Is China for you?

China is many different lands, from destitute rural areas to cosmopolitan cities, from culturally rich minorities to an oppressive Han dominance, from strict one-party rule to rampant capitalism, from the broken bodies of old people to the enthusiasm of the old.

Travel in China is easier today than previously, and will be easier still in the future. However, it is not easy. It is certainly not as easy as Thailand (especially the south) or Japan. If you are considering coming, here's some thoughts to keep in mind.

The rural and natural areas of Yunnan and Sichuan are absolutely gorgeous, and the people are wonderful. If you want beautiful nature hikes, you will not do any better. Most people who travel to China will enjoy it.

However, nothing runs on time, nothing works completely, and little English is spoken. You will have many times that you simply do not really know for sure what is going on, and will simply have to accept that. Everything takes much longer than it seems it will or should. You will ride buses that take twice as long to get to the destination as promised, and eat meals that are not what you thought you ordered. It can be quite disconcerting, especially if you are a person who likes to be in control or to have things well organized and predictable. Travel in China is neither.

Likewise, you will see poverty at the absolute worst level, and "Mao's women", old farm ladies who are completely hunched over and broken from years of toil in the fields. You will go without a clean toilet for weeks, and many facilities are just outhouses with a hole over a pit. You will put up with pushing and shoving, spitting and coughing.

But that is all eclipsed by a fascinating story that is being played out right now. Much like the heydays of the gay 90s, the roaring 20s, or the 60s, the boom-time optimism of China in today is very heady. Everything is possible, and everyone is out to better their lot. People have prospered far beyond their wildest dreams. People are working very hard, with tremendous value put on education, including learning English. Parents are sending kids to universities abroad. The positive excitement is intoxicating. China has grown quietly for twenty years, and now wants desperately to prove that it is a grown-up member of the world community. The symbolic importance of new membership in WTO, and the 2008 Olympics has buoyed the Chinese spirit, and they really feel that they are on the verge of being recognized by the world.

What does that mean for you? It depends on your temperament, budget and schedule.

First, China is very big and transportation is slow. You will choose either to fly between regions, to spend several months in China, or to just visit a couple of regions. There is no economical way to see the vast area of China quickly.

Next, logistics are difficult. If you have the time and temperament, you can travel independently. We'd venture to guess that most of our friends would not do well. It can be very frustrating. If you travel independently, you can travel economically ($40/day per couple in the East and $15/day per couple in the rural areas). You will interact most closely with the locals. You will also work the hardest to figure out where to go, how to get there, where to stay, and where to eat. At the budget prices I mention, you will also share bathrooms, deal without heat or power on occasion, and ignore the mold and pealing paint. Roughly double the cost to stay in nicer places, but still on your own.

The alternative is to travel as part of a tour, which is much more expensive and shorter in duration. But the tour guide will have local knowledge already so that you see the best sights, get there at the right time, have a guide, and have transportation and meals. For that you will pay dearly --maybe ten times what we are traveling on. Or, put another way, our two month trip would have had to be shortened to under a week, which means we would have seen very little.

So, for travel in China you need either a temperament and the time for independent travel, or the budget for a tour. Perhaps you can start with a few lessons in patience, and accepting life as it is, and independent travel will be an experience that will help you grow as an individual. It has helped us.