For all their madness, Georgian drivers were predictable. Not the Chinese. And it was getting worse. Towns. Cities. Vehicles stopping abruptly. Bicycles, electric scooters, motorbikes weaving through the traffic. As often against the flow as with it. Pedestrians drifting into the road. And yet it is the very absence of order, the uncertainty, that prevents complete calamity. Engenders caution. Just enough.
Xiangfan was no different. Not just the traffic. For it was a warm day. Mid-twenties. Reminded me of Urumqi, the first city I’d encountered in western China. Construction and consumerism. Shopping plazas, office blocks, housing complexes. The usual international High Street brands. Familiar fast food outlets. At first a novelty. But no longer. Not for a long time.
