skyetzk: March 2013

Well lookie here! Guess who went to Guang Zhou "alone". Technically I was alone lah, though I did have dinner with my Uncle and his friends in the evening.

So you must be wondering, who goes to Guang Zhou or anywhere in China for a holiday? Well, I did! I didn't want a typical trip in Thailand, Taiwan or Japan (although I'm really looking forward to one). Those places are so touristy I'll probably be a little too caught up shopping to be taking a real break.

This trip was really meant to unwind and see if I can survive China. Before going there, I had this impression that there were big chances of me being robbed or slain in the middle of the streets and not a soul would bother about except to spit at me. :'( With so much hearsay online about the locals of China being unsympathetic or humane about so many things, I guess I can only be the judge when I'm there.

Important #nowyouknow

Power: The general voltage in China is 220V so you can charge your gadgets there, remember to bring your converters, the two flat pin kind, resembling “ | | ”
Fashion: MOST, not all, but most of the locals just throw on something and hit the road, so someone who dresses well stands out almost immediately. So if you want to blend in, just grab any and everything and hit the streets, you should do fine. The locals usually avoid shorts because of the chilly weather. So I was like a sore thumb, you'll see why later
Language: The locals speak Mandarin that sound like Taiwanese Mandarin, they speak Cantoneses as well, so if you're fluent in both, you should do just fine. Not like myself, look like a Potato and speak like a potato, okay a rotten one
Traffic: The vehicles are on left side drive, so just imagine the roads as a complete reversal of Singapore's. When crossing the road, the vehicle is ALWAYS the biggest, so please, when in doubt, just cross like the locals. There was this once I was crossing and I was thinking to myself “Someone's gonna die, omgomgomgomg, but we all lived, tyvmomfgicantbelieveisurvivethat” moving on
Conversations: The locals like to speak loudly, in an arguement whoever speaks louder wins. Thankgawdforarmy
Missles: People spit any where and everywhere check
Exchange Rate: SGD1 to RMB5
Washrooms: They don't provide toilet papers like the Singaporean toilets, so it's really important to bring your own! Remember, packet tissues and wet wipes can be a life saver! Ifyaknowwadimean
Security: I survived, so I guess it's okay, just remember, don't stand out for no reason, I kept my camera in the camera bag unless I really wanna take a photo of something. If you feel uncomfortable or anything just approach a uniformed personnel. They seem to be everywhere!
Navigating: Turn on your Goggle Maps there, it works like a charm! You can “make offline” a selected area of the region you'll be in
Night Life: Check out SOHO and 1886 near Pearl River, drinks are priced at affordable rates, but the most awesome stuff is still their drinking snacks! I had cucumber stickers and wasabi tinted soy sauce dips! LGBT night is on Friday

Haggling: Slice the price by at least half before going on. The way I see it, as long as I think it's a reasonable price in SGD, I'll pay for it. I took my luggage from RMB260 to RMB190, sometimes can't do half, but almost there!

Milktea Lovers: 58DegreesCelcius sells the best Milktea, Dakasi and Banana Milktea is not bad. GongCha there is a joke

Guang Zhou is like... Hong Kong! Almost alike in terms of Weather, Language

Interesting Sights

#1 – Here comes the Police

Peddlers line and litter the streets with their makeshift mats, legal or not, nobody knows. But there was this once when everyone started to pack their wares and run. So apparently, the Police do do their work!

#2 – Coarse Language and Swearing starts young

I nearly witnessed an accident thanks to the reckless driving by a taxi driver at a zebra crossing, the car almost hit a little girl who was crossing with her family. The dad started swearing at the driver but the driver just replied with watch how you cross, then the dad insisted they had the right on the zebra crossing, everything was building up and out of no where, the little girl, who looked around the age of 8, started to scream and swear at the driver, I was like wtfomfgbanana looks like these things really start young. Maybe the mother was like, goodjobdaughteryou'velearntwell. Shrugs

#3 – Ni Hao Sir, Ni Yao Se Mo?

Being really over joyed when chancing upon a GongCha outlet in Comic Mall, I went over and said in English “Hi, can I get a cup of Earl Grey Deluxe Milktea?” and the cashier was like, “WTFBANANA What is he saying?” in Cantonese, and I'm like lololollipop. So anyway, another guy came over and tried to converse with me in English and Sign Language, I'm fluent with both so we did well. I enjoyed the whole thing. I really wanted to “I can speak Mandarin” in Mandarin, but I was pretty sure they'll hate me and shoot pearls at me, so no.

A little test shot before flying

Catching the bus to city area

Getting a cab is like a cockfight

Sights out of the Hotel Window

Almost a world of a difference

They hold events in a garden smack in the middle of the city

Lottery anyone?

Comic Mall!

Yup, an international brand!

Singapore's tastes better

I like the architecture that seems to have a mix of modern and oriental

Some buses still use the electrical cable

I like the big wide lanes that seem to wonder to no where

A costume shop! They seem to have costumes from many movies

Oversize vehicle?

With the strong population, even a kindergarten has to be 6 levels high!

So I'm here to find my routes, being a Tan/Chen at the Chen Family Clan

RMB5 per entry. SGD1 nia...

A well preserved piece of history

It's like you stepped in to one of those dynasty movies

So much effort goes into preserving this place

Doors after doors after doors

I can't explain how intricate these crafts are!

Well, so apparently Lychee was a nourishing fruit

Oriental paper cutting

Does this remind you of the period of reform?

It's like the things in the textbooks came alive

Ivory crafts

Look at how intricate the details are! The craftsmen are probably national treasures

Almost like a filming set. The ancestral tablet

Guess what these are!

Yeap, fabric weaving!

I was in awe!

Fear not, Garlic Chill is an international sauce too! ;)

Their uniforms look way cooler man

I like how the streets look so cosy and worth getting lost in

Here a shot of the Jade market, where people just wait for others to buy

A church!

A toy mall, that mass sells toys!

You can't rob him now, can't you

When you hit Tian He, it's where all the sky scrapers are. You can spot lots of foreign talents here as well!

The computer mall, machiam Sim Lim and Funan lump together

KFC on a rainy day

Looks like lohyehmohyeh if you'd ask me

Steal of the day! 20 bucks for a 11600mah YooBao Charger

Dinner time!

There's a University for Traditional Chinese Medicine!

On my way up Bai Yun Shan, which is the White Cloud Mountain, but known as Bai Yun Mountain

It was 16-19 degrees on a Saturday and I was in shorts and double cardigan plus a top. #sosingaporean #challenge accepted, LOLS

I needed to look out for these wherever I was going since the temperature made the bowels slightly more irritable

How do these roots grow in a vertical manner?

Almost at the peak!

Macdonalds on the mountain, I wonder how do people get to work every day

Teahouse with a killer view

Ring the bell the number of times to get what they've stated there!

Mo Xing Summit is the highest part of the entire Bai Yun Shan, and I made it!

Love locks! Well, I'll feel weird if I locked my love somewhere. But at least it reminds me to brave rain and shine!

A little mountain climbing in the middle of the trip to burn all those calories. This mountain was also dubbed the lungs of Guang Zhou, no doubt nature must be doing a lot to keep the air fresh and crisp!