Hectic, hopscotch itinerary this visit. There would've been serious culture shock, but someone smart thought of making two Shoemarts and one perfect Rizal monument replica part of the first leg of the trip. Throw in some loud vendors in a Divisoria-like night market (above), and you'd swear the DFA was just a jeepney ride away.
All the cities we passed through were up-and-comers, showing signs of rapid transition from rural past to modern present. You always start from a remote airport, take a new expressway through some farmlands, get lulled by some modest buildings and housing en route, then, without so much as a highway off-ramp, you find your road has cut through the city center. and you're now completely surrounded on all sides by high-rises, condos and convention centers. Seriously, you feel like an entire large city had tiptoed behind your car, tapped on the window, then yelled "SURPRISE!".
And know this about Chinese cities...whether its on their buildings, their bridges or their road railings: they sure love their multicolored neon trimming.
(just a quick irrelevant aside: you know that "Friends" episode where Joey gets all excited because he finds his perfect hand double? Well, I was walking through some room in our Xiamen hotel when I saw this whiteboard (above) that had MY PERFECT HANDWRITING DOUBLE. As in, I literally tried to remember if I wrote the thing on the board myself, or if I sleep-wrote or something. Let me tell you, finding your perfect handwriting double is NOT exciting. It's disturbing. I'm still not over it)
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