Your Japanese word of the week is...

"shashin" 写真, which means photograph. I figured since people might not be interested in reading tons and tons about my (supposed) insights on my trip, telling it in the form of pictures would be the next best thing. Plus, it's just easier to take it all in quickly with pictures than it is with pages of text.... shall we??

April 13, 2009 - Day 1 - Still in Hong Kong

Some offerings to the Tian Tan Buddha.

I find this picture very representative of Hong Kong. It's a tiny, resource-limited island that somehow manages to be completely filled to the brim with people through its original success as a trading port...

Yes, let's all do our part to increase global warming!

April 14, 2009 - Day 2 - Nanning via Shenzhen

Shenzhen is a city in China right across the water from Hong Kong. Interestingly, Hong Kong's rather unique relationship with China (a sovereign yet highly independent territory) means it's much cheaper to take an extra two hours to cross into Shenzhen and fly from there, as opposed to flying from Hong Kong. Of course, this same unique relationship means crossing between Hong Kong and China is like entering a separate country, despite the fact that you aren't...

As the plane flew over Nanning, I took note of massive multi-lane highways carving up the vast plains of farmland, the former having risen from the past 50 years of Nanning's industrial growth and China's growth overall.

What does any city known for its lush vegetation and surrounding agricultural area need?? A giant light board, of course...

Wheeee!! No seriously, laws or common sense don't seem to exist here. Four people on one scooter? Three wide on a two lane road? Passing on the hard shoulder? Passing cops at 50kmh over the limit? Daily occurrences...

You might notice the slight haze in the "Welcome to Nanning" picture. China is indeed enveloped in a fog of pollution, even in the country side. But it does make the sunset awfully red... pros and cons I guess...

Many of the Chinese are newly wealthy. New-money people like to make it known they have new money, thus flashy and ostentatious things are quite popular. A fully light highway cloverleaf is the municipal equivalent of a diamond encrusted Rolex... But it does make the night view very interesting.

How'd they fold it so small??

April 15, 2009 - Day 3 - Detian Waterfalls, some rock garden

This is more like it. Only 20 minutes outside of the city and the the scenery changes drastically. Farmers trundle down the road in their tractors, cowpies lie in the middle of the road, people sit outside their house without a care in the world... It's hard to imagine I'm in one of the world's richest countries with the fastest growing economy. I quite like it. Until the satellite dishes and cell phones burst my bubble...

Interestingly, seeing all these people was at first pleasingly peaceful, functional, and simple. But in the midst of the cell phones, radar speed cameras (seriously), and tourists (me included), it ends up looking backward, rundown, and poor. Unfortunate what the technological perspective can do to what is otherwise a perfectly pleasant, quiet way of life...

The Detian Waterfalls. It's much more impressive during the rainy summer season with lots more water, but as you saw in the preview, it's an attractive place nonetheless. This area of China is interesting in that it's mostly flat but mountains shoot up nearly vertically, resulting not in rolling hills, but massive spikes all across the land.

Just behind the waterfall and a small hike up is the border to Vietnam, which anyone can cross freely. We wandered 10ft into Vietnam and found a gigantic plateau market hocking various (typical) tourist wares. Y'know, just in case you ran out of CK One, combs or cigarettes on your way up...

Unfortunately, the name of this rock garden place escapes me. It basically had lots of various natural rock formations that they gave creative names to. The centre of the park had a more "produced" garden that includes this path.

Why thank you, I will.

Continued in Part 2.