Shanghai: Walmart Trips

So like everything I do in China, going to Walmart is just crazy...why? Because it's supposed to be something like home and recognizable, but it just isn't the same experience. This is an obvious thing, but can still give you a culture shock when experienced.

I had culture shock because I had not seen a Walmart since early May. It was such an experience, I decided to break my blog story timeline, and show you guys now. I am also choosing to post it now, because it's a quick post and I just have not had the time to write, photo edit, and blog like I did this summer. Ok so anyway...

As always, the adventure starts with the metro. Luckily, this stop is only 3 stations away from school

And of course a crowded and long walk across 8-10 lanes of roadway with 100s of my closest strangers!

I know you guys can see that sign! Not your typical Walmart, huh?! Yeah it's actually above some shops and is apart of a larger outdoor, mall complex. It's actually quite nice and there's a Burger King behind it, haha. I know this area quite well, needless to say....

The main entrance

Going up to the first floor. They sell all types of things on the outside of the store as well

So now that we've successfully made into Walmart, here's where it gets weird-ish...

Not the typical, warm Walmart greeting I'm used to... 

Here you can find all things dried...fruit, meat, noodles, and other things I am not brave enough to explore

Oreos at low prices...I always seem to go for what I know...and because of this I will not lose a pound LOL

Not so bad...just not home. But there's more! I call this the mad dash for fruit....

So you grab your bag, pick through the fruits to get the best ones (typical), but the have to wait in line to have everything weighed before you go to the register. It's really a pain sometimes, especially when people have 7 or 8 things to weigh, while you just want apples smh!

After that's all said and done...up we go...

Now the escalators go up about 4 floors, where you can get the same types of things as home; appliances, clothes, and specialty items. If you are not careful, it's easy to get lost just walking around and look at/for items...Luckily for you all, this trip was a quick mission. But unfortunately for me, the check out line situation was CRAZY as always.

My small pick up: Beef jerky, sea weed, apples, yogurt, olive oil, golden ores with strawberry cream, drinks, cressants, and butter...luxury items cost me (yogurt, butter, cressants, and beef jerky)

I can already see that this is gonna be a rough wait

The lines are such a buzz kill when your total shopping time was 30mins...

So not the most absurd thing I've done in China, however, when your are looking for normality, it just doesn't quite cut it...I still enjoy all of my weekly trips to Walmart! 

My Kaiping Adventure to Zili Village

So sleeping has been a very big issue in China. The first month I was so exhausted all the time, I would sleep whenever. As much as I tried to adjust to living an opposite schedule, (China is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time) I literally could only sleep for 2 to 5 hour increments throughout the day.

This particular Friday, I fell asleep almost as soon as I got off work, and, because of that, I found myself wide awake at 3am on a Saturday. I tried Face Timing and Skyping family and friends, since it was a reasonable time there, but got no answers. Bored and bummed, I decided to search the web for things to do in Guangdong Province (the province where Guangzhou is located).

After about an hour or two of research, I decided I would make a 2 hour bus ride to Kaiping Diaolou Village to see some old watch towers and its distinct architecture. It's nice being in a place where transportation is fairly inexpensive, and just about anywhere is accessible to people without cars. It's truly been a life saver for me here. After taking some screen shots of my destinations inside the city, I took a quick shower and I packed some water and snacks, and then hit the road.

Since I woke up so early it was about 6:30 in the morning when I reached Haizhu Passenger Terminal to take the metro. I decided to grab some McPoison for breakfast. I walked in and ordered a sausage McMuffin with hashbrowns and orange juice (they don't have biscuits here). It was like heaven because it tasted just like home. (Well at the time, I had it a few times after and realized it was orange drink, not juice, and the cheese tasted funny. I call this the China effect. You get so used to eating Chinese foods that whenever you taste something from home its automatically the best thing you've ever eaten, mostly because you want it to be amazing). Upon leaving, I realized that McDonald's wasn't supposed to open until 7am. Because the employees spoke limited English and did not know how to explain that they weren't open yet, they just fired up the grill 30mins early. I was so embarrassed, but happy because I was hungry.

An hour metro ride later, I got to the bus station. This station was very far outside of Guangzhou city center, and lets just say English was almost non-existent. I'm glad I took some screen shots of directions on getting around the station, and was able to purchase my ticket. A young lady at the customer service desk was able to show me where to go to wait for my bus, and I was finally headed towards Kaiping.

