Adventures in Guangzhou!

After that, we walked over to the Islamic Arts Museum and checked out a really cool temporary exhibit about spices. So cool! Kelly and I both being suckers for cooking, we examined each display with the care of a curator. It was great. After that we made our way upstairs and took a look at the various permanent exhibits. There were some amazing displays on textiles, weaponry, and calligraphy, but the coolest thing was the architecture section in which they had scaled reproductions of some of the most famous and disparate mosques around the world, from China all the way to Morroco. It was fascinating!

The museum was beautiful and truly top of the line, but unfortunately I walked away with a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth for two reasons. One, they had a small display with a timeline about the plight of the Palestinian people that was, in my opinion, completely unnecessary. Not only was it out of place in an art museum, but it also managed to leave out quite a few facts. I am all for a Palestinian state and believe that the only way there will ever be peace is if Palestinian independence is achieved. However, the facts were skewed and it was the wrong place for something like that.

Second, in the gift shop, there were quite a few books detailing traditional Muslim beliefs and practices. Now, I suppose you can find similar books in any right-wing religious fundamentalist book store, but these books said word for word how women should be beaten if they refuse to "beautify" themselves for their busbands, how they should not leave the house unless accompanied by their husbands, how they should be praying five times a day at home (not at a mosque), and how once they are married they should avoid contact with adult males who are not their husband. Wow. I can't believe that mainstream Islam would profess such beliefs, but there it was, written out in several books on sale for the general public. It's hard to understand something so different, which certainly must account for a lot of the problems we're dealing with these days on a global scale.

After the museum we walked down the street to the national mosque, a gigantic complex complete with a huge prayer hall (capacity of +3000), a massive library, big lecture rooms, and much more. Once again Kelly was forced to don the robe and hair wrap while I undid my shoes and zipped on pants to my shorts. I wanted to wander and explore but Kelly was burning up due to the heat so we only made a quick tour of the place. Poor girl.

After a lazy evening and early night, we got up once again to cross the border. Hopping on a bus and retracing our route to Singapore, I dozed off while reading "The Inheritance of Loss," by Kiran Desai. Don't let my sleep fool you--it's a great read. Anyhow, we got back to Singapore and pretty much made our way to the airport. Though traveling from bus to subway to bus to airport is never fun, Singapore makes it about as painless as possible. Even the budget terminal at the airport has good food, free internet, a decent bookstore, and run of the mill duty free stuff.

We were sitting on the benches waiting for our flight (non-stop to Guangzhou) when they announced the gate number. Suddenly, without warning, there was a massive influx of people all running, shoving, and elbowing their way towards the door. I had somehow forgotten that this was par for the course in China, and it really caught me off guard. I had an extremely bitter reaction to it and was not pleased. What was the rush? Why did that guy feel the need to blatantly cut me in line? It was as if the time in Laos just strolling around without care or worry erased my memory of the Chinese way.

I had to swallow my anger and annoyance and remember what I've dealt with over the past year and a half. Maybe I was just tired. Either way, the flight itself did not help. I was surrounded by people that either had never been on a plane before or simply had no concept of basic plane etiquette. Behind me there was an older woman (mid sixties) who felt the need to kick my chair incessantly. The first few times I gave her a look. The next few times I asked her in Chinese to stop. After that I got up, leaned over and said in English, "STOP." Not my finest moment, but I really wasn't in the mood.

On my left was another older guy who felt it was his right to reach over into my seat compartment with the in flight magazine and grab my passport and inspect my customs documents. I didn't even say anything to him because I was just too befuddled by the whole thing. Who does that? Anyhow, the vitriolic feelings eventually subsided and by the time we landed I was throwing elbows with the best of them. I even hip checked some guy trying to pass me as we were leaving the airplane and boxed out a few people by baggage claim in order to give Kelly room to grab her stuff. Just like riding a bike!

All in all, it was one of the most incredible trips I've ever taken in my life, and opened up my eyes to a whole new side of Asia that I'm dying to explore even more of. It also paints China in a whole new light, both good and bad. I was dying for a good hunan meal, but less excited about the crowds. It's a give and take. Anyhow, for those who didn't catch it before, the following is a link to my pictures from the trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/awolfe03/sets/72157594555283382/