do things I wouldn't do on my own. Even though in my own mind I am up for new experiences, when push comes to shove one settles into things that are very like the things one has done before. Without Thibault there I wouldn't have climbed Victoria Peak, or travelled on a sleeper, or walked as much of the Great Wall as I did, or gone swimming in a roof top pool, or eaten Japanese or Korean, or any of a myriad of other things. Basically I wouldn't have done all the the bits I most enjoyed.

Having Jean join us in Shanghai I think helped the dynamic, especially in preventing Thibault getting too bored with my presence. And meeting someone new is always a pleasure too.

Of course, its much nicer going on holiday with someone than on one's own PROVIDED one gets on well with them, and I certainly enjoyed every minute of Thibault's company. Especially having someone to eat with at night. I compare it with my lonely evening meals in Sri Lanka, where at my hotel all I had to say all day would be to order my beer. So I can't help but think how lucky I was to get this opportunity to travel with him before he finds better offers. Perhaps its no coincidence that  the last time I enjoyed a holiday as much I was also travelling with twentysomethings, although then they were my own age! But as those who have known me long enough will testify, I have really always been middle-aged. I was 20 going on 50.