Home » China » Into Shanghai, and then Inland China

Cathy: Its like going into the future.
Rupert (the architect): Its like going into the future where all the buildings are dirty.
Cathy: Except the ones that were built yesterday.
(conversation about Shanghai I was sitting in on)

Gone are the days when Shanghai was a paradise for imperialist adventurers - English grammar book for the Chinese (a phrase around which were based various grammatical exercises)

Into Shanghai, and then Inland China

Rob Lilwall
2007-12-01 14:44:05

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dance over the road as I swerve round the squashed remains of stripey snakes. Theheat and humidity reduce me to a sweaty wreck of a cyclist and I welcome the weekly rainstorms which rinse my hair and refresh my soul. Poverty is more evident - barefooted children, windowless houses and broken roads slip past in a haze (I will spare the politics email until after I leave China!).

I have not seen a white face now for over two weeks. Zooming (or straining) my way through each settlement results in lots of people shouting "helloooo?. However, despite my accomplished 30 words of Mandarin, I still cannot figure the Chinese people out. The unexpected is always just round the corner. Half the time I am charged three times the normal price, the other half of the time I am given what I need for free. One day I am overtaken and splattered in dust by a
hooting car which seems intent on killing me, only to round the next corner and find the friendly driver waiting for me with a bottle of nice cold water. In church I am called up to the pulpit to address the congregation; meeting some kids in a small town, I am dragged in to their school to give them an English lesson; passing a hair dresser I am taken in to be given a free hair wash (!).

The unabashed Chinese way of doing things, I have to remind myself, is not intended to offend - it is just their way! Indeed, having studied the rules of the road in China with much care, I find that in fact there is only ONE rule - that is, DO NOT CRASH! Other than that, anything goes (makes sense I suppose). It is therefore silly of me to get offended every time there is an apparent near miss.

To add to the unpredictability of this fun mountainous Chinese adventure, my bike (after 11,000 km of excessive loads and regular wipe outs) has started to fall apart in all sorts of novel ways. My trousers too now take it upon themselves to start tearing (noisily) in creatively embarrassing places at just the moment I valiantly climb onto my bike amidst a large crowd of onlookers... "O well? (I think to myself) as I ride quickly away, bottom firmly on the seat!

I am now less than 2 weeks ride from Hong Kong, from where (hope beyond hope) I plan to hitch a ride on a boat to Manila. I have just been informed that the isolated town I am now in was a hang out for Mao and his mates in the 1930s... every place has so many layers of history which I never know about. The world is an interesting old place isn t it!

As always, many thanks for your emails, prayers and generous donations to Viva Network. I have now raised 4718.48 pounds... I hope to make it over the 5000 mark by Hong Kong.

Take care and (as a friend pointed out recently) take a few risks too.

Rob