Final impressions of China - Apr 5, 2009

Before we head off to Tibet, some final impressions of China: 1) We now know why the Chinese people do Tai Chi first thing in the morning. It's to work out the kinks and loosen the muscles after sleeping on beds that feel as soft as slabs of rock. 2) The lines painted on the roads are only mere suggestions of where one might be encouraged to drive a vehicle. But by no means does anyone actually stay within them. Cars, bicycles, and scooters drive anywhere they want, including into oncoming traffic and crowds of pedestrians - and the strangest thing is that nobody seems to mind. As a pedestrian, we've learned that the worst thing you can do is to hesitate; you have to just step and go, and trust that everyone will go around you. If you hesitate they don't know what you're doing, and the cