In China, it seems that the most popular and most practical way of getting around the city is by motorbike. Most of these bikes are electric, and while they are not as powerful as a conventional motorcycle, these electric motorbikes (more commonly referred to as electric scooters), they are relatively affordable for the masses. Let’s face it - a car is still a luxury item in China, something only the professional person or the upper classes can afford.

When I was in Guilin, a medium size city in Guangxi province, I stopped at major intersection where I witnessed at least 50 people on motorscooters – both men and women - waiting for the traffic light to change to green. All around the city, there seemed to be more of these motorscooters than cars.

The electric scooters are silent - which is a both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is that these scooters are environmentally friendly. The bad thing – because these scooters are allowed free access to the sidewalk, they can be a real hazard for the pedestrian especially when the bikes are approaching from the rear.

To give you some idea, I was walking on the sidewalk on a major thoroughfare in Guilin, and then without a warning, two electric motorscooters passed me by. Because they were completely silent, I had no idea they were coming. Thank G_D that there was sufficient room on both my sides for the scooters to pass. To pedestrians, these electric scooters can be very dangerous and I can only imagine how many accidents they have caused – they are the silent killers of China.

Very few people in China speak or understand English
After arriving in Xingping, a small town in China’s Guangxi Province, I stopped at a couple of tourist shops and restaurants, asking people for directions to my hotel. Much to my dismay, I couldn’t find anybody who spoke or understood English – not even in the restaurants that had an English menu. This experience made me realize that the language barrier in China is more of a problem than in Thailand where a lot of people know a little bit of English, while in China, only a few people know some English!

Do not change your leftover Chinese currency (Yuan) at the airport; Change your monies at a bank before leaving the country
Arriving at the Guilin airport for my return trip to Thailand, I looked for a currency exchange booth to change back my leftover Yuan to US dollars. Much to my chagrin, I discovered that there wasn’t a currency exchange booth at this airport; however I was reassured by the person at the information booth that I wouldn’t have any problem changing my monies at the larger Guangzhou airport where I had a connecting flight

Arriving at the Guangzhou Airport, I finally found the currency exchange bureau. After telling the clerk, that I wanted to change about 250 Yuan (approximately $35USD) to US currency, she advised me that there was a 50 Yuan ($7USD) service fee. The service fee seemed very exorbitant; I wish I had known about it in advance. Shaking my head, I walked away from the booth, thinking I would find something of value at the airport to purchase. About 20 minutes later, I aborted this plan and returned to the exchange bureau to cash in all my Yuan for US Dollars, service fee be damned!

Female Taxi Drivers
There are many women in China who drive taxi. During my brief time there, I had at least 3 female drivers.

My wondrous journey to China started in the incredibly beautiful city of Guilin in Guangxi Province. From Guilin, I continued by bus to Xingping, a small historic town located about 60 kilometers south of Guilin. Situated on the Li River, the ancient town of Xingping - settled in 265AD - oozes with ambiance and authenticity.

Traveling by bus to Xingping from Guilin, you’ll have to change buses in Yangshuo which is further south. The bus trip takes about 2 hours.

Spectacular Karst Mountains and lush greenery dominate the landscape of the Li River Valley. The Karst landscape is most outstanding between Yangdi Village south to Yangshuo; Xingping is located in the middle of this stretch.

Xingping is considerably less developed and more serene than the more popular and touristy Yangshuo. Walking Street, the lively tourist district of Yangshuo, is brimming with trendy nightclubs, bars, boutiques and restaurants - there is even a KFC and McDonald’s. Some say that Xingping is what Yangshuo used to be like 20 years ago.

If you’re a tourist, there are number of inexpensive guesthouses and hostels in Old Town. A better option is to stay in one of small hotels/guesthouses in Dahebei Village which is located on the other side of the Li River. In order to get to the village, you have to cross the river by ferry. The journey takes less than 5 minutes and the cost is nominal.

There seems to be a real construction boom in Dahebei Village as new condos and small hotels are popping up. According to Shirly, the amiable owner of Our Inn, many wealthy Chinese people - primarily from Guilin - are building family vacation homes in the village. Times are a changing in Xingping…

FYI - Unless you understand some Mandarin, communications can be very difficult as only a handful of people in Xingping speak English

Traveling for the first time to CHINA, I really didn’t know what to expect. Prior to this initial visit, I had traveled extensively throughout Southeast Asia (including 10 trips to Thailand) and sampled a variety of cultures, all of which have been influenced by the mother culture of the region - China.

