September 8th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: China | 2 Comments »
After having had a good night sleep, I woke up with so much energy and was too excited just to sit in bed for awhile and relax. After getting ready for the day, I e-mailed Sophia with the subject line, “Good morning sunshine!” and in the e-mail, I wrote, “I’m up and all ready to start my day!” I’m staying in a hotel room, but I am in the same building where Sophia is living – I’m on the 33rd floor and she’s on the 10th floor. Hotels here are so cheap – USD $25 per night! It is in very nice condition, and I would say it’s a 3 star hotel. I will take a pic tomorrow of the room so you can see how I’m paying a price that is a steal!
People have always told me that getting to China is the most expensive part, but once you’re in the country, everything is disgustingly cheap. Today, Sophia and I stopped at a cellphone store so that I could buy a sim card for my iPhone so I can stay connected to my beloved world 24/7. I was totally dumbfounded by the price and how much internet I could get in this country. I even asked Sophia to make sure that we were getting the right info. I paid USD $24 for FOUR GIGAbytes of internet along with phone calls and text, and that was the LOWEST plan. I told Sophia that there is NO way that it can be 4 GB because in the US, 2 GB is usually the maximum we can get for internet on mobile phones, and that 2 GB is way more than what we need for a month. As far as I’m concerned, I have internet on my phone so I can take pics and upload them to the net for the world to see, and I have access to reaching Sophia in case we somehow get separated.
Anyway, let’s go back a little. This morning was really the first time I got to really see THE country. As soon as I stepped outside, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Many women walking down the streets were wearing these hats that I’m just going call “umbrella” hats because they look like umbrellas. I said to Sophia, “I want to buy a hat like this! It does not exist in the US.” Then I saw a woman carrying a big huge log with baskets of fruits hanging on each end. “Sophia, I NEED a picture of that woman!” I will admit that I am a bit shy to ask Chinese people here if I can take pictures of them because I’ve found from my personal experiences that no matter where I am in the world, Asians are normally too shy to be photographed. Sophia went up to the woman and asked her if she would pose for me, and she said, “No.” I should note that where I am now is not a touristy spot, and I am practically the only Westerner here. I am mentioning this because the reason is not because these Chinese people don’t like be chased by tourists. They are just simply in general too shy. We saw many more woman wearing umbrella hats, and Sophia tried to ask them, but all said “No.”
“This is so depressing,” said Sophia.
“This is normal in the Asian culture,” I told her and explained to her about my personal experiences in asking Asians to be photographed.
“But I can’t understand because I love being in pictures,” she said. Wherever Sophia and I were in London, Sophia always said, “Take a picture of me here!” I have loads of pictures of Sophia at every spot we can name in London. I told Sophia that she is unique and unusual.
We both agreed that since we have several more days here in Haikou, we will find at least one woman who will let me photograph a portrait of her. We are determined to make it happen! Bring on the challenge!
However, at least I got a ton of great action shots – I encountered many people riding mopeds and bikes and selling food on the street.
I was also astonished to see a bike with a really interesting looking carriage attached to it. What struck me even more than the bikes and mopeds were the cars. I was envisioning that China would have mostly old cars that look like they are ready to be thrown into the dumpster as that is what I encountered in Peru. I thought China would be similar to Peru in someways because they are both developing countries. However, every single car on the road look totally brand new. They look like as if they have been just sold from the shop. Sophia explained to me that because China’s economy has been rising so quickly in the past two decades, more and more people are becoming richer and richer and have been able to afford cars only recently. She said that prior to the 1980′s, before the cultural revolution, cars were a rare sight in China and that roads had almost nothing but people riding bikes. I should mention that the roads are beautifully paved in Haikou, something I did not expect because the roads I encountered in Peru were not well maintained with a lot of cracks and way too many potholes. Sophia said that it’s very common to find well-paved roads in major cities, but I would find that roads are in bad condition in rural areas.
Also many Chinese people including Sophia use an umbrella on sunny days to protect themselves from the heat and sunlight.
Today was a simple day of observing a whole new world. I will discuss food tomorrow after I verify the names of the food with Sophia I tried today.
2 Comments
Allen Kershman
September 9, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Your China trip looks and sounds exciting. I’m eager for more .
Rachel
September 9, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Hi Grandpa! So good to hear from you! xoxo