The Hillbilly Returns Home

After two weeks in China it was time to head home. The long flight gave this hillbilly a lot of time to reflect back on this latest adventure. I went on this trip hoping to see and experience something completely different than my travels before. I got that in spades.

I remember the very first time I traveled abroad. I was completely surprised by how modern and cosmopolitan everything was. I mean they actually had ATM machines in Paris! I had no idea I would be able to take money out of my account in the United States in a totally foreign country. I was completely shocked. It’s funny now that I look back on it, but it really did surprise me at the time. So I expected Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong to be big cities with all the modern conveniences we have here in the states. For the most part they did. The banks are even open on Sunday.

However China was not exactly what I expected. It is a communist country, but it has a very capitalistic twist. Similar to the US, there are the “haves” and “have nots.” As you wander the streets, you may see a Jaguar, Mercedes or Ferrari dealership, plus there’s an abundance of upscale hotels, bars and restaurants. But once you get out of the main tourist areas and walk the streets, you see how a lot of the Chinese people really live. It’s not that pretty.

I expected to feel completely lost in a totally foreign culture, but the politeness and warmth of the Chinese people was so welcoming it made me feel at home. The sheer beauty of Beijing and Shanghai were a complete surprise. The amount of American food options was staggering. You expect to see McDonalds and Starbucks everywhere. But in addition to those staples, we saw KFC, Pizza Hut, 7-Eleven, TGI Fridays, Outback Steakhouse and a few others. It’s funny to me that these places do so well there considering how much “healthier” the Chinese eat. They eat a lot of rice, seafood, drink tea all day and are always on the go! They are in constant motion. The other thing that surprised me was the quality of service we received everywhere we went. We could walk into a store or restaurant and there were always at least 4-5 people available to help us. We never once had to try and find someone to help us. We would walk into our hotel and be warmly greeted by at least 3 or 4 people by the time we got to the elevator. The other thing that surprised me was how clean the cities were. These are cities with millions of people, but they are as clean as Disneyland. If any of you have ever been to Disney, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. You’ve noticed all the people constantly cleaning, picking up and sweeping the streets. It’s the same way in China. No matter where we were, there was always someone cleaning nearby. They even had flower boxes along the freeway ramps on Beijing!


My Favorite City
Well that’s tough to answer. I think it all depends on what you’re looking for. Beijing was by far the China I expected to see. It’s steeped in history. Between The Great Wall, The Summer Palace, The Heavenly Temple, The Forbidden City, it has a lot of amazing things to see. However Shanghai, is a fun and very modern city. While there aren’t as many “must dos” the city still has a lot to offer. There are some great neighborhoods to stroll, cool bars, great restaurants and of course, Pudong. As I mentioned before, Hong Kong is great if you have a lot of shopping to do. Since it was under British rule until 1997, there is still a lot of British influence there. It is still very Chinese in a lot of ways but is considered a separate region. They have their own way of doing things and they even have their own currency. It’s funny but people from mainland China are even considered visitors in Hong Kong.

The one thing all the cities had in common was the bright flashing lights on all the buildings. Here are these stunning skyscrapers, amazing feats of architecture and most of them have bright flashing lights at night. It almost makes them a little tacky, not quite Vegas tacky, but it is still a little odd. Can you imagine a Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons with bright blue lights running down and across the hotel every night? One guy we met in Shanghai told us it’s actually a law. All buildings over a certain height have to have some sort of lighting. Considering how tall some of these buildings are, this would make sense as a warning signal for airplanes. But it’s not just the really tall buildings that have them. Maybe it’s an ego thing, a way for the owners to make their buildings stand out. I’m not really sure, but it is one of the things that stood out to me in each of the cities we visited. In Hong Kong, they even have a “symphony of lights” every night. Several of the buildings participate. They have flashing lights and laser beams going off, all well choreographed and set to music. It makes for great free entertainment.

The Language Barrier & Other Issues
Whenever I travel, I like to try and learn some basic words/phrases in the host language, but Chinese is very tough to learn. The accents are very strong, almost harsh. After two weeks I’m sad to say, I only managed to master Hello and Thank You!

Beijing was the biggest challenge. Even at major tourist venues very little English was spoken, but we were still able to buy tickets and get where we needed to. Shanghai was a little better since a lot of business is conducted there and English is the global language for business. However, outside of the hotels, very few of the folks you encounter speak English. Do not expect taxi drivers, waiters/waitresses to speak English. A lot of the restaurants don’t have English menus. Obviously English is widely spoken in Hong Kong. Make sure you have someone at the hotel write the hotel address in Chinese for you. In case you get lost, at least you’ll have something to show to the taxi driver or pedestrians to find your way home. A lot of the hotels already have cards made up with key phrases and major destinations for the city in English and Chinese. These came in very handy during our trip.

But the language barrier should not hold anyone back from visiting this fabulous country.
The people there are more than willing to help you learn Chinese and often want to practice their English on you. Despite my lack of Chinese though, we were able to get by. It truly is amazing how easily two people who speak completely different languages can communicate with each other when both are willing to try and understand the other.


The one thing that did bother me at first was the “male-dominated” culture. No matter where we went, Bruce was greeted first, served first and often times they even looked to him when taking my order at a restaurant. Even when I would give my credit card to pay for a drink or meal, they would still bring the bill back to him to sign. At first I was bothered by this, but then I took a moment to think about it. They were not doing this in anyway to slight me, it’s just their culture. I had to remind myself I was a guest in their country and I needed to respect their ways. The plus side of this was how polite, or “old-fashioned” as we would say, the men were. They were true gentlemen. They always opened the door for me or let me out of the elevator first. I know this will probably upset a lot of women out there, but I actually liked that. There’s nothing wrong with good old-fashion courtesy.

My Favorite Memories
Walking along The Great Wall outside of Beijing
Visiting the Summer Palace in Beijing
Having drinks on the rooftop of M on the Bund in Shanghai
Partying in Xia Tiandi in Shanghai
Listening to a Chinese band play Madonna music at Rendezvous in Shanghai
“Celebrity sighting” at the Sky Dome Bar in the Radisson Hotel (met the owner of all the Radisson hotels, a very nice and elegant woman)
The underground tram ride to Pudong
Drinks on the 87th floor of the Grand Hyatt in Pudong
The entire stay at Le Royal Meridien in Shanghai (a special thanks to Richard L. the Royal Club Manager)
The hot stone massage in Shanghai
The very steep tram ride to The Peak in Hong Kong
Partying at a variety of bars/clubs in Lan Kwai Fong in Hong Kong
Asparagus and mushroom soup, and the many other great vegetarian dishes
The efficiency of the Chinese
Variety of live music everywhere – Jazz, Spanish, Top 40, Soul
The beautiful gardens and landscaping throughout China

All in all this was a truly great and memorable trip. The beauty of the country, the warmth and generosity of the Chinese people, will remain with me for years to come. I would highly recommend a visit to this great country.

So to answer the question on my first post. Yes, it appears you can pull off a last minute trip to China! What did we ever do without the internet? I hope you enjoyed my journey through China. I certainly enjoyed sharing it with you. I'll be posting some quick tips, recommendations for traveling to China on the website soon.

Any recommendations on where this hillbilly should go next? I'm always open to suggestions.