As my first trip China was for only 8 nights, I decided to limit myself to one region. After some extensive research, I settled on Guilin, a medium sized city reputed to have some of the most outstanding scenery in China. Located in Guangxi Province, Guilin is an established tourist destination in southern China, but it remains somewhat under the radar – most of the tourists that you’ll encounter are Chinese nationals not westerners.

Situated on the banks of the Li River, Guilin is a very pleasant and modern city with lots of greenery and parks, and despite the fact Guilin has a population of over 500,000 inhabitants, it has the feeling of being a small city. What impressed me the most was the overall cleanliness of the city.

The landscape surrounding Guilin is dominated by spectacular Karst mountains – the karst formations become even more prominent as you proceed south along the Li River through Yangshou County.

The heart of Guilin is the hauntingly beautiful Ronghu Lake and Gardens, a popular area for joggers and walkers. In the morning, a large group of people – mostly ladies - congregate here to practice their Tai Chi. I was fortunate to have stayed at Jing Guan Ming Lou, a small boutique hotel located directly across the street from the lake.

Although I was there for only a very short time, Guilin ranks as one of the most beautiful cities in the world that I have been to.

Coming up: Xingping – An ancient town situated along the banks of the Li River

Shirly Li, the young and remarkable proprietor of Our Inn located in historic Xingping - has had quite a life story.

Born and raised in China’s Guangxi Province, she graduated with a degree in Foreign Trade at Geosciences University in Wuhan. During her years at the University, she became fairly proficient in English. After graduation„ she propelled herself into the tourism industry when she started working for a Chinese Travel Company based in Shanghai. The company specializes in tours for oversea student groups (teenagers) - mostly from the United Kingdom, Korea and Africa. Shirly was groomed as a tour leader/coordinator, and with her new job, Shirly traveled all over China

She worked for 5 years for the travel company, and during his time period she made many visits to Yangshou County– including Xingping - and Guilin in Guangxi Province. On one of her many excursions to Yangshou, she met Afu, her future husband and a man of many talents.

Shortly thereafter, Afu and Shirly were married and in early 2009, Shirly and Afu decided to buy a somewhat rundown guesthouse located on the banks of the Li River in the historic town of Xingping.

They closed the guesthouse, and after extensive renovation and the constriction of a proper restaurant, they had their grand reopening 6 months later in October 2009.

As a travel professional, I must admit that, Shirly and Afu have done a quite a remarkable job and have turned Our Inn to a first class guesthouse/hostel. Although nothing fancy, the rooms are configured like proper hotel rooms with flashes of color and simple decorations.

More importantly, Shirly, drawing on her experience as Tour leader, really excels in her people skills - she’s very personable, her facility with English is very good and she knows the area very well. Together with her husband and Lammie, her pet Golden Retriever, Our Inn exudes warmth, personality and ambiance.

During my four nights stay there in December 2010, Shirly took some time out from her busy schedule and hiked with me to the famous lookout point overlooking the Li River and the spectacular Karst mountains. Shirly didn’t think I could complete the hike with my bad leg, but I proved her wrong. What a remarkable lady and a real sweetie!

While I was in Guilin, a medium sized city in Guangxi province, I befriended a middle-aged tourist from Singapore by the name of John. Ethnically Chinese, John spoke Mandarin fluently and had traveled extensively throughout China.

After a day of sightseeing with John in Guilin, he took me to a relatively upscale Chinese restaurant located in the heart of the tourist quarter. When John found out that I was a strict vegetarian, we began a conversation about the exoticism of Chinese cuisine - in particular, the diverse dishes normally offered at most Chinese restaurants.

Tongue in Cheek, John said “Chinese people eat anything moves.” Although this is a popular stereotype about Chinese people, it does have some basis in reality. Traditionally, Chinese people have a considerably more diverse and exotic diet than Westerners; the diet includes a greater variety of protein matter – including fried insects and grub, turtles, snakes, sharks, civets as well other mammals and wild animals – in addition to aphrodisiacs which often consist of the sexual organs and body parts of certain animals.

