Picture of Communism

The picture with the gate and soldiers is one of the most prized pictures I have from China. The reason for this being that I had to be sneaky in taking it. For some reason they don't take kindly to tourists who take pictures of their army bases!?! It was kind of creepy having this large army base right in the middle of a large, seemingly capitalist, city. Just goes to show you that even though China has let up considerably on their economic policy, their political policies are still kept with an iron fist. Tourists don't really have to worry though, because they know that tourists bring money, so unless you are stupid and burning a Chinese flag, or somehow speaking in Chinese saying that Mao Zedong is stupid, you don't have anything to worry about. 

Kunming: Cleanest City in China.

We arrived in Kunming after a 20 some hour train ride from Guilin. It was a train ride I'd rather forget (no heat, and packed.) Anyhow we decided to stay a couple of days here before venturing to other destinations in the Yunnan province. It was a worthwile stop, even though other travelers told us to skip this spot. It was the first time we had been in a big Chinese city, and so we got to see a completely different side of China (compared to the countryside that we had been travelling in up to this point.) The thing that we noticed in retrospect was that Kunming had very little traffic for its size (approx. 4 mil.,) and even less smog (surprise, surprise!) This, plus the near perfect weather, made for a nice two day stay in Kunming. It was interesting to see the way more affluent Chinese people live. For example: a shopping mall with a display for a condo development for sale that would rival any North American development. The city showed a very interesting dichotomy of the few who had, and the many who didn't. Compared, however, to the countryside, where only a few government officials even had cars, there was a significantly larger middle class population here. There are also nice hiking trails just south of the city that we explored for a day, which in the nice weather was quite a treat. The bull in the picture is a statue outside their train station (apparently Kunming means Bull in Chinese.) If you notice all the people sitting around the statue, they are waiting for train tickets to see their family for the Chinese New Year.

Gotham City? No: Hong Kong!

This is one of my favourite Hong Kong pics (and I have many good ones.) It really embodies the amazing sky scrapers that make this city so famous. It was a fun time in Hong Kong, and I would recommend seeing this place to anyone who has thought about going. The buildings alone are worth seeing. Probably the most amazing spectacle in the city is the light show that goes on every night that you can watch from across the harbour. There are dancing lights on the buildings, lasers coming out of the roof tops, and on Saturday night, fireworks. And all of this is done synchronized to music. One major thing that I notcied in Hong Kong was how westernized it was, especially in comparison to China and Korea. You could find someone who spoke English almost anywhere, and there were many Westerners who either lived there or were visiting. It is, however, an expensive place, so be prepared!