So another month has rolled on past and things are really starting to pick up here. Didn't do a whole lot for this year's National holiday, but did spend a bit of time in Hong Kong and Shenzhen which was fun. Also got a chnce to go back to my favourite spa. Let me tell you...that is one thing I LOVE about this country! The spas are amazing and priced reasonably (for the most part. Obviously somethings are more expensive than others but overall it is just a wonderful experience and a great way to just "get away").
Also got another very interesting experience: White Water Rafting....China-style!! Most of us Canadians think of white water rafting as a pretty dangerous yet fun activity where you (and a couple other people) paddle your way (or try to anyway) through a series of rapids down a river on a larger inflatable, yet sturdy raft, complete with safety equipment and probably at least a bit of training before hand. This however was a VERY different experience!! The rafts are more like slightly larger dingies and you do not get any paddles. If you are lucky, you may get a small plastic bucket that you can use to bail out your dingy or (more likely) fight back in the giant water fight that happens at varies points throughout the ride. Really that is a better word for this...it is a ride. You get a helmet (that might fit) and a lifejacket (that probably doesn't fit or tie up). Once you get to the top of the line, you and your partner fight your way into one of the dingies that are getting pushed around, and then hold on! The best way to describe the trail is more of a series of water slides through rocks with small "lazy river"-type pools in between (which is where the water fights break out...and if you are a foreigner WATCH OUT!!! I don't know how many times I got the greeting "welcome to China" followed by a bucket-full of water to the face! lol). And it lasts for about 30-45 minutes! Quite an experience! lol
There is something that I have been noticing a lot as of late that I would like to comment on; that being the "Hi, I speak English. I can be your friend?" experience. This is something that I have been running into and I honestly do not know how to handle it. My experience of how you make friends tells me that you run into someone, get to know them as you run into them more than once and talk, and then maybe decide to get together for coffee or the like. If someone I dont know comes up to me and immediately asks for mu phone number, I take that more as a "I'm picking you up" move than a "let's be friends" move. I just dont get it. *sigh*
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