Guangzhou

Guangzhou has been a interesting place to visit. Before I left for China everyone I talked to said "Guangzhou is what China is really like" with it's industry, and little tourist economy. Every where I would go there is constant construction and cleaning going on. Guangzhou is being honored by hosting the up coming Asian Games, so the government decided it was high time that it got a face lift.

Everywhere you go, you will see people working on building exteriors, or ripping up part or all of the sidewalk to give it a cleaner look. But while this is all going on the residents of Guangzhou are keeping about there daily lives as if nothing was happening.

The best example of this is along both sides of the river, you will see people fishing using nets instead of rods. They just stand or sit along the other side of the barrier looking, waiting, and catching all sorts of river life. One guy had a net big to catch a full grown man if he had wanted to.

Another interesting thing is that Guangzhou apparently is the last stop for parents wanting to adopt children from China. My second morning here I was eating at lunch at a little deli on the island that I was staying at. In the span of a half hour there were at least 5 western families with Asian children. So after I was finished eating I walked up to a family that had just sat down, and wasn't eating yet, why there where so many of them there, and that was what they told me. All of them have been of waiting list for 2 to 5 years before they where finally able to come and take one home.

Train to Guangzhou

I took the train thinking I would be able to catch up on some reading and writing. But I was wrong, I spent the almost two hour train ride talking to a Chinese kid the same age as me. He told me about some places that I should go to after Guangzhou that are very beautiful to see, with cleaner better landscape that hasn't been changed as much by modernization. I haven't decided if I will be going there, but everyone I talk to say it is definitely something to consider.
After the train he helped me to get to my hotel, which as it turned out wasn't the easiest thing to do. I had written address down wrong, and didn't have access to the Internet. I was surprised when he payed for my subway fair a couple of times, and was wondering the whole time if he was going to try and scam me in some way or another, or worse yet kidnap me like in the movie "Taken" except I don't think I would fetch a whole lot on the sex slave black market, but then again who knows red hair might be a luxury item.
After checking in we went to eat at a little local place across the street. I bought the meal, my way of saying thanks for all of the help he had been giving me throughout the past couple of hours.

Hong Kong 2.0

Admittedly the city is still great, with every day seeming to get better and better! I have seen a lot of interesting things, and also gone to a lot of swanky places. One of my favorite parts of the city, and something I think everyone should see at least once in their lives, is the city skyline along the harbor at night. All the lights reflecting off the water, and the boats becoming floating light shows in there own right.
So far I have also meet some awesome people from all around the world, including England, Indonesia, and the States. I was hanging out with a girl from Indonesia a couple of days ago, and we went to the peak on Hong Kong island at night. There you are above the cities tallest buildings looking down upon them, and across the harbor. We went at night making the experience as a whole that much better!

Word of apology

I am sending this apology to anyone who was expecting pictures to be posted on the blog almost right away. I wasn't able to find the right adapter in stores before I left and had to order one from apple direct. It will not be in the U.S. for about another three week, which afterwards it will have to be shipped back to China for me to receive it.
But expect lots of photos to come in the upcoming weeks, when I have all of the equipment squared away.

Hong Kong

So far it looks like Hong Kong was the right place to start my journey. The people have been very friendly, getting around has been very easy, and figuring out what I will be doing seems to have been almost already planned. The "culture shock" has been minimal with really only one thing that I would mention; in the airport terminal before I went through customs were thermal sensors to see if I possibly had SARS. I passed through without any delays, but none the less it was still amusing in a chilling way.

Trip to JFK

Okay, so after a four hour bus ride and one hour subway ride I am here, sitting in the terminal waiting to board my plane in about an hour and a half. It was a long and tiring trip; even though I was sitting the whole time (being 6ft 3in in cramped bus seats will do that to you). I meet some interesting
people on the way down and saw a lot of your teams (inside joke). I want to thank all the people who wished me a safe and fun trip, love you all, and will see you all again soon. (but not to soon)