We got the bus which cost about £3 for an hours journey (national express is going to seem such a rip off when I get home) and found our hostel which was right along the riverfront on their "bar street", and had a little look around at our surroundings. To say I felt a bit depressed about where I've been placed in Dongguan would be an understatement. Guangzhou is beautiful.... lots of skyscrapers, water and bright lights... kind of like a Chinese version of London or something. Of course our first priority was to see what Guangzhou's nightlife had to offer after some drinks on the riverside overlooking the main city. Sean's googling had found him an address to "the best club in Guangzhou", so we headed in taxi's to find this magical place. An hour taxi ride later, we wound up instead at a strange Chinese dingy hip hop club which was showing weird japanese cartoons on big cinema screens in the bar. Another thing about China... even if you have an address, unless you know how to direct yourself in perfect Chinese, it is very likely your taxi driver will have no idea where you want to go. Of course we made the best of it... and the cheap drinks helped. A club was round the corner, so we headed there afterwards for our first experience of what I think must have been Chinese trance music. Very strange to say the least. After talking to several Chinese locals (who each asked me why on earth I would choose to live in Dongguan.... and laughed a lot when I said I didn't actually choose to be there at all), I met the club's owner who proceeded to let me into the VIP area and ended up with a lot of free champagne. One experience I did not imagine when I signed up to live in China.
The next day 5 of us woke up in our double hostel room, which was cozy. that's a lie actually, I slept curled up at the end of the bed by Phil's feet. After finding the nearest McDonalds (we really embraced the culture), a short ferry ride on the river and a mooch around the shops as Guangzhou is "the shopping capital of the world", we decided to call it a day and head back to Dongguan. As I said before, Chinese taxi drivers are likely to get lost even if you have an address... so while me, Iris and Jen waited at the bus station for what seemed like eternity, the boys were taken on a tour round Guangzhou and surrounding cities while the taxi driver searched for the biggest bus station in the city. A few hours and a few hundred quai later, they arrived with minutes to spare and we made it onto our last bus of the day.
We all felt a bit depressed about the amazing city which we had just visited. Yes Dongguan is a huge city too, but kind of notorious for the less glamourous aspects... well, to put it bluntly we live in the crime and prostitution capital of China. Houjie, our little suburb of residence, is also a bit shabby around the edges compared to somewhere like Guangzhou. We all rather sulkily made our way out to get some dinner.
This is when I realised that in fact I am living exactly where I want to be and am getting a real Chinese experience like I wanted when I decided to do this. We have an amazing night market about 5 minutes walk from our apartment which is filled with stalls of people making the most amazing fried noodles, barbequed meat, freshly made breads and dumplings, as well as any fruits, vegetables and homeware that you could possibly want. It's huge. And not touristy at all. The locals dont stare at us, but we also don't get special treatment or get ripped off like in some other places (being white gets you varying degrees of service in China)... so you pay about 50p for a massive plate of food and another 40p for a beer. A stick of meat will set you back around 20p. And its all so tasty! So I decided then and there, while sitting with our noodles listening to the Chinese laugh and talk and smelling all the different foods being cooked, that this is the Chinese experience I was after. Guangzhou is great, but a little bit too western for my liking. A lot of people speak English, and there is a McDonalds on every corner. Don't get me wrong, I'm so glad we are close enough to pop there for the weekends. And while Houjie is a bit rough around the edges, it's got charm. So next time someone asks me in shock "WHY do you live in Dongguan?!?!", I will reply "because I want to." :)
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