Traveling in China. [View All]

So, as some of you may know I'm traveling in China at the moment. I lived here for about 3 1/2 years when I was a toddler and I speak enough of the language to get around. Anyway just wanted to "blog" about some experiences. Might add to these if there is any interest.

Also please ask questions!

-Driving in china is nucking futs!!! 1/2 the cars straddle two lanes because you can never predict when the car in front or behind is going to cut in line and you will need to move. Cars share the road with thousands of electric scooters, small motorbikes and bicycles. These other vehicles don't follow any rules either and cars have to continuously negotiate their way around them at all times. Having said this drivers are far better at navigating said obstacles than most anywhere else. I've yet to feel in much danger being in a taxi despite all the chaos. Also drivers rarely lose their temper at any of this, they just navigate around it all.

-Food is for the most part cheap and good! Street vendors abound and can be found in any sized city. Often there will be many areas where block upon block is nothing but hawker's stalls. Aside from staying away from some of the obvious stuff (seafood sitting in hot glass cases) these vendors are safe to eat at and serve some awesome food for cheap. Even restaurants are cheap though. Example we had a meal today consisting of 3 dishes (vermicelli, jiaozi, stir fried rice) and two large beer (=4 reg beer) for about 10 bucks CDN (9 US).

-The price of other consumables depends very much on where you shop and whether you want a knockoff or the real deal. In large cities like Shanghai and Beijing you can spend more on hand bags and clothes than you would in Paris, and yes these would be the real thing. Go into the smaller local stores though and you can pick up clothing and other accessories for far far less. Good looking t-shirts for something like 3 or 4 bucks US. And you can get cheaper. Try to avoid buying anything at any of the big tourist traps, real rip off most of the time.

-In the big cities the Chinese like to spend on clothes and by and large there is more variation amongst the fashions than in the west.

-Seems on the net people either complain that there are no sexy women or there are tons. The truth lies in between but lies closer to the later. (1) you obviously have to be into Asian women! (2) almost ALL the women here like to dress sexy, high heel shoes and short skirts regardless of whether they really are sexy or not. This means that in the big cities there are "head turners" every 10 seconds. But of course it also means there are more average women wearing the same skirts and heels.

-This is MUCH more of a no holds bared capitalist country than the US or most anywhere else. That means buyer beware!! So long as you have your wits about you, you should be OK. There is a HUGE influx of poor rural people coming in from the country side looking to make a living. Most of these get factory jobs, work at restaurants, drive taxis etc etc... The vast majority are honest and hard working. However where there are tourists there is money and where there is money there are scammers. Always go with your gut feeling and take much of what you are being told with a grain of salt. Taxi drivers for example are well known for telling gullible people "Oh sorry that hotel is closed due to renovations etc etc then take you to some other establishment for which they get a fat commission". Or take you round 10 blocks to get you to somewhere 2 blocks away. Having said all this so long as your wits are about you and can brush off the rude encounters most of the people you meet are really very friendly and helpful.

-Don't come to China expecting western standards or those of Tokyo. China is a different country and though very modern in places like Beijing and Shanghai rural standards still apply all over the place, GET USED TO IT! Squat toilets, spitting on sidewalks, small children releaving themselves in the street, NOISE noise noise, staring at people etc etc... abound all over the place.

-The country side is really quite beautiful. Get outside any major city things start looking like rural country side very quickly. Small towns and farms are everywhere. The Karst geography can be stunning!

-The transportation network is very well developed and getting from point A to B be it 10 miles or 1000 miles is not difficult on average.