zai Huanghe Lou ta shuo zaijian....

Well, back from my China trip. First, some numbers

8 million;
population of Wuhan.
2 million;
people stared at us (maybe).
6;
number of Westerners we saw in Wuhan.
14;
hours on the train from Wuhan to Shanghai.
12;
number of Westerners we saw in Shanghai in our first 10 minutes off the train.
8;
people in Wuhan trying to sell us computers.
5;
people offering us massages.
2;
hours spent at a massage.
1;
person offering us sex straight up.

All in all, it was a great trip. My travel buddy had his jaw scraping the ground for most of the Wuhan leg. Definitely an eye-opener. Especially the toilet. I couldn't take a photo of it since there were people inside using it but I'll try to explain what I saw.

Imagine your typical open plan office with the low wall cubicles. Now, pretend that you are squatting on the ground and the cubicle is high enough so you can not see over it. About one metre below you is a long trench that collects all your waste, but there is no water so I imagine it waits for the water to be flushed down the other end before it is washed away.

Again, it is just as I expected in China. And I will definitely go back.

Photos are here.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79605&l=0994b&id=501495005

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79600&l=6e583&id=501495005

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79598&l=a6845&id=501495005

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79595&l=193ce&id=501495005

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79590&l=18fea&id=501495005