Lao Xu sent us to the Zhang Jia Jie bus station where we took bus to Phoenix Capital. He was so nice that bought us 'San Xia Wo' for our lunch. ' San Xia Wo' was a local dish which was quite similar to 'Ba Kut Teh'. I was told that Phoenix Capital is a nice place therefore I was eager to go there.
I had a stomachache at the bus station. I wasn't sure whether I should go to the toilet as I had heard a lot of unpleasant stories about the bad state of toilets in China. Chee Ying told me that there was a toilet for which a fee of RMB1 was charged. I expected that the toilet to be in good condition. When I stepped into it, I was shocked. There were a few compartments but the walls were only up to dado level and there weren't any doors. There was just a drain and it was full of 'rubbish' as there wasn't any water supply. I stood next to the door and contemplated whether I should enter the toilet. I thought to myself "I need to wait for another 4 1/2 hours before i can find a toilet. But the toilet here is too dirty and embarrasing. It will be wasted if i don't go as I already paid RMB1." In the end, I still chose to use the toilet. I went to a compartment which was opposite the main door but it had a small door which I thought wasn't too exposed. When I went into the compartment, I only found out that the lock didn't work. I needed to hold the door with one hand. It was so embarrassing. I quickly ran out from the toilet after I had completed my 'mission'. I saw the lady who was collecting money from me eating noodles there. It was disgusting! Chee Ying was laughing after hearing my experience.
We reached Phoenix Capital at night and stayed in one of the guesthouses which was next to the river. The view was amazing.
I like this town very much but it was a pity that my camera was stolen here. I was so depreseed as all the photos that i had taken were gone. Chee Ying didn't take many photos as her camera was faulty. I was upset that didn't take a bath but went straight to the bed. Suddenly I remembered that I bought travel insurance last year. After confirming with my insurance agent that it covered the loss of camera, I quickly lodged a police report in order to get a police statement for claim purposes.
I bought a camera with film for RMB120. I didn't dare buy a digital camera there. I was worried that the camera didn't work. As a result, I tried it by finishing a roll of film just by taking photos on a street. After seeing the photos that had been developed, I was confident to continue using it.
We spent our afternoon at one of the cafes. We made 2 new friends - Given and Ah Fong. Both of them were from Dongguan but Given was working in Macau. Both of them were cute because they kept on saying that they were just friends. We chit-chated for almost 2 hours. It was relaxing as we weren't rushing to any tourist spots unlike those who were joined tour package. I really had a pleasant afternoon with them.
On Christmas Eve morning, we left Phoenix Capital and headed to Huai Hua in order to get on transit bus to Gui Lin. We met a guy from Changsa - Sheng Bin in the bus. He was friendly and caring as he gave some sweets to the girl who was carsick. Sheng Bin and I kept on exchanging information about our own country, just like in an international forum. He was very kind in helping us to buy our bus tickets to Gui Lin after we reached the Huai Hua bus station. He even invited us to his aunt's house for lunch.
The bus to Gui Lin was fitted with 3 rows of berths in 2 levels. This was my first experience taking it. I slept on the lower one and there was a man on the top level. He kept on smoking and even threw peanut skin down as the dustbin was next to my bed. The men in China smoked a lot everywhere, they even smoked in the bus! Some of them kept on talking loudly in the bus at midnight. I was frustrated but I couldn't do anything as this was their culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment