I went to Guangdon and Guangxi provinces in China for a week with my mom's crazy cousin. He is 71, learned to drive in his 60's, but drives his car all around crazy Chinese traffic and travels around the world without speaking English. It must have to do with his musical background that makes his mind stay sharp.
He's also a great tour guide and knows a lot of history about places and likes to be spontaneous when travelling and takes his time to explore. So I went on a trip with him, his wife and my aunt.
I went to Huzhou, Yangshou and other places. The karst scenery is pretty cool, but what struck me most is the "preparation" of these places for massive Western tourism. These places are already pretty touristy, but my mom's cousin and his wife were in Huzhou just 2 years ago and they say it's changed a lot.
I stared into the coffeeshops and hostels in Huzhou, with their signs all tacked in English and thought, "Where did this come from?" Last time I was in this part of China, I remember a bunch of kids coming up to us at night and asking for money. There was nothing like that this time. Now accommodation is equipped with wi-fi and owners are hiring people from France to westernize the hostel.
Or maybe it was all here before.
He's also a great tour guide and knows a lot of history about places and likes to be spontaneous when travelling and takes his time to explore. So I went on a trip with him, his wife and my aunt.
I went to Huzhou, Yangshou and other places. The karst scenery is pretty cool, but what struck me most is the "preparation" of these places for massive Western tourism. These places are already pretty touristy, but my mom's cousin and his wife were in Huzhou just 2 years ago and they say it's changed a lot.
I stared into the coffeeshops and hostels in Huzhou, with their signs all tacked in English and thought, "Where did this come from?" Last time I was in this part of China, I remember a bunch of kids coming up to us at night and asking for money. There was nothing like that this time. Now accommodation is equipped with wi-fi and owners are hiring people from France to westernize the hostel.
Or maybe it was all here before.
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