Kanji aren't that bad; it just takes time to memorize them, and once you get over a certain threshold (probably around a thousand characters or so), you can generally understand most directions and signposts... anywhere in Japan, Taiwan, or China. Even though they all use different writing systems, a knowledge of any of the three is pretty valuable.
I'd never go as far as to say that I appreciate kanji/hanzi for its efficiency, because there isn't any, but there is a certain poetry to them that I do like.
> Kanji aren't that bad; it just takes time to memorize them
Yep, but I just didn't have the willpower/energy/interest.
I've heard from people who know kanji well, that when you read in kanji, you'll appreciate it how you can always quickly tell what something is roughly about, even before really reading it.
That's of course because the "pictures" convey meanings, and so on. I guess that can be called a certain kind of efficiency.
I'd never go as far as to say that I appreciate kanji/hanzi for its efficiency, because there isn't any, but there is a certain poetry to them that I do like.