Zhaoqing would be my final stop before the Chinese government wanted me out of the country. While there are supposedly nicer areas further inland (I have this on good authority), the weather in all of Eastern China was looking to be gloomy and rainy right up until my visa ran out, so I figured I would pick the warmest place.

There were some decent sights, including a nearby mountain (Dinghu) for hiking where there is a super-high concentration of negative ions in the air (supposedly good for one's health). I wouldn't recommend much more than a weekend here, but that was all I had anyway, and 18C with drizzle was much nicer than 10C with drizzle, so my plan worked. Oh, and if you are interested in one of those places where you don't see any other foreigners out walking around, this is one such place (I didn't see any other tourists . . . but got lots of stares).

I also had the good fortune to meet up for dinner with Diana, also a UBC grad, who as it turns out knows a lot of people I know (Andrew got me her contact info). In fact, she is an antiflux person as well, which I found out right as we were saying goodbye. I was wondering when I would run into somebody like that, but wasn't expecting it to be in China. Anyway, she was much better at picking restaurants than I, and also introduced me to the massage place she likes. As it turns out, I am a poor candidate for massage, as I find any beneficial probing of nerves and tendons to be pretty painful. Maybe I just need more practice?