Guilin

We arrived in Guilin early this morning and the place is fantastic.  Green hills surrounding a number of lakes in the centre of the city - very peaceful and relaxing.  You really do notice the differences between Hong Kong and Mainland China.  Spitting is a national pastime on the mainland it appears - in Hong Kong they fine you HK$5k for the privilege.  On a bus last week, we heard the repetitive clearing of a throat behind us (the iPod could only mask so much).  We both assumed that it was some uncouth chap - turned out to be a girl who looked to be in her early 20s!

There also seems to be more prolific use of the car horn on the mainland.  The interesting thing though is that it is usually not meant rudely or aggressively.  In fact, I haven't seen or heard any road rage at all.  The horn seems to be more of a polite "here I am, just so you know" rather than a "get out of my way".