Liuzhou Weather
Most
images on this blog are hosted by
ImageShack® who seem to be having many problems. Sorry if any pictures are missing. I'm working on moving them somewhere more reliable.
Where is Liuzhou?
Where are you? Add yourself to my guest map.
Danwei Model Worker Award 2008
Minority Stamps
Capital Stuff
I recently had cause to go to Nanning, the local capital city. I almost wrote 'the Provincial Capital', but Guangxi is not technically a province, but an Autonomous Region. Semantics.
Anyway, to get from Liuzhou to Nanning, you have a number of choices. You could walk or cycle, but sane people tend not to. You could take a taxi - I've done it in the other direction (in an emergency). But the most sensible choice is either the bus or the train. The complexities of buying a train ticket and the need to actually enter the desperate misery of Liuzhou train station put me off that choice.
So, bus it is. There are two types of bus.
The cheap nasty ones which do not leave the bus station until they are carrying twice the number of passengers for which they are designed, then drive around in circles for several hours yelling at passing innocents to get on and take a surprise trip to the capital, via the back roads to avoid paying the toll fees on the Expressway. Even when under way, they think nothing of stopping and yelling at peasants in the fields to abandon whatever peasants do in fields and leap aboard. I once saw some very confused cabbage farmer do just that.
I was once on such a bus when the driver obviously felt the need to evacuate last night's noodles. He stopped the bus and dived into the woods at the side of the road, clutching his copious belly. After about 8 minutes, he hadn't returned and the conductor, obviously bored of waiting, jumped into the driver's seat and off we went, leaving driver #1 lost in the woods. As far as I know, he is still there.
Fortunately, we have yet another choice. There is a regular coach service to Nanning.Every 15 minutes or so. This is the most expensive option (other than that taxi), but you do get a reserved seat on a nice, clean, air-conditioned (Korean) coach which leaves by the timetable, full or not. It is never overcrowded and it uses the Expressway and insists on you wearing setbelts.)
Sit yourself down and listen to the flight attendant (bus attendant) give a nice speech all about the bus and its destination. If you are lucky this will be repeated in something similar to English. Then she hands out bottles of mineral water and local newspapers. Normally, we are treated to some blaring Cantonese pop music which keeps us awake until we reach the inter-city Expressway, when they put on some awful Hong Kong slapstick comedy movie. This time we were spared and, instead, treated to some light music played at a reasonably low level. Although silence would be better. But they don't do silence in China.About half way into the journey we cross the Tropic of Cancer - yes it is marked on the road - and immediately feel much warmer. Then stop for the all-important toilet break. Until you have urinated on the Tropic of Cancer you haven't lived!
Finally, we arrive at the outskirts of Nanning. Until a couple of years ago, the coach dropped you off at the very central, Central Bus Station. No more. They now abandon us at the city limits and force us to take a taxi downtown.
I attend the various meetings which are the official reason for my visit, spend one night in a very nice hotel, which someone else pays for. Bonus! Then I get down to my real reason for visiting. Cheese!
I'm heading just round the corner to The Pantry! Saints that they are.
I load up with tons of cheese, some pastrami, and a bottle of HP sauce! I'm a happy boy!
On the way back, they play the awful slapstick movie, but I'm OK. Dreams of toasted cheese for supper!
Does that Western Food place really call itself the Foreigner (Fu-Lin-Nuo)
Food Store? Is this a chain? Funny.
Yes. It really does.
...and how about the bus station during new years? I've never seen such
chaos, except after an Ohio state championship football game but, I
digress.. The slap stick film for my ride was Ku fu hustle was easy enough
to figure out dispite my lack of native langage skills actually put me to
sleep,- that is until some numbskull clears his throat and put it on the
floor then promptly adjust his seat almost in my lap. An experience to be
remembered for sure. Cheers!
2 or 3 years ago, when new Nanning Bus Station opened, I heard that there
were something really awful (or wonderful): e.g. The english for "发车区" was
"hair car area" . Is that true?
I hadn't heard that but I can see how 发车区 could be mistranslated that way!
Great to see that some things obviously never change in China off the
beaten track! The story with the bus driver reminds me of my trip in the
backwaters of China in...10 yrs ago I think!?
Greetings from Japan. Less rural. More cheese. I'd prefer more rural. But
leave the cheeese.