Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,
 
How do plans change without conscious thought?
I find myself asking this question quite often when I travel.
 
The day began with me planning to go to the Sculpture Park and then across to Luhu Park. Both are huge green spaces on my map and as it was a beautiful blue and warm day they obviously would have been a treat. I headed up the road to my favourite little Muslim Eatery for Hui Mien which is a noodle soup with strangely shaped long noodles.
 
They are thin and wide but not straight.
Kind of like if you were drunk trying to slice them.  
 
I got to talking to Malaysian guy who has been living in Guangzhou for a few months. He was a very interesting guy to spend time with. He was one of those people who seems to be so switched on to opportunities around them and are ready to grab hold of any or many for both interest and for a wealthier future. He is here to make money and does it in a way where he finds what people want in different countries and even here in China and goes about finding a way to supply it.
 
Very much like people do in all countries in the world yes.
But it's one that never enters my mind.
 
I guess what made him different to me was he actually seems to have done or is in the process of doing what he says he wants to do. Most begin and when they don't make a quick million they then change to another plan and continue doing so. He tends to find himself searching for the latter type of people and finding their lazy/weak spots and then going about supplying what the others can't be bothered doing as it is too hard or a too long process.
 
He now has companies changing software etc to suite the needs of these people.
He also has his many of is own 'stuffs' happening.
Me, I can't be bothered with any of it!
 
Did you know there is a 100% tax charge on sending mobile phones out of China?
Did you know there is only a 1% change for computers?
Fill a computer box full mobile phones and wallah!
But get caught and go bye bye!
 
A few hours later we both left the Muslim Eatery and after swapping numbers I headed to the Sanyuanli Subway station and grabbed a ticket that would take me all the way east across the city and then way south of the city to a subway station called Chigangta (or Chigang Pagoda). Somewhere during my conversation with Mr Malaysia I must have remembered that Ta meant Pagoda (Si means Temple) and as I entered the subway I remembered seeing a Chigangta on the map.
 
It took me ages to find it but once I did my plans changed without further thought.
 
It took two changes to get there, one at Gongyuanqian where I find myself at least once a day changing from Line 1 to Line 2. I then headed across to Tiyuxi Station to change Line 3 from there it was south and down under the Pearl River to my stop. All up it took about twenty minutes. I love the Guangzhou subway so much. It can take you almost anywhere and it is hard for me to describe how far it actually goes.
 
Coming from Melbourne Australia I can boast about having the world's smallest subway.
 
The Chigang Pagoda is located just across from the eastern end of Ersha Island and as there is a subway named after it I was expecting much more than what I found. The pagoda has been left to defend itself against the natural forces which also include trees, weeds and a million empty pumpkin seeds. But after walking around the area I got to thinking that as it is located in what is now a district that is having an uncountable amount of money thrown at it I wouldn't be too surprised if it not only receives a fresh face but probably an entirely new temple surrounding it. As you can see in the photos the new Guangzhou Observation Tower is being built just down the road and just up the road can be found the beautiful Regal Riveria Hotel and the new Riveria Apartment Complex. The TV & Sightseeing Tower is supposed to be completed at the end of this year and be ready for the 2010 Asian Games.
 
So the Chigang Pagoda's future looks just as bright as all of China's cultural relics.
Even those are being held together by duct tape will have a bright future after being given a new body.
 
I have spent quite some time trying to find information on the Chigang Pagoda but strangely I can only find information on the subway station itself.
 
Chigang Pagoda Station is a station of Line 3 of the Guangzhou Metro. It started operation on the 28th December 2005. It is located at the underground south of Binhai DongLu in the Haizhu District. The Chigang Pagoda, one of the most historical architectures in Guangzhou. The station was the first station built for sightseeing purpose in Guangzhou, and will have a tour subway connecting to Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower.
 
After an hour or so walking around the area I decided to see how far my current leg of the subway actually went so I headed back underground and grabbed a ticket to Panyu Square or better known (by me anyhow) 'The end of the line and a square where you'll find nothing there'. When I arrived at Panyu I was expecting to find something more than a big concrete square where a few Bonsai Trees could be found, so after a lap of the square I grabbed a ticket back to the Ximenkou station where I knew of a Mc Donalds that always has a few seats free where I could type up my day..
 
Here is where I transfer my photos and begin some of this jibber.
I get many strange but happy looks but hey, it is much warmer here then sitting in my hotel room.
 
I am also much more comfortable than poor Luo Wei who is now on the way home to Kaifeng city to spend Spring Festival with her mother and some relations. As she was too busy to go to the station herself she asked one of her students to grab her a ticket when she got hers. Unfortunately for Luo Wei the student got her a ticket on a train beginning with L which is the same as the one we grabbed from Hohhot City in Inner Mongolia to Yinchuan city in Ningxia last summer and we had both caught many times separately prior to.
 
The journey is a little different than what you would get on either the Khan or the Orient Express.
Known as a 'farmers train' because nothing is refilled or cleaned until the end of the line.
No one at all seems to get off but more and more continue to get on.
Try that for eight to ten hours without a seat.
You end up in someone else's shoes
 
Beers N Noodles toya.....shane
 
______________________________________________________
 
The soundtrack to this entry was by Urge Overkill
The album was the best Saturday morning album ever, 'Saturation'
_______________________________________________________