Usually you will have to go to a Gourmet Chinese restaurant in order to have the some of the more exotic dishes.

Rather than being critical about the Culinary Culture of Chinese people, let’s just say there are significant cultural differences between the West and the East.

Back to the story at hand – I had some delicious vegetarian food at the restaurant while John and the taxi driver devoured some very exotic seafood dishes. After making his selection from the menu, John was invited into the back room of the restaurant to choose which fish would be killed for his meal.

After finishing our dinner, we walked outside the restaurant where we saw a variety of animals in cages – civets, turtles, snakes and some rather exotic and large fishes in an aquarium. All these creatures were waiting to be selected and carved up for someone’s meal. Fortunately, I didn’t see any dogs, monkeys or bats in cages, otherwise I may have gotten sick.

It should be noted that most Chinese restaurants do not normally supply napkins to their customers. Upon request, they will provide a set of napkins for 5 yuan (75 cents USD).

If you have been following Calypso Island Chronicles, you know how much I detest cigarette smoke. Fortunately in California where I currently reside, all restaurants and bars prohibit cigarette smoking. Hooray!

However in many other countries, the laws pertaining to smoking in public places are either nonexistent or less restrictive, so as a traveler, a lot of times, I just have to grin and bear it because let’s face it, many of my fellow travelers - especially from Europe - are dyed-in-the wool smokers.

To illustrate my resolve against cigarette smoke (and smokers), I would like to share a recent experience at the Canton Airport in CHINA. I had a long layover for my continuing flight to Guilin, so I decided to hang out at one of the airport cafes at that offered free WIFI. Sitting myself down at a table in the nonsmoking section, I observed much to chagrin that there were a number of patrons smoking including middle aged Indian couple two tables away.

When I told the couple that this section of the café was nonsmoking – pointing to the nonsmoking sign on the far wall - and that out of consideration they should either stop smoking or to move to the smoking section of the café, the lady got very upset. She told me a very angry tone – it’s not her problem but the management’s as she continued to smoke away.

After digesting her response, I called the young waitress over, and explained to her that this was a nonsmoking section and suggested that she should either enforce the rules or take down the sign. Although her understanding of English was not 100%, she definitely understood me. After some considerable hesitation, she went to all the smoking patrons – including the Indian couple - and advised them to either stop smoking or go to the café’s smoking section

Shortly thereafter, there was a mass exodus of all the smokers – about 7 people in all including the Indian lady. As she left, she gave me a very nasty look as if I was the villain in this situation. Smiling, I responded by saying “Have a Good Day”, satisfied with my triumph!

The following opinion is deemed not to be prejudicial but emphasizes the cultural differences between Chinese and American cultures as seen by a westerner

I learned a lot about Chinese Culture during my brief visit to Mainland China. My education started on the flight between Bangkok and Guangzhou.

Several Chinese people were having a conversation on the plane, however they were a couple of rows apart and their voices were very loud. Unfortunately I was caught in the crossfire so to speak.

Needless to say, their loud, booming voices gave me a headache. On my subsequent flights within China, the same scenario happened.

Lesson 1: Chinese people have very loud voices and having a conversation with someone several rows away on a plane is considered acceptable

My education continued at Guangzhou Airport. I walked inside an airport café and while looking for an empty table, I observed three Chinese men smoking cigarettes at a table by the window. One of the gentlemen had a hacking cough and proceeded to spit on the floor of the café not only once but three times.

As proof this was not an aberration, later on during my trip while traveling on a public bus, the same thing happened. Several men had hacking coughs - I presume they were smokers- and they proceeded to spit on the floor of the bus.

Lesson 2: Spitting in public places is acceptable in Chinese culture

During my 9 days in China, I observed that over 50% of the men smoke cigarettes and most of them are heavy smokers with a couple of packs a day habit. Due to their heavy smoking, many of the men have a hacking cough – symptoms of bronchitis.

Lesson 3: Smoking among men in China is the norm - In Chinese culture, smoking is considered a good way to make friends

Despite the obvious cultural differences and language difficulties, I found that Chinese people are very friendly and hospitable to Western visitors.