From Ganzhou to Lütian to Zhuhai

My mighty steed out of Ganzhou

Last Wednesday I boarded a long-distance bus in Ganzhou, Jiangxi. After the bus left the station, the man who had just moved to the seat in front of me began watching a loud action movie on his mobile phone without using headphones. After considering the early morning time and world peace, I inquired as to whether he would be willing to turn down the volume. He was. And shortly afterwards he stopped watching the movie. During the long journey, he watched video on his phone a few more times but always at a low volume and not for extended periods of times.

About four hours into the journey the bus and its approximately 15 passengers stopped at the Lütian Service Area at the side of the toll highway.

I bought a chicken leg and some beef balls for 20 yuan (about U.S. $2.90) — pricey but such things can happen at a highway rest stop. Otherwise, as far as highway rest areas in China go, it was unremarkable. But the rest area at least offered a pretty good view.

I later learned that Lütian is a town in Conghua, a district in Guangzhou. Honestly, at the time I had no clue I was already in Guangzhou. I will forgive myself since this mountainous area is over 100 km (60 miles) from Guangzhou's central urban areas.

After a 7.5 hour journey, including the 20 minute rest stop, we arrived in Zhuhai — a city on the Guangdong coast I have posted about many times in the past. We could have arrived more quickly, but the bus also makes a stop in neighboring Zhongshan — another city featured in many past posts here.

Overall, the journey was comfortable, especially since we all had room to spread out on the bus. And it was more convenient than taking a train, which would have taken about the same amount of time, likely have been less comfortable during at least one leg of the trip, and have required transferring between far away train stations in either Shaoguan or Guangzhou. One motive for taking the train and transferring in Guangzhou, though, would be a lower price if 2nd class seats were purchased on both trains.

There's still much I want to share about Ganzhou. Some things I held off on because I first wanted to explore as much as I could there. So more about the city and life there is on the way. I wanted to share this travel experience, though, because it offers some clue for why this blog has been quiet for a few days and it helps explain why some non-Ganzhou-related posts may soon appear here as well.