Day 25: Rongjiang

The roads from Kaili to Rongjiang were the windiest we had seen in our trip. Before the bus departed the station, the driver started handing out plastic bags. The lady sitting in front of us asked for three bags for her daughter – not a good sign. On top of the windy roads, they were showing this cheesy variety Chinese show for the entire five hours. It was a real torture, especially when Katy and I understood the language.

At the 4-hour mark, the stink of smoke, sweat and vomit reached its peak. We felt nauseous and almost went for the plastic bag ourselves. By some miracle, we survived the final hour and arrived in Rongjiang. It was a close call.

The hotel (Qingfeng) recommended by Rough Guide was a dump. There was a bucket in the hallway to catch the leaking water. The toilet inside our room was leaking water as well. But we were just too tired and dizzy to look for another hotel.












Soon after checking in, we strolled around the main street, looking for a place to eat. Most restaurants were empty. While walking back to our hotel, we saw this restaurant under the bridge doing swell business. So we decided to check it out. We had to climb over a fence and walked through a farm to get there. After chatting with the owner, we were told that the house specialty was cow's penis (another local specialty in addition to dog meat). That was the last straw that broke our tired backs...

restaurant underneath the bridge








another loyal patron climbing over the fence for some cow's penis








Rongjiang is a developing city in a developing country, another concrete-and-tile city. Our hotel is located right in the smack of where the action is – a major intersection just off the bus station. At 6am, horns from trucks, buses and motorcycles were already busy waking everyone up. At 7am, there was a funeral procession with a full band. It was a circus.

bus station at Rongjiang ... doesn't it feel like people just want to escape from this city?








street outside bus station








Katy finally letting out her frustration