I just got back from Jian Ou, Fuzhou the other day and would like to share some of my thoughts and experiences...
Jian Ou is almost identical to the under-developed, non-tourist parts of Bangkok, except that things are as expensive as shit. Clothes (of all things) are two to three times more expensive; household electronics are all Chinese but at higher-than-Japanese prices, and even a can of hair wax I bought was 2x the Singaporean price. Food is cheap, though mostly bland -- the province is deathly afraid of spices, to the point where I cried out in excitement when I saw garlic used in a veggie stir fry.
I'm a heavy beer drinker, and the first couple of days I drank till I got bloated and wondered why didn't I get drunk. Then I discovered that their beers are weak as shit (the standard is 3.6% alcohol, even the Chinese Budweiser), and 5% is considered strong to them. Spent the rest of my trip having neat vodka instead, which I despised.
Walking on the street is a barrage on my senses because of the non-stop honking and the very occasional smell of shit coming from sewage drains. On the plane back, the Chinese passengers were farting (Jesus) and taking so many dumps after dinner that the smell of shit got recycled right into the ventilation system. I wrapped the blanket around my face like a ninja and put my knees up against the seat in front of me, which of course was reclined quite a ways back (happened to me on the way to Fuzhou as well).
All in all, I hope to never go anywhere in China ever again. Though in a word of fairness, the Fuzhou Chinese are quite friendly, chatty, and very family-oriented. I didn't mind the loud, boisterous family gatherings in the restaurants I dined in because I thought that's the way it should be, in comparison to Singaporean outings where the only thing you hear is the sound of cutlery.
Ok that's it.
Jian Ou is almost identical to the under-developed, non-tourist parts of Bangkok, except that things are as expensive as shit. Clothes (of all things) are two to three times more expensive; household electronics are all Chinese but at higher-than-Japanese prices, and even a can of hair wax I bought was 2x the Singaporean price. Food is cheap, though mostly bland -- the province is deathly afraid of spices, to the point where I cried out in excitement when I saw garlic used in a veggie stir fry.
I'm a heavy beer drinker, and the first couple of days I drank till I got bloated and wondered why didn't I get drunk. Then I discovered that their beers are weak as shit (the standard is 3.6% alcohol, even the Chinese Budweiser), and 5% is considered strong to them. Spent the rest of my trip having neat vodka instead, which I despised.
Walking on the street is a barrage on my senses because of the non-stop honking and the very occasional smell of shit coming from sewage drains. On the plane back, the Chinese passengers were farting (Jesus) and taking so many dumps after dinner that the smell of shit got recycled right into the ventilation system. I wrapped the blanket around my face like a ninja and put my knees up against the seat in front of me, which of course was reclined quite a ways back (happened to me on the way to Fuzhou as well).
All in all, I hope to never go anywhere in China ever again. Though in a word of fairness, the Fuzhou Chinese are quite friendly, chatty, and very family-oriented. I didn't mind the loud, boisterous family gatherings in the restaurants I dined in because I thought that's the way it should be, in comparison to Singaporean outings where the only thing you hear is the sound of cutlery.
Ok that's it.
