China Trip
I'm back from China, and I can certainly say it was an interesting trip. We had plenty of ups and downs along the way, but we managed to hit all of our big goals, and I learned a lot in the process too. So there is something to be said for that. First, some of the basic things I noticed about China:

1. You may have heard China is a super-rich place now. Don't believe it. Outside of the cities, most people appear to live in desperate, near-subsistance poverty. I've never seen such wealth disparity in my life. On one hand, you have the Chinese upper class driving luxury sedans, with the finest fashions and jewelry, just like any western consumerist lifestyle. Then on the other, hundreds of millions of peasants just scraping by in the filthiest of conditions you would expect in a third-world country. Amazing. No wonder the government has to keep such a tight lid on things.

2. Following up on the above point, China is a filthy place. The air pollution is truly impressive. In Xian, you could barely see 1km ahead thanks to all the smog. There are some beautiful mountains near Xian. Too bad they are practically invisible. Dirt and dust are everywhere. It stinks to breathe. Trash, rubble, abonded building-like structures, rusted heaps, litter, all over the place. I have really been taking living in a clean place for granted.

3. The traffic is horrible, every man for himself, gladiator combat. Every time I stepped in a car my heart rate went up a little bit and I lost some color in my face. Pedestrians walk unabated on freeways and intersections, ducking between cars and buses. Bikes swerve past apparently oblivious to the traffic around them. Massive trucks share the road with little more than glorified mopeds. Lanes may as well be abstract art. Driving manners? Inexistent. Imagine the most infuriating drivers you've ever encounted and make tens of millions of them. Brights, cutting off, sudden stops in the middle of intersections, going 50km above or below the speed limit, you can go on. It's just not a safe place to be.

4. Everyone tries to rip you off. Everyone tries to cut in front of you. Everyone is a scam artist. I've never seen a more selfish, pushy society. Maybe you need to force your way through a country of 1.3 billion. I don't know. I don't miss that part at all.

Ok. Those are some of my main observations I will take away from this trip. These should be obvious to anyone who has been there, nothing groundbreaking. But it's what I will remember. It sounds like maybe I'm pissed off here, but I did have a great time occasionally and it was worthwhile. I'll give a full recap with pictures soon. Just don't get me started on the airports.