26 September 2018
I thought it was time for a quick summary of my observations so far of travel in China along with some of my recent experiences.
Hotel Beds
If you travel to China be prepared for hard beds. The beds here are consistently hard but I have to say I sleep very well and wake very refreshed. I might need to go to a firm bed when I get home. The Chinese tourists complain when they travel to the West that the beds are too soft. So before you come to China practice by sleeping on your floor to get yourself prepared.
Electricals
In the past it’s been plumbing and shower systems that were a challenge to understand. In China it’s the hotel light switches that require some time to understand. In one hotel the sensor lights came on every time I rolled over. This required me to manually turn off the lights which off course caused me to move and hence the sensor lights were back on. I seemed to be caught in a never ending loop.
Tourism In China
Imagine a David Attenborough documentary about the migrating wildebeest moving across the Serrengeti Plain. This is tourism in China. Amongst the masses of wildebeest are small herds of zebra and antelope. We are those small herds amongst the masses of wildebeest. On the side of the great herd are the predators. These are the hawkers selling small trinkets. They spot vulnerable prey like someone on their own and dart into the herd to surround their prey with offers to sell their tickets. Their prey either succumbs and agrees to buy or with determination and commitment shakes off the hawkers. And so the herds relentlessly move on.
Development
Its crazy the pace of delopment in this country. Cities that 30 years ago had no cars and a population of 100,000 are now 4 million strong with cars everywhere along with excellent highways and railways, and forests of apartment buildings.
Along with the new China seems to be making great effort to preserve the past and some of the old towns including ancient trading cities dating back to the Tang Dynasty. This is in spite of the destruction caused by the Cutural Revolution between 1966 and 1976.
Ethnic Minorities and History
As we travel west we see more of the ethnic minorities and less of the Han people. These ethnic groups have histories all of their own and often can be traced back to Kublia Khan and the Mongol invasions of China.
These ethnic groups have their own customs and unique local foods. Their costumes provide information on the marital status of the wearer avoiding any need for social media or internet dating apps. In many instances the head dress worn by the women indicate whether they are single, have a boyfriend or are married. Contact with parts of these head dresses by a male would indicate your intentions and would be interpreted as a commitment to the young lady.
Very little English is spoken out here and so a greeting in the local dialect or in mandarin will go a long way. It is amazing what a translator app on a smart phone can achieve. The people are so friendly, always with a smile and often a request to be photographed with them.
A Traveller's Tale 