Last year around this time I was traveling around China, and truthfully, it was a bit of a culture shock. These were a few things that made me go WTF......
1. Glasses With No Lenses- The first time I saw this was when I was in an elevator filled with Chinese teeny boppers, I looked up at the girl next to me and noticed her lense-less glasses. The elevator opened up only to find another group of teeny boppers with similar frames. This became an ongoing joke. So one day while we were out shopping in Shanghai, we found several stores selling lenseless glasses. We decided to buy a few (after bargaining of course) to "embrace" the culture.
2. Public Ear Cleaning- While traveling in Chengdu, China we were approached by men with rusty sticks with cotton like poofs at the end of them (that's what she said). "Clean, Ear" they yelled. I was familiar with the practice since I had seen it on an episode of No Reservations. I somehow talked my friend Rance into doing it, and the look on his face says it all! The unsanitary rods were placed into his ears, and with a metal instrument they would tap to cause a slight vibration ringing.
4. Chinese Hitch "Hiking"- While taking a hike in Emeishan I was surprised at the amount of men offering rides up and down the mountain. The Chinese definitely do not dress to hike. I saw many women wearing high heels, and fancy dresses as if they were ready to go to the clubs. Then I saw a man in a full suit and dress shoes taking a ride around the mountain as if he were royalty. Really people?
5. The Lack of Western Toilets- Savor that picture, because western toilets can be a rare site in China. In China, the most popular type of toilet are squat toilets. It is basically a hole in the ground. Some places (like in train stations) the "toilet" was a long flowing trough! So in other words you would know exactly what your bathroom neighbor was doing because it would swim by your stall! Some bathrooms didn't even have stalls or doors!
On overnight trains the squat toilet would "flush" right onto the tracks. There was never toilet paper, and rarely could I find soap by the sinks. At one place I stayed we had a blackout in the communal bathroom. I had enough practice that I was able to use the squats in the dark with a flashlight in my mouth, and toilet paper and hand sanitizer in the other. When I arrived in Hong Kong I almost wanted to kiss the first western toilet I saw! I will NEVER choose a squat over my beloved porcelain throne.
6. The Constant Gawking- My previous post about this subject says it all! The photo above was on an overnight train. We were surrounded by curious stalking locals like this!
7. Sichuan Opera- I cannot believe I paid to watch this. It was one of the most bizarre and random things I have ever seen. The Sichuan Opera was a collection of various acts, with the acts ranging from acting, very high pitched singing, music, face mask swapping, and even a shadow puppeteer.
8. The Chinese Version of Online Dating (minus the online part)- While walking through a park in Chengdu we noticed groups of people looking at pieces of paper attached along a line of bushes. We found out it was like online dating meets old school personals. Some of the "profiles" even had photos. My friend Emma may have found the man of her dreams.
9. Public Transportation- Don't let our smiles deceive you, inside we were terrified! I have never hated public transportation more than I did in China. The pushing and shoving was insane. I always had a fear of not being able to get on or off, and being left behind.
In Beijing my friend and I were almost separated while taking the subway. We were attempting to get off the train when a barrage of impatient people sucked us back in. We started yelling, and eventually someone that was outside successfully plucked us out.
The subways were always overcrowded, and often times we held onto each other since we had little to no space to hold onto anything.
Taxis in some areas were also very unreliable. In Xi'an, a taxi driver tried to charge us an extra bogus fee that was not even on the receipt. We didn't want to pay him the extra amount, in retaliation he refused to open the trunk until we gave him more money. Because of this incident I ALWAYS have my luggage with me in the back seat. This proved to be a life saver when I had a massive fight with a taxi driver in Hong Kong that ended with me being dropped off at a random hotel and throwing my bag out of the back seat. The situation could have ended worst had I placed my bag in the trunk.
10. Chinese Justin Bieber- And I was like Baby, Baby, Baby....Ohh. Last but certainly not least, my last WTF was China's version of Justin Bieber. This
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I leave for my trip to the Middle East and Europe tomorrow morning. I didn't want to completely abandon my blog while away so I have written a weekly post scheduled to be published every Monday. If I don't respond to your emails and comments it just means that I have limited internet access, or I am having waaaay too much fun. I hope it's the latter. I will be updating my
