Men Sell Collectors Postage Stamps By Nanning Post Office. Hire Car For Journey From Nanning To Fusui.

Nanning Thursday 16th September, 1993

When Sheng wakes up, half an hour after me, he said I had been talking in my sleep! I have a pre-breakfast snack of sultana biscuits, and a cup of coffee, then later go down to the restaurant for a 'western' breakfast. Sheng is not hungry so he stays in the room. I am escorted from one restaurant to another one, by a Chinese waitress. Various 'dim sum' trolleys move from table to table.

From some trolleys, partly cooked noodles are finished and served from the trolley. Have a glass of liquidised melon from the drinks trolley, then waitress brings plate of slices of tinned ham before the two fried eggs on order for my breakfast. Waitress unsure about the positions of knife and fork. A man at a nearby table orders extra pastries to 'take away'.

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A maid came to our room to make the beds and remove debris. After she had left we stood on the balcony and saw hotel staff loading obsolete tables into a van. Sheng seeing a dead rat amongst the bushes in the garden below, calls to the waitress by the van to have the rat removed. She goes to investigate, sees the rat behind the bushes, screams her head off, and runs away! One of the men loading the tables, picks up the rat, puts it in a bag, and 'takes it away'. Before leaving the hotel I put my hat under the tap, before putting the now damp hat on my head, to go to the China Bank.

Walk on streets and overpasses to travel company, to book air tickets for Kunming. Street hawkers everywhere, also fortune tellers, and money changers. One woman with a bike was trying to sell about 6 bunches of grapes displayed on the carrier of her bike. Another woman, crouched on the pavement, was trying to sell the 20 pomegranites on display in front of her. There was much activity on the streets in the area, including a man with five performing monkeys. The monkeys balanced bricks on their head, then rolled over and played dead; they looked rather terrified. 'Medicine Men' had their ingredients on display, including tiger claws, deer antlers, monkey skull, and other unidentified objects.

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We decided to order our air tickets at the hotel, so took a pedicab to a local park. I sit on a white stone bench under the shade of trees while Sheng goes to buy some canned drinks; 'lemon tea' that tasted delicious. I go walkabout with camera while Sheng rests. There were many Hibiscus flowers in the park, looking very beautiful. Some people sleep under the shade of the trees. There was a pond with a waterfall, and two model cranes were eyeing invisible fish in the water.

A young boy up in a tree, plagues a resting girl below, by dropping leaves and twigs onto her. We continue our walk through the Nanning street, looking for a shop selling postcards. A 'dropout' Chinese man, wearing only loose fitting underpants, has a wee against a wall. He has long matted hair, his body and face are very dirty, and when he goes walking down the street he is completely ignored.

************************************************************************************ There were men sitting on the post office steps selling collectors postage stamps. Buy some postcards from a small stall on the street, and then take a pedicab back to the hotel. The driver starts peddling but forgets that his cab is chained to a second cab for security, so he has to remove the chain before we are able to move. When we get back to the hotel we order our air tickets for the flight to Kunming, which will be after we return from Fusui. Sheng leaves the hotel to get some Chinese cash; RMB; he returns later having bought a new red tee shirt and two pairs of socks from the local street market. At 8pm we go to a street restaurant for a meal, and at the end, the waitress complains that we had not eaten enough of the food ordered. In the late evening, men are still working on a new building with scaffolding of bamboo. We soon get back to the coolness of our hotel room.

************************************************************************************ Friday 17th September, 1993.

First job in the morning was to sort out our cases and bags, for our visit to Fusui. We pack our presents and cameras etc., in two camera bags, so that we can leave our suitcases at the hotel. Sheng has breakfast of noodles, taken from the fridge, just puts hot water into the carton. I go to reception for paste to stick stamps on the postcards, but must then go to the business center, to post the cards. Go to the restaurant for breakfast where the supervisor in charge was keeping a watchful eye on her staff. At 11 am we take our bags downstairs and pay the hotel bill of 1398yuan, about £175.

I sit in the lobby while Sheng goes to find a car for our journey to Fusui. I am called back to reception; I had forgotten to pick up my Mastercard. Whilst waiting for Sheng to return with a car, the Assistant Lobby Manager come to talk to me. He said he had been at the hotel for 12 months after leaving university; but there are few opportunities for him to move to another city. When Sheng arrives with a car, the manager helps to carry our bags. The driver forgets to close the lid of the car boot, until he is warned by Sheng. The fare to Fusui was 160 yuan - £20 for a journey of 66Kms.

************************************************************************************ We leave the city center and head for Fusui along straight roads mostly lined with trees. There were busy street stalls in the small villages we passed through. Men, waist deep in water, fished with nets in a pond on which many ducks were feeding. A woman tries to lead a stubborn water buffalo alongside a road. We passed miles and miles of fields growing sugarcane. Straw-hatted coolies were at work at the roadside. When we arrive at Fusui we first ask directions to the Sugar Factory, then to the block of flats. One man knew Bac, and took us to his home. The estate was still under construction, but we found the right block of flats. There was no lift, so we climbed up 68 steps to the top floor, to be greeted by Bac. Bac said he had been to the railway station twice, Sheng having told him we would arrive by train.

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All windows in the flat were metal barred and all the walls plastered , looking very smooth and shiny, almost like porcelain. All floors were concrete with a reddish brown sealing coat. Bac's block of flats was newly built, and builders were at work on an adjacent block. A loud speaker system in the streets starts playing loud music to waken employees of the sugar factory ready to go to work. The day was now very hot, so Bac brings an extra air fan to the room.

I have a rest on a 'soft' bed and after, we are taken by Nian, No 1 son, to a second house to supper. Bac is already there cooking in the kitchen, looking very hot. We had a very enjoyable supper including beef and mint in a sweet and sour sauce, plus three other dishes. We are joined at supper by Bac's Vietnamese uncle.

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After supper we walk back to the flat and pass some men washing themselves under the trees. Bac carries a large cylinder of gas on his shoulders, up the 68 steps. Sheng and Nian play games on the computer. Give presents to the family, including one wrist watch from Quang, that was very complicated to set up. Yuan, No 2 son, does his homework in the bedroom; his writing was very clear and tidy. Take turns to use the toilet and shower, in Chinese style bathroom. It starts raining outside with flashes of lightning turning the night into day. Bed at 11pm ends another eventful day.