How To Use Chopsticks: Out of China as fast as a streak of paint drying

From Guilin onto Yangshuo, a small town nearby (maybe an hour and a half on the bus, blaring a horn the whole way) very very pretty, though still as cold. A post about those four days coming soon, but first on my escape from China.

I took a train trip to Shenzhen growing rich off the nutritious tourist and business stream entering Hong Kong. Instead of the 12 hours it was supposed to take, I waited at the station from 9pm to 7am waiting for news.

In all I prefer the honesty of the train station signs to those at an airport, where the flight time is put back again and again and again and finally is cancelled. All we were told was "no news" for 6 hours until it was hinted at the train would get in at around 6am.

The train got moving, very greatful to be able to lie down on my bed after sitting wrapped around my bags at Guilin station for so long. However when the train got to the source of the delay arriving it did what you would expect and stopped again. For about 16 hours. I was greatful for buying an expensive ticket, played chinese chess late into the night with various people and talked to an america guy trying to get home. After a total of around 40 hours we made it into Shenzhen, through imigration into Hong Kong (Xiang gang to the Mandarin speakers) with just enough time to find a guest house, sleep grab breakfast and head to the airport.

So here I am, roasting in the heat of a Manila evening in the north of the Philippines.

Watching the news in Hong Kong I saw how some serious bad snow storms (probably the worst on some record somewhere) where stranding tens of thousands of people trying to get home for Spring festival. Have a thought for those people next time the tube train takes 6 minutes to arrive instead of 3.