Once again, we had to pass up on the dim sum breakfast, since again we both had unsettled stomachs. But fortunately we still had some Weetabix left, + that went down very nicely. We had heard, + it certainly seems to be the case, that hot water is constantly + easily available, so one provides oneself with instant coffee, dried milk, etc, + can thus make hot drinks whenever one wants – a real bonus. We had to be down at the ferry by 12, so with the couple of hours we had to spare we visited the market, just 10 mins walk away. At first, it seemed to be just like any Asian market – busy, dirty, + to our eyes confusing. But eventually we found the particularly Chinese section, where various live animals – chickens, eels, turtles, presumably destined for the pot – were being sold. Most curious of all, perched in a wire-mesh cage, a collection of owls, various shapes + sizes, +, looking lost + bewildered in that company, a tiny kitten – the owl + the pussycat.
Then, having seen it, I insisted on getting down to the terminal in good time. Increasingly, I am becoming like my mum, demanding ample time for any travelling plans. The English couple, heading out on the same journey, suggested we share a taxi out there, but we declined, deciding to save a little money + endure the mild discomfort of the public bus. It was rather crowded, but we survived comfortably enough, + arrived at the terminal in plenty of time. And so we were preparing to leave Guangzhou. I can’t say I was sorry, I found it a hideous city, drab + colourless, with all of the minuses + none of the pluses of big city life. It tied in with my feelings then (it’s now a few days later, + my feelings about China have changed) about the country as a whole. I hated the place, + viewed our time there as a sentence stretching out ahead of me, to be endured + not enjoyed.
We were allowed onto the boat a little before 12, + were impressed by the facilities on offer. It seemed both clean + comfortable, purpose-built for carrying a large no. of passengers, + providing everybody with their own assigned bunk. Mike + Allen, our companions of last night, were also on board – we stood on deck for a while looking at the drab + dismal Guangzhou skyline, until driven in by an imminent storm. I was happy enough – I made myself comfortable on my bunk + settled down for a couple of hours to read a week-old copy of Time. The comparison with the comparable trip we had made on the Pelni ship in Indonesia was devastating. Food appeared at about 5 – we had already ordered a rice + pork dish, but we supplemented that with another dish – there were various things on offer, which turned out to be very tasty. We also passed some time listening to the radio which rather to my surprise worked reasonably well, especially with the aerial jutting out the window. The Brain of Britain quiz whiled away 30 mins entertainingly.
Resuming our travels by river, far more relaxing and less pressured, so a good option to take when possible.
Really quite a different culture, most notably with its different attitude to food, and the rather wider variety of things, parts, etc that they are prepared to cook and eat.
