Three days and counting...

I apologise that I am posting this out of order (we just arrived today at Guangzhou however we haven't yet posted the last entry for Xiamen), but I just need to have a quick rant about why we are both so looking forward to leaving China. 

Today the inhabitants of this city reminded Michael and I that even though we are so close to the border, we are still well and truly in China.

We attempted to spend a quiet day getting our bearings, replenishing supplies and seeing a movie at the local cinemas. However the locals managed to make even those tasks a frustrating experience.

For example, I was waiting in a line consisting of three people to buy my shampoo, conditioner and razors. There was a lady in front of me making a purchase, myself and then another lady behind me. When the first lady had finished and moved to walk away, I moved forward. However, the b**ch behind me tried to sneak in front to get to the counter first!

I was like, are you serious?? You can't wait another 20 seconds for me to buy 3 items? It's not like I have a full trolley or anything! Usually I would just stare in amazement, however, learning from Michael's actions in Shanghai, I made an "oh no you don't" noise (I would have actually said "oh no you don't" except I didn't know how to in Chinese), shouldered her out of the way and made sure that I got my things to the counter before her. 

This method of finding a foreigner and cutting in front of them seems to be a perfectly acceptable way of getting ahead in a line, which we also witnessed happening to fellow foreigners at Hangzhou Airport.

Then we went to see the movie, Clash of the Titans. Even though there was only about 8 other people in the cinema, we had to endure 90 minutes of people talking, mobiles ringing and one especially annoying women who kept kicking the back of Michael's chair. It completely ruined the movie for us, although the bad script and poor acting were doing a pretty good job by themselves.

While there are certain places in China that I have recommended in the blog, as a complete package I would definitely not recommend China as a holiday destination. The only reason that I am glad that we came to China is that it makes me appreciate the fact that I do not have to live here! I can honestly say that the best part of this leg of the trip will probably be leaving. In fact, Michael and I have both agreed that we will not be returning to China unless our jobs requires us to do so.

We have definitely seen some amazing things, but I don't think that they are so amazing that they outweigh having to live with this level of rudeness. I would much rather go and see similarly spectacular things within an environment where I would be treated with the same level of respect as I show other people. 

Apologies for the rant, because you might be one of those people who agree with the Lonely Planet's view that this is just "part of the fun". However, if this is your idea of fun then I would suggest that you should either stop smoking illicit substances or go and see a therapist.