A few observations
Trip Start
Nov 07, 2007
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Trip End
Nov 19, 2007
Shenzhen,
China
Monday, November 12, 2007
Crossing the road is very dangerous and it seems that everone takes their life in their hands, not just us aliens. Road rules seem almost nonexistant and a crossing is not a safe place to be, I thought that the fact that the cars travel opposite to Australia might add to the terror of crossing but they do not slow for a crossing is the main reason it is so dangerous.
The clothes hanging out of every window is a sight to behold. Even at a large park in the city workers washing were hung on the park fence for all to see
A park
. Everywhere you look clothes drying and for sale.Shopping seems the major past time here. The most common are clothes,mobile phone shops and places to eat. The shops can vary from the most opulent centres to the most primative stalls in dingy alleys.
Today we saw the opera house with the sails making me feel a little homesick. It was a small concrete representation.
Public transport is much better than in Australia. The trains are amazing, the stations have glass walls with doors where the trains stop with their doors matching. The stations are spotless and on time. The tickets only need to be waved over a barrier and cost very little. Travelling on the bus you have to have exact change to put in the box but it only costs 2-3 yuan (less than 20 australian cents).
Food her is great! The variety is amazing! The hot pots are to die for and so cheap it costs 4 people here what 1 person would expect to pay.
The parks are a highlight here with the most varied use by large amounts of people. We saw dancers, exercisers, kite flyers, all sorts of music, fishers, people lazing, meditating and it was vibrant and very beautiful to behold. Us aussies do not know how to enjoy our parks like they do here
A street butcher
. The parks are so beautiful and well maintained it puts our feeble efforts to shame. There has been very few aliens spotted in Shenzhen, it does not seem to be a tourist destination, a pity for it has a lot to offer.
Gillian
I've had a fantastic time exploring the city. The area around the hotel is full of life. Athe streets are lined by small shops that sell everything from groceries, tea, fruit and veg to mobile phone, hardware and metal workers. There are also numerous restaurants and roadside vendors. Most of the flats are tiny, with virtually no kitchen, certainly so most people eat out most of the time. As Gillian said the food is very cheap, so it wouldn't end up very expensive.
Cliif says that a lot of the city is like this - we're not in a special restaurant part of the city.
Tomorrow we fly to Guilin. I feel sad to leave Shenzhen, especially Cliff and Dan, but I'm also looking forward to seeing another part of China. Cliff also flies out tomorrow to finish his Masters and do some more travelling. I sincerley hope that they will not have a long wait for Dan's visa. She is a lovelly person.
