China after China

So, I don’t really know why I chose to visit China in the very first place. I was mildly interested in it, but never had a massive interest in it. Maybe because my friend Pablo went there in March last year and he liked it. Maybe because it’s an exotic location which doesn’t see as many tourists as other places.

The fact is that I chose Hong Kong as the first destination in Asia (not having been in Asia before) so that my first experience would be a bit westernised and I wouldn’t suffer too much from the cultural shock. But going to China 5 days later was a big shock for me. Probably in a good and bad way. In hindsight, I think I should have visited other Asian countries which allow an easier entry than China before visiting China. The language barrier (buying train tickets is kind of a mission), the people staring at you and the customs and way the Chinese behave was a bit too much as a first option in the Asian continent. Still, I don’t regret it.

Will I come back? Yes, maybe. I don’t feel an urgency to come back, to be honest, but I know I’d like to be back at some point. But with somebody else. Having someone with you with whom you can share the good and the bad moments is good in a country where you can feel totally isolated, so that there’s a way to vent your frustration or laugh at it. I’ve had days in which I haven’t seen other westerner and haven’t interacted with people who were able to speak even a basic English.

I can’t really imagine what going to a more isolated country must be. Think Africa, for example, or India. Mind blowing probably.

Anyway, good experience, a bit too tough for me being a novice traveller in far-away countries. Will get better at this :-)