3/9/25
Jonathan woke up in the middle of the night dripping with sweat. His fever breaking, and body releasing the virus killing heat. The nights were cold. The wind blew strongly. At one point neither of us could sleep.
The weekend, and a closed border, was fast approaching but Jonathan felt like he had to take one more day of rest. One more day of monging around, eating chips and watching television. Our time in China nearly over, we couldn’t wait to leave. We’d grown weary and jaded of the customs, culture and food. That said, we felt it had been a surprising hidden gem in our journey. A country we knew we had to pass through, but not one we were expecting to enthral us the way it had.
British citizens can’t visit China without a visa. Which has to be obtained in the UK. Knowing we would pass through China, we obtained it in September 2024. The only caveat is that one has to travel within 3 months of it being issued. We didn’t know that the first time we went to London, so we wasted a trip. And we had to lie. We planned an entire trip. Six weeks of destinations, hotel bookings and even booked flights for an imaginary trip in December 2024. All refundable or with free cancellation. It worked perfectly and we were given a 2 year visa. Multiple entry with 90 days per visit. Leaving into Hong Kong renewed our time. We didn’t mention all this earlier because, well China.
Cycling in China was a fantastic reprieve from the busy, polluted roads of Vietnam.
Scooters were all electric. As were the cars. Streets were clean. Pavements were for people. No more or less dangerous, but certainly more enjoyable to cycle. Beeping was slightly less vociferous, but still a common pastime.
Yunnan and Sichuan were ridiculously beautiful places. Hilly, but spectacular. Green and luscious countryside. People were less excitable in China, more reserved than Vietnam. But no less welcoming and friendly.
We appreciated the abundance of public toilets. Having lost all ours at home in the UK, it was refreshing to have ample conveniences never more than a few hundred metres away.
Food had been very exciting and enjoyable when we arrived. From the numerous varieties of tofu to the presence of vegan buffets, we felt fulfilled by the food. We couldn’t quite get over drowning the noodles in water, but it was almost easy to avoid eating animal products. Only their odd attitude that small amounts ‘weren’t meat’ confounded us. That, and their obsession with boiled eggs.
Speaking the language was borderline unviable for us. Our greatest efforts never went unappreciated but we wished we could have conversed more fluidly, more often. Only in the latter half our time did we realise the importance of the word ‘Meiyou’, which apparently meant almost anything. We heard it in every conversation, sometimes it was the only word they used. Children cried it out. An inside joke for ourselves.
Smoking was horribly common in China. From the moment we’d entered Jonathan had been offered cigarettes at every opportunity. Not Frankie though. They were even used as wedding favours. Hotels had pointless signs prohibiting smoking. Every room stank. Having become very used to it not being allowed we found it detestable.
China was going through a coffee shop boom with absurd prices. Every coffee was less than a £1. Luckin was the challenger to Starbucks and opened its first store in the US in 2025. After a financial scandal two of its executives were removed. They promptly started another chain called Cotti Coffee. This prompted the moronic price war that was completely unsustainable and benefited us but at the cost of everything else. How anyone could pay for a member of staff, shopfront, machines, packaging, not to mention the coffee and still make a profit was obviously infeasible.
Most places in China were an unusual mix of extremely new and very old. Electric hyper cars would zoom past dilapidated buildings in the middle of cities. Outdated markets were found alongside brand new supermarkets. The pace of change was obvious and didn’t seem to be abating. This all made for entertaining juxtapositions.
Simply put, China was an incredible place. Witnessing a fragment of the rise of the next superpower was fascinating for us.