Guilin- Best and Worst

I arrived back to Shanghai last night after a one day trip to Guilin. Guilin is an awesome place, but in general, the people suck. I am almost overwhelmed by the amount of experiences I had in the last day or so, so I will try to hit the major points, but in general, my experiences in China have outgrown a blog setting.



We flew the 2ish hour flight to Guilin. After exiting the airport, we were, as usual, bombarded with taxi drivers who wanted to get the waiguoren (foreigners) to use their cabs. We saw a large lit sculpture that we wanted to photograph, and told them we didn't want a cab yet and that we wanted to look at the art. All they kept doing was following us in a group of about 10 and yelling at us that the hotel was WAYYY too far to walk and we should get their cab. It was extraordinarilly annoying and we eventually yelled at them that we don't want their cabs so leave us alone. After taking a few angry pictures, we cab driver approached us alone and asked if we wanted to take his cab. We did, despite our annoyance with the drivers, because we unfortunately weren't familiar with the bus system in the city.



On the way, we expressed we wanted to take a boat ride on the river to see the scenery. He took us to an agency (that we later discovered he is commissioned to do) and we bought tickets. The employees there clearly delighted in the fact that we were being ripped off. I mean this by the fact that we were required to buy tickets on the boats that spoke English- despite the fact that we were talking to the agents in CHINESE, they said we can't understand enough to ride the Chinese boats (which are 400 RMB cheaper).



We arrived at our hotel, dropped off our things, and wandered around the city for a while. We stopped at a restaurant and randomly selected food off the menu. I think we got some form of pigeon. It was terrible.



Despite our enormous spending already, we bought some KFC to suppliment our dinner. On the way we saw a bunch of cages outside a restaurant with a bunch of animals. Rabbits, turtles, crabs, sword fish, giant rodents, snakes, chickens, ducks, and more. They were on display to show that they were fresh for eating. To us, it was like a zoo, and despite the strange looks, we stood and took pictures of the animals outside the restaurants.



Guilin is a nice city at night- a little cleaner and better looking than Shanghai and less crowded. It was a little ghetto at times though, so we didn't stay out too long.



We woke up at 7:30 to check out of the hotel and meet the tour guide for the boat. We took a bus to the dock, were told the itinerary, and then boarded. From the time of 9:30 to about 3, we road a boat down the river and looked at the hills, agriculture, boats, and locals from the deck. At noon we were served a crappy lunch.



I must say, Ben and I were huge hits on the boat. A small group of Chinese girls thought that we were ridiculously good looking and kept standing near us while their friends took pictures. They didn't realize that we spoke Chinese. We heard them talking about our looks and our clothes for a while, and then eventually asked us in English to actually pose with them in pictures. When I answered in Chinese, they gasped and asked if I understood what they were saying. I said yes and they all squelled in embarassment and laughed at each other for several minutes. It was a mix of annoyance and great satisfaction to embarrass them by letting them know that the foreingers could speak their secret language. They insisted that we take pictures with them for a while. They asked for our phone numbers and QQ names (basically AIM) which of course we do not have. They hoped to take us to get drinks that night, but we were returning to Shanghai. One girl gave Ben a small cloth decoration, which we came to find out is a sign of engagement. They giggled and hovered around us the whole time.



We also met some American girls our age who were on a trip around the world. We were asking them about their trip when the Chinese girls got jealous and started asking me in Chinese if the Americans were our girlfriends. When we said no they backed off. The American girls thought it was very funny when I translated for them what the Chinese girls were worried about.



Meanwhile, some older people from Germany, Holland, and South Africa were watching us. We talked with them on and off throughout the day, and basically they all thought that me and Ben were the biggest ladies men of all time. Despite our reluctance to even talk to the annoying Chinese girls and the fact that the girls from the U.S. weren't particularly interesting, the Dutch particularly kept giving us winks every time we walked by. They thought we were quite successful players.



Anyway, we tried to spend most of the time enjoying the scenery, practicing Chinese with some of the tour guides, and taking pictures. We avoided the girls as best we could on the tiny ship.



At some points small 2 man boats would latch on to ours and start trying to sell fake jade products to the passengers. The first time this happened, we thought they were Chinese pirates, and from then on we called them "The Pirates" even though they were selling, not stealing.



It was a generally good boat ride, but we were mad at the general expensiveness for the thing. Everyone had paid the same- it isn't like we were singled out, but the whole system is racist if you ask me.



At they end they tried to talk us into an expensive tour of the countryside. We opted to take a bus back to Guilin and then head to the airport of our flight. They had some kind of deal with the taxi driver from the night before that he would take us from Guilin to the airport, but I didn't like this use and abuse the foreigner system, so I turned off my phone and we decided to find a cab on our own.



We wandered around the Chinese marketplace where they sold overpriced goods to foreigners and only mildly overpriced goods to locals. I didn't buy anything.



We bought a bus ticket back to downtown Guilin, and we each got a bottle of water. A local in front of us bought a bottle off water first. The woman took his 5, and then looked at me and Ben. She said to him in Chinese- I'll give you you're change after they leave. We came up, and Ben bought the same type of water that the first man did. She charged him 2 kuai. He paid and waited for me. I bought a vitamin water for 4 kuai. Then Ben decided to wait and see how much change she gave the local. He looked confused that we were waiting, and eventually the woman tried to sneak him his 4 kuai change. She had doubled the price for (at least Ben, but I couldn't prove it). Ben told her that he spoke Chinese and knows she owes him change. She got defensive and denied it. Then the bus driver came and insisted we get on the bus. It was a complete rip off and we didn't leave until we had told her that she was a terrible person. Chinese Racists.



We got the bus ride back to downtown. The traffic in China is stupid and Ben and I took some videos. When we got back, we had some time before our flight so we wondered around a bit. Guilin is one shady freaking town when you aren't in the nature area. Some funny videos insued.



We got in a cab to the airport. The driver refused to use the meter. He said it would be 100 kuai because of the meter plus the toll road. We said we will pay the toll road but use the meter. He refused. We got out of the cab.



The next cab driver did the same thing. Obviously standard proceedure for foreigners. This time we were tired and sick of it, so we agreed.



Finally, we flew back to Shanghai, and arrived at about 11. It was a long day.



I have mixed feelings about Guilin. The air is cleaner, the scenery is great, and it was very interesting seeing agriculture and real Chinese lifestyles outside of the cities. I was pretty disheartened, however, by the general way in which all the Chinese people we encountered on the trip were either dishonest, racist, or both. It was really agitating. Coincidentally, when I got back last night there was an article on MSNBC.com about how the Chinese are racists to black people, and how Obama might be treated poorly. Probably not directly to him, because heaven forbid the Chinese let themselves be seen for what they are- but you can bet the abundance of racists here will have some interesting thoughts about him. Too bad the Chinese won't let Obama's town hall meeting be broadcast live.



I'm really ready for some real American food. When I get back I will eat anything and everything. Can't wait to go for runs and only be stared at for being a stupid runner and not for being white. I need to buy Rosetta stone to keep my Chinese up when I get back though. I have a whole list of things I have to buy when I get back. I think I'm going to buy a Malkin or Fleury jersey too. And I can't wait to swipe into the Commons and get unlimited food. Woo.



Oh, I was about to post the pictures from the trip and some other stuff, but it was taking over 4 hours and then the Internet failed. So screw it. I put some of the good ones on Facebook. I might try again with the others later. I'll let you know.