Guangzhou trip (Part 1)

The first thing that strikes you about this city is how hazy it is. As the plane approaches the airport, you can't see anything below until you clear the haze on a typical day. There's no Indonesian to blame here as the haze is caused by its local vehicles and industries. However, don't be surprise if you don't notice any black emission from the vehicles here. Unlike in Malaysia. The expressway from the new Guangzhou International Airport is impressive enough until you approaches the city when everything goes haywire. There's traffic jam alright in the city but the expressway remains clear. I was told only about 3% of the Chinese population owns a car. I shudder to think of the traffic problems here if the figure doubles. Which won't be a surprise because China is prospering. Rapidly it must be added.

If you can't speak Mandarin, the local people speaks Cantonese so it shouldn't be a problem if you're visiting here from KL or Ipoh. Typical of Canton people, they love to devour anything! Dog lovers should avoid the Guangdong province or this city in particular because dog meats are sold openly everywhere! And especially as winter is approaching. Exotic dishes like snakes, crickets, scorpions, maggots, grasshopper etc can be found here. But if you're not into these exotic food, normal Canton dishes can be found in abundance here. And it won't burn a hole in your pocket even if you decides to dine at restaurant similar to Tai Thong or Overseas in Malaysia. Disregarding the dog’s meat served here, food lover should find Guangzhou’s err..normal food to be heaven. While the pricing is something to shout about (7 dishes in a restaurant similar to Tai Thong in KL with fish, prawn & crabs cost only RM150+), the main emphasis here is the freshness of the food especially the meat dishes. Even some vegetables are plucked right out of small pots before cooking.

to be continued...


Guangzhou airport


Airport tower


Guangzhou city...note the 500 years old buildings/residence at the bottom


Left hand drive here...not as many bicycles but heck a lot of cars!


Guangzhou metro station...single line operation for now


Roundabout with a statue..typical of many Chinese cities


There's people everywhere in this city even backlane shops


Ahhhh...no where to run here! Beware of pickpockets though


Cabs are well equipped with iron bars!


Abundance of old buildings in this metropolis


A unique err..bus selling soft drinks