I wonder how long this recap of the past week is going to take?
Here goes:
Day 1: My friends and I left for Hoiping Friday afternoon. We rode on a bus for about an hour and then stopped at the border and had to go through immigration and customs and stuff. I had to pee by then, and therefore had my first (and probably the worst) squat toilet experience ever. Squat toilets have a very VERY distinct smell, which I can only describe as a mix between chickens and pee. In theory they could be very clean since you don't touch anything, but the fact that people CAN'T AIM makes this the WORST IDEA EVER. Anyway, after peeing, we got back on the same bus and rode another three hours to Hoiping. My first impression of China (aside from the squat toilets): so green! A very nice contrast to Hong Kong. Being in Hong Kong for almost two months = I miss grass.
So we get to Hoiping at around 7 PM and figure out pretty quick that just because you're on the sidewalk doesn't mean you can't get hit by a car. Why do they even have sidewalks? Cars and motorcycles just drive right up and park. Also, the "taxis" there are just shady vans with shady guys who actually get out of their cars and come up to you to ask you if you need a ride.
After we get picked up by my friend's dad, we head over to my friend's uncle's house for dinner. They were realllly really nice, waiting for us for almost every meal because we're lazy Americans (who can't wake up before 10). I didn't spend any money on food while I was in Hoiping because we ate with them almost every meal. But the downside is we had the same thing every single day: boiled chicken, goose, cauliflower, and some kind of cabbage. It was really good, and reminded me of home, but three days in a row is a bit much.
My friend's dad has been staying in his own apartment in Hoiping, so we stayed in the extra bedroom there. It wasn't too bad, aside from having to share one big bed between four people, and the whole showering-right-next-to-the-squat-toilet situation.
Day 2: We didn't do too much in Hoiping because it was absolutely freezing. It rained really hard while we were there, so we didn't spend too much time out. We did a bit of shopping (I bought three pairs of socks for under 10 RMB - that's like, $1.50 USD!), and then had dinner with my friend's other uncle. They had a REALLY nice apartment, much nicer than what I expected in Hoiping, which isn't as developed as other places in China. Then we went to this park that was decorated for Chinese New Year and played with sparklers. Can't remember much, except it was REALLY cold. Then we went home and the four of us played mahjong. LOL.
Day 3: I guess mahjong really tired us out the night before, because we woke up at noon the next day. Oops. We went to Xie Weili park, which is some rich guy's private garden, built in 1936. It was really big and pretty nice (but still super cold), but a lot like other parks I've already seen in Guangzhou. Sadly, once you see one nice Chinese building/park, they all start to look the same. We took some super touristy pictures dressed up in traditional dress which are pretty embarrassing (look below). After the garden we went to the Chikan District, a historical city that was built on the business competition between the Guan and Situ families. My friend whose family we stayed with is a Situ, so her family's been around there for a preeeeeeeetty long time. Since day 3 was Chinese New Year, we played with sparklers (again) and then spent the rest of the night playing mahjong (again). So Chinese.
Oh, and this is the friend whose family I stayed with in Hoiping.
that last picture is AWESOME
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