Backpacking in China

August 16, 2008 ... I decided to create a new blog because I have not been using the old ones that I had for too long. and recently, i realized that writing (pen and paper journal) becomes difficult sometimes and doesn't entail as much advantage of putting digital attachments.

I just came back two days ago from a backpacking trip to China. All in all, it was pretty good! I was able to cover a lot of places with the 10 days I was in china - shanghai, xitang, hangzhou, huangshan... While I was able to make it to different places, I think I was exceptional in budgetting; special thanks to Bryan La for letting me into his home for the times I would spend the night in Shanghai. Throughout my journey, I never felt alone despite being actually so, because I made friends here and there, travelled with them, and received help from them esp. with the translations and explanations. The places are good, and I really see how much wealthier China really is right now... while there is much appreciation for the economy and the investment in infrastructure and transportation services, i do have to note that the one thing that really put me off were the people. I come from a Philippines of smiles and friendly people, and as such, I cannot help but feel disrespected in my encounters with the people in China. This, of course, excludes the friends that I made, the strangers who helped me, the taxi drivers I conversed with. When I finally got to the airport for the flight back to Manila, I was glad I was among filipinos; it only took literally 5 seconds before a Filipino tried to talk to me with a big smile on her face. Even as we were on the plane, it was very different to see people who walked in together but said goodbyes on the plane because apparently they weren't traveling together and sat on different parts of the plane. It wasn't a full flight, and I sat with two empty seats beside me, yet, the person sitting next to the aisle would occassionally smile at me and offer me some food and a pen to fill up the arrival card.

Then again, while the Philippines doesn't have the commercialized tourism to offer, i love the country for its people and hate the dirt on it (corruption, ignorance, indifference...) so much so that I really just want to change it! I'm glad I made this trip to China, for a step into a foreign country has yet again inspired me to be something for my country and give back to that which has shaped me.

I leave you with two pictures i took in Huangshan 黄山 (lit. Yellow Mountain) waiting for the sunrise on a cliff...