Wednesday 14 May 2008

I know you can hear me

Thanks for letting me know (you know who you are) that you can still read my new posts on the blog, even though I can't. It's a weird feeling to think I can write, but can't read and I guess just another example of the freedoms that Chinese people don't enjoy unfortunately. I hope my blog hasn't been singled out and that it's a blanket ban...

So, A little more about China. Funny place - you check out of HK under the 'visitors' desk and then cross no mans land, which is a bridge over the river to the China border. At the end of the bridge, there are two signs; NO PHOTOS which was ironic because that's exactly what I wanted to do to the second sign; NO U-TURNS. There you are invited (pointed) to check-in under a banner entitled 'foreign'. There are green, yellow and red buttons to rate your experience. Happy fcuker on the desk would've been lucky to get a yellow, but I decided it best not to press anything...

I'm met by Duncan on arrival which I was grateful for, and (only) saw two other white girls with rather worried looks on their faces - exactly what I would've had if it hadn't been for D.

We get to his place - a collection of 30+ floor tower blocks - imagine the Barbican, but about two or three times as many towers and that's the residential type of structure, we're in! There's a line dancing class taking place in the open square in the middle of the structure - very funny just to turn up and watch 60 or so women doing their thing in time with the 'step, kick, heel - step, kick, toe' type music.

I'm also amazed at just how clean everything is considering how many people live here in such a small place (and this isn't even the centre or the main residential area) there must at least be a million people here. If this was the case in London, it would be trashed in a week, vandalism, litter and graffitti everywhere - we really need to sort the UK out in terms of our attitude to looking after our home, country, property and the way we behave. They might be different, but they're setting an example over here.

Food quality is crap though - knuckles, fish bones, gristle - the lot in most of the meals I've eaten and that's pretty standard in quite posh looking restaurants... I ate geeses feet today (OK - bit crunchy, but you spit those bits out) I'm sure there's more of that to come!

Right, off out sightseeing with some of Duncan's rellies... Just been told we're going to the tallest tower (Empire) in Shenzen...

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