China tips :o)
Interesting Observations & Tips to help you fit-in ~ Enjoy! 🙂
(Dalian based with a few encounters in other cities)
1. Screw the queues! There are queue lines for a lot of things – subway/bus/train station, super market, some restaurants, shopping malls, banks, etc…. and for the most part, no one follows it! I had a few experiences at the train/bus station of people constantly cutting right in front of me. Eventually, I learned to push and shove my way (not all the time) through chaotic lines. Tip: When in line don’t leave too much space between you and the person in front, because someone is likely to cut in front of you. OR you can screw the lines all together and go straight to the head of the queue lol
2. Pedestrian walkways. I don’t understand why they have these because 1) no one uses them and 2) if you do use it, cars still have the right of way, so you still have to watch out. I’ve had two close calls with a taxi and one actually came close to nipping my backpack in Xi’an. In Asia, no one stops for pedestrians. (I can’t stress this enough). Tip: Jaywalk across a disorderly street filled with unyielding taxis and motorists’ lol – just remember to look both ways
3. Vehicles(cars, taxis, motorcycles) can just about stop anywhere they want and park anywhere they can fit their butts in. Sidewalks are their favorite spots. People on foot must go around the cars by stepping off the sidewalk and onto the road. Then again, potholes and uneven pavement is all too common here; so we’re probably better off walking on the road anyway. The other day, I watched a taxi stop in the middle of the intersection (literally) to pick up some people with luggage. He popped his trunk open and started to load them in one by one. And again all this is happening in the middle of the street during rush hour. The traffic he was causing and the honking from others didn’t seem to bother him at all. Note: Car honking is prevalent, some for good reason and some for no apparent reason. You’ll be crossing the street and getting honks from cars coming at you from 40 ft away. Honks don’t faze me anymore. I don’t even bother turning around.
4. Get in on em’ bootleg DVDs. Watching illegal copies in China is practically normal. You can find them anywhere and at 6RMB ($1) a pop; so who wouldn’t? Tip: Save your dealer’s# because they tend to move shops frequently to avoid being caught. If you’re lucky you might even get caught up in an undercover police raid – that’ll be fun! (well, not really)
5. Eat street char (kebabs) and drop your skewer sticks on the ground! For those who know me I don’t litter. Having said that, I had a really hard time doing this one. Four months in China and my grand total of skewer dropping is at a whopping “5”!! (And I only did it because my Chinese friend I was eating with swayed me to). Still a bit weird for me; so I prefer to keep my sticks on the table or toss em’ in the bin. Anything non-recyclable; skewers, napkins, cig butts are thrown directly on the ground all day, all night. At the end of the night, cleaners come out to sweep the streets and scoop up all the garbage. And this cycle is repeated the every single day. Tip: I guess…do what the locals do and drop em’ skewers! OR Not. You can just opt for the nearby trash bin 🙂
I’m sure as my time here rolls on, I’ll have more to jot down…
Father’s Day shout out to my Dad!! Can’t wait to see you in October! Love you.
Wǒ Ai Nǐ !!
Tags: China
sdizon
Hi luv!!!
yummy moon cakes! my fav are the salty duck eggs contrasted to the sweet paste 😀 yummy yum yum 😀 😀 😀
the traffic rules and regulations differ by the city. e.g. Shanghai traffic is much stricter. The more foreigners and more modern a city gets the more rules are followed 😛
how long are you staying in China this round? Just wondering if you’ll be around this Dec.
Ni hao Ching!! Yes, I hear the salted egg ones are the ones to get! Mooncake Festival in Aug!! Woo hoo!! I’ll be here for at least a year and who knows after that. So yes, I’ll be here during the holidays. Looking forward to my first Chinese Xmas and New Year! 🙂 Miss you!
All so true, well said!
Cheers,
Greg