With some help, I was able to find the correct local bus (everything is written in Chinese at this point). I am lucky that this town is used to many tourists. I was able to tell the bus driver where I wanted to go, and he agreed to show me where to get off. It was only 6 RMB, a cab would have cost anywhere from 50 to 100 RMB, depending on the cabbie and his greed. A tour bus would have cost me 180 RMB. I won't lie, I did question my decision when the city bus stopped for gas with everyone still on it, but I mean 6 RMB is almost $1 so...I was ok.

By time I get to my first stop, Zili Village, it's already hot. I was glad I brought water. The driver let me off on the side of the road and gave me extremely detail directions on how to get to the village...in Cantonese. I was very appreciative, despite being lost. 

By the time I looked around, nothing else really mattered. It had been a long time since I had been in such a beautiful and sunny place. No smog. No noise. Just nature and the occasional villager.

My view on the walk to the village

The mile walk to the village was no big deal, as I took my time snapping pictures and wandered off to explore smaller paths. 

The first path I followed, led me to the Fang watchtower. I had to climb through some tall grasses to get there and ran into several grave markers on my way

 The towers are very interesting. While not ancient, (built in the 1920s) they played a large role in Chinese culture during the 20th Century. You should read more about it here

I just loved looking around and taking in the scenery here. Kaiping was the perfect escape from the big city. It was a very freeing experience because I did it by myself, and, with a little help, made it to my destination. I took way too many pictures and they still barely do justice to my experience. I don't think I can really describe the place or the feeling of being there. Its like this with traveling in general. No one can understand the satisfaction of figuring something out or learning something new in a foreign place, unless they have done it themselves. It makes you feel unstoppable, like you've done something big. Most times, the journey is reward enough.

One of my favorite Landscape shots while in Kaiping

With all of the side trips and walking, I was pouring down sweat by time I reached the ticket booth. The tickets are actually kind of pricey(80 RMB), but I paid anyway and headed into the village. I immediately see where my 80 RMB went as I walked by some sculptures.

One time for the bruhs. Who ya wit?! Iccceeeeeee. I couldn't help myself

I took my time going through the village, walking along every path I could find. I discovered that this village still serves as a lived-in community for local people as well as an attraction to tourists. It was shocking but then funny for both parties, as I wandered around, running into surprised villagers, imagining what it would be like to have lived in these villages when they were completely isolated. 

It was hot outside, but nice to be out and away. Its nice being my own time, doing whatever I felt like, whenever I felt like it; just walking to satisfy my curiosity. 

Just a few of the beautiful scenes within Zili Village

As much as I enjoy exploring the landscape, I got just as much enjoyment going in the dwellings. Its very interesting to see how rural Chinese were living during that time.

Even more impressive, were the views from the roof tops of the Diaolou. I spent hours wandering from building to building. I can show you what that was like, much better than I can tell you.

By the time I made it back towards the exit, I was thirsty and hot. I bought a drink at the gift shop just get some AC and cool down. I ate a banana and then headed back down the road realizing 2 things: 1. The buildings I had walked to earlier were apart of a paid walking tour (oops) 2. I was not exactly sure how to take the bus to my next destination... 

Something to hold you over

So I have been fairly busy with work and planning my next adventures and then big move to Shanghai for the remainder of my Chinese Adventure.

I have been keeping up with some issues in the US and wrote a quick post about it. Please read and leave your feedback on the issue. I'm very interested in other's opinions on the matter!

So I've had some planning convos and was told that being "negative" will not help anything get done in creating better cities. While this is true, I see myself as more critical. It comes off as negative because its in opposition to the convention. To attain really good design, we should be honest and critical about our designs.

In China, my views have really changed from believing everything I have been taught as the right way, to questioning implementation and use of some of our most fundamental theories; how are we serving the end user? We must challenge our ideas to go further than what we previously have.

I feel that well thought out and creative projects are wonderful and very much needed, but they are completely useless if they do not help everyday people. The projects might be beautiful, but if you ask the average city dweller in the area what they fell about it, what would they say?

My views on Detroit fall in line with this thought. All jargon aside, what do the people want? What do the people have that they can capitalize on? Many projects have been proposed to serve a very specific demographic and have left others out of the conversation; I've seen this in other cities as well.

I was very happy to find a Huffington Post article, as it really inspires me as a planner and landscape architect. We not only have a duty to make new and exciting work, but it should always be useful to those living in the area. I believe the major factor will be what the local people can bring to the table. It helps when you ask them, but is even better when they are willing to do it for themselves.

I'm not saying that we should abandon all conventions; they are definitely here for a reason. I'm just saying we should constantly be asking, "Are we really doing what we claim to be doing with our projects?"

Find the Huffington Post article HERE