Haushan

Trip Start Aug 28, 2008
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Trip End Nov 11, 2008


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Thursday, October 16, 2008

Today the group crossed over the border from Vietnam into China. The border crossing was incredibly simple, although I had to hide my China lonely planet because its illegal here (the government doesnt agree with some of the things written in it). We had a private bus take us through the countryside to our accommodation in Butterfly Valley. not far away from the Left River. The accommodation was wooden huts (although they had A/C and a full bathroom). The first Chinese food that I ate here was very similar to the rest of Southeast Asia and nothing like what you would find in a Chinese restaurant in the UK (but still really nice). Eating in China is culturally quite different to the western style because you dont order an individual meal, instead a number of dishes are ordered and everybody shares which even includes drinks (if you ask for a beer everyone will be given a glass)
After lunch we boarded a boat and cruised down the Left River to view some paintings on the side of a cliff that were painted about 2000 years ago. The paintings weren't anything too exciting but the mountainous scenery along the river was very impressive.  
China is certainly more challenging than the rest of Southeast Asia because not many people speak english and the Chinese writing is almost impossible to translate because there are about 30000 different characters. There are even different symbols for the male and female toilets. But its great to travel off the beaten track and properly experience local life.
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