See With Your Own Eyes

Jan 5/10 - Bangkok, Thailand

“Why the hell am I in China?” I asked myself, waking up to the realization that my jaunt in Beijing had blossomed into a fortnight. China doesn't even fit into the book:

Chapter 1: The European Union
Chapter 2: The Association of SouthEast Asian Nations

Why am I spending so much time frolicking around in a country which will only serve as an introduction to chapter 2?

I mulled over my exit strategy, slurping noodles - just as I did every morning, pretending to write a book.

It was in mid-slurp, that it occurred to me that at that particular moment, I was not the only person who needed the use of my MacBook. To my side, I could see the end of a USB cable snaking its way into view, as it's rambunctious operator darted the cord around looking to insert it someplace in my computer.

Tall, blonde and hungry, this new figure asked simply “can I plug this in?”

“I think you already have,” I grumbled.

And in this way, my reluctant MacBook had found a new friend in an iPod.

The owner of that iPod turned out to be one Elena Butler- omnivorous traveller. I would soon find out that Ellie had a remarkable ability to eat anything, and I mean anything.

For this reason—among others—Ellie was not travelling alone. Two more lively Australians made their way into the hostel's common room, split the iPod's earphones, and proceeded to rock out at the other end of the table.

And it was in this way that I met Lynette Nam and Elizabeth Irvin, dancing it up across from me, as I ostensibly wrote about the European Union. I had much to learn about travelling, these girls weren't wasting time the way I was. In short order, I agreed to join them on a train to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Army.

When Dadong—the hostel's manager, and a man whom I had shared many lively words with over noodles and milk tea—learned that I was finally leaving, he said in that elegant Chinese proverbial way: “though you did not know it at the time, you were waiting for these girls.”

Damn. He pulled out some good lines.

It was not the first time Dadong had produced such fateful prose. It reminded me of his first words to me on the night that I arrived.

I'd stumbled upon the China Box hostel by accident, in search of directions to my pre-booked accommodations. I had a good feeling about the place, and I asked Dadong "Is this hostel better than the one I'm looking for?"

Refusing the easy opportunity to slander his rivals, he pointed squarely into his eyes, and then gently extended his hand towards the door, and said something I will always remember: “seeeee with your own eyes.”

I was back in 15 minutes.

Before leaving for Xi'an with the Aussie girls, Dadong handed me a camera and lens and asked that I return it to his friend. Honoured to be entrusted with this task, I accepted it with both hands. Which by Chinese tradition, means to accept something with the entirety of your being.

And so having joined Liz, Ellie, and Lynn, together we cut a slice through rural China from Beijing to Shanghai, making stops at Xi'an, Luoang, and Huangshan.

I know the girls would agree that the highlights were definitely my triumphant thumbwar victory over a German in front of the Terracotta army, matched only by my heroic thumbwar win against a local in Luoang- who may or may not have understood the rules of the game.

These glorious wins aside, my most poignant memories of China occurred after we left Shanghai, where I first incurred the remarkable hospitality of the Nam family.

In Shantou, not only did Lynn's grandparents find us accommodation and feed us more than we could possibly eat. They took the extraordinary step of renting out a van and driver in order to take us around the region to all the sights that an outsider like myself would never have found on their own. It was a real education on Chinese life- and character.

But this was only the start of a remarkable demonstration of goodwill toward strangers by the Nam's.

On Christmas Eve, the last viable day of my visa—I said goodbye to China, and together the four of us crossed into Hong Kong, where Lynn's mom promptly took us to lunch.

We spent the evening scraping together some Christmas decorations, and put together a hell of tree in time for the Nam Family Christmas. To say nothing more, I think the generosity of Lynn's family is best reflected in the Chinese proverb: “A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.”

Proving that no matter where you may find yourself in this world, there are always good people willing to aid you in your quest.

Which brings me to the next difficulty, finding somewhere to stay till New Years in one of the world's most expensive property markets. Inevitably, I checked into the legendary Chungking Mansions, best described as shit stacked fifteen floors high.

When one shows up at the Chungking, you're instantly bombarded by eager South Asians trying to cut deals with you on the various guest houses they operate.

I agreed on a price with a well groomed Indian man, and checked into a cheerful little closet. He didn't have the right change at the time, so we agreed to settle up later.

Turns out it wasn't too hard to find him the next morning considering I had to step over his body, splayed out on a mattress in the hallway, on my way to the bathroom. I didn't really want to wake him up, so I jumped into the "shower" first. And by shower, I mean you fill up a bucket with warm water and continue to dowse yourself with a cup.

On my way back down the hallway, I noticed he was conducting an important business deal from the comfort of his office (read: mattress). Nonetheless, he handed me the change from his safe deposit box: in this case an envelope located underneath the pillow.

By the time New Years rolled around, I was looking to forget my state of accommodation, and so the four of us packed onto a party boat with twenty+ other travellers and took off into Victoria Harbour to greet 2010 on the waves.

After a big night of New Year's revelling, I made my way back to the old Chungking, though this time to a different section of the building.

Due to the enormous strength of my thumb, I managed to break the key in the lock outside of the new room. Proving once more, that being the undefeated thumbwar champion of the world is not without its challenges. Now, this would have been a problem in a lesser guest house, but not at the Chungking.

In this most service-centric of establishments, not only was the owner sleeping on the floor ready to help, but indeed the whole family was at hand. One of the men, alerted to my problem, quietly stood up, walked over to the door, and without saying anything, opened the door with a swift swipe of his credit card.

That's when I decided that I would not be leaving my stuff in the room anymore. Though security considerations aside, this room was an improvement over the first Chungking guest house I stayed in.

Not only did it have a built-in shower, but also a built-in toilet inside the built-in shower, designed no doubt to save valuable time in the mornings.

Three such expeditious mornings later I'd arrive in Bangkok to get back to the real business of investigating the unification of SouthEast Asia. The Association of SouthEast Asian Nations has long been a fascination of mine. After the European Union, it is probably the region that is closest to achieving complete political and economic unification.

My loosely planned route will take me over land across the Indochinese Peninsula through Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. After that, it'll be across the South China Sea to the Philippines, Indonesia and beyond.

On reflection, I think that Dadong was right, and that though I did not know it at the time, I was waiting for my new Aussie friends to arrive at the China Box. And what would otherwise have been a solitary skip across the surface of China, became a fruitful venture into the depths of the world's oldest continuous civilization.

In the process, I learned from my travelling companions that though purpose is paramount, one needn't slay their freedom of spirit in order to pursue purpose. But hey, don't take my word for it, see with your own eyes.

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