China Day 6 - Guangxi Museum and the Train

We went to the Guangxi Museum yesterday. It's a new building and pretty awesome. China has a lot of different minority groups (I think it's around 55) and this museum pays tribute to the groups within the province of Guangxi. There is no way of knowing which group Talitha belongs to, as nothing is known of her parents. Our guide talked us through the museum and we learned a lot of interesting things about this amazingly diverse group of people.

The security was pretty tight. Had to put our stuff through a xray machine and walk through a metal detector. I also had to give Tali her bottle so they knew I wasn't bringing poison in. Apparently, people are trying to kill others here.

This path between the escalators is made entirely of roses. Our guide told us this region is famous for flower arrangements like this.

Straw dragon

One of the groups is well known for their drumming

Mongolian warrior costumes

A replica of cave paintings found on the side of a steep cliff. They don't know how they got there and why they are so different from other cave paintings in the area.

Most Westerners to China will tell stories of how they are instant celebrities. We realized about halfway through our museum tour that people were following us and taking our picture, especially Jack's. Blond-haired people are considered good luck in Chinese society. Jack was very startled to realize they were taking pictures of him and stoically hid behind Matt. He really didn't appreciate the attention. He posed for a few pictures but not many. A bunch of teen girls wanted to take Jack's picture and told our guide that Jack was really cute. A few girls even came up to touch his hair while he wasn't looking and Jack would brush his hair as if it were a fly. If Kate were here, she would happily pose for pictures. She often tells us how cute her clothing is on particular days and would be justified in knowing people want to capture her cuteness. I thought of my best friend and her three kids, all of whom have white-blond hair. They would be mobbed here. People wanted to take pictures with me and Matt too and our guide told us that many are rural students who have never seen a white person before.

People were walking past us and after noticing our Caucasian-ness they would shout "Hello!" It began to sound like the seagulls in Finding Nemo. "Hi, Hi, Hi!" Matt started varying his response. Sometimes "Howdy," sometimes "What's up, bro?" and even once a very cultured "Bonsoir."

It was a strange but fun experience to be famous. At one point, our guide went to ask a question and in the 5 minutes we were left alone, a mob had formed around us with cameras. 

"People, please. I'm just an ordinary person. No need to push and shove. Someone bring me a goblet of Evian with ice from Bali. Cubed, not crushed, or heads are going to roll."

This was part of the group left after our guide told them to leave

Matt's big ol white head is high above it all. Jack is hiding behind Matt in this picture. We felt out of place being the only people not throwing up peace signs.

After that we went to the old museum. It's a very scenic area with ponds and gardens. 

Jack and Talitha in the van. There are no seatbelts and we let them watch the crazy traffic

Next we went to the Nanning train station. We were told by our guide to wear our backbacks in front of us so that people can't use knives to cut the bottom. He also warned us several times to keep a close eye on Jack. Well that's comforting. 

These are people at the Nanning train station waiting for the same train we are

The sign says "No smoking, Do not throw rubbish, No Spitting." People would walk by that sign with cigarettes having from their mouths, throwing trash and working up a lugee.

Our guide graciously led us right to our sleeping car. It was a mad crush of humanity to get on the train, as everyone has only 20 minutes to get on or the train leaves. It was quite an experience with our luggage and bookbags and stroller and baby and kid.

The rest of the pictures are of the train. We bought four tickets for a sleeping cabin to ourselves. It's just four narrow bunks with a little table under the window. We watched a show on our laptop and ate chips. The Lays in China come in all sorts of flavors. We got cucumber, wasabi shrimp, mexican chicken, and barbequed pork (pictured). The flavors are good but the texture of a chip is a little unsettling when you are eating something that tastes like ribs but feels like a chip.

We jerry-rigged a bunk with pillows and suitcase barriers to make a little bed for Talitha. She rolls around a lot. She had a bottle (the trains have hot water for tea and noodles) and went to bed and didn't wake up all night. The rocking was probably soothing, plus she's an amazing sleeper. I can't say the same for the rest of us although it was definitely a cool experience that I'm happy we did.

This zipper fascinated her for a good 20 minutes

The picture below is of the bathroom in the train. It's the infamous "squatty potty" and everyone who has been to China is nodding their head right now. You basically just squat down over the hole and do your business. You have to bring your own toilet paper (and hand sanitizer - Jack is the only one who thought to bring it, although that's not surprising). It's a very bizarre experience and it took me quite sometime to figure out how not to pee on my shorts (solution: either take them off completely or take off one leg and twist it around and tuck it into the other side, making a sort of shorts/underwear leg holster. Like a toilet cowboy). A few thoughts occur to me while trying to pee into the hole: 

'Holy cow! I could lose a whole Croc down there. (grips toes on flip flops tightly)

'This would be awful for people with bad knees. Either they would just have to pee on their own legs or they would have to make sure they are men.'

'I think I see a light at the end of this curved little tunnel. Holy cow, this is going outside! Then I imagine all the waste being chucked out of the train at various speeds. Poor people living by the train getting splattered with pee, an unfortunate dog with a wad of toilet paper on its head...I'll bet the real estate is pretty cheap by the train.'

'I actually have really good aim. Must remember this when I felt bad about myself. Yes, my mothering was crap today but I can hit a hole in the ground with urine from 2 feet away.'

They have these little pull down seats in the hall for during the day. A couple kids and adults found Jack and shyly smiled at him. A 2 year old was so startled by Jack he wouldn't go near him, which Jack found hilarious. A man touched Jack's cheek and stated "So white." Yup.

We found our new guide for Guangzhou and he dropped us off at the hotel. Our room is amazing again and we have breakfast up at the Executive Lounge. We are getting used to nice things and will probably become unbearable and snotty. 

We are resting now and will go sightseeing tomorrow. I'm stretching out in our nice bed and trying to forget that cramped little bunk and all its probable microscopic inhabitants.