Some Final Thoughts on China

As I'm about to leave mainland China to go to Hong Kong, I am getting my third day of rain in three weeks and thus have the time to spew my thoughts onto the Web...

Just walking on China's Great Wall is hard. I can't imagine having to build it! I don't know how many people died to build it. (2 to 3 million people is the number I read on Wikipedia) It may be impressive, but it is not a testament to man's genius, but rather to tyranny and slavery. Then again, most ancient buildings are.

In China, a lot of places will make you pay for the bag in which you bring your groceries back. It's a way of making only those who don't reuse bags pay and to reduce waste. On the other hand, it can annoy customers.

In China, there are shitloads of useless jobs. Since labor is so cheap, many jobs that could easily be done by machines are still done by people. Why have a paper dispenser in the bathroom when you can have a guy give the paper to you? Why have tractors plow the land when there are endless Chinese to do it?

Bottles of wine that sell for under 2$ are worth even less. Big bottles of beer that sell for under 45 cents are really great, though!

As mentioned before, there are lots of people in China. And they congregate densely, even in small cities. So, you never have enough space to feel comfortable.

Money-counting machines are used everywhere because there are lots of counterfeit bills out there.

All the foreigners I meet are freaking out because their stocks and currencies have gown down in the past weeks.

I went to stay at a Youth Hostel in Guilin. It was a great way to exchange information and stories with other travelers. For 13$, I got my own room (complete with shower and crouch-style toilet where you can't throw in toilet paper [that psychologically constipated me]). I was somewhat happy to hear that I'm not the only one who cracks every now and then and just goes to McDonald's to get some "real" food instead of Chinese stuff. Sanitized meat, bread and condiments is exactly what you crave after days of eating dodgy parts of animals that come from God knows where.

I went around Guilin and Yangshuo and saw many caves and karst rock formations. One night, a girl claiming to want to be my friend followed me around. Of course, she just wanted to take me to a commerce where she could get a cut from what I'd buy. I told her I'd go to a restaurant with her if she could find a place where I could eat dog or cat. That night, I had my most expensive meal in China, but I ate some dog. You could actually still tell what part used to be the paw. Just wait until I get the pictures on the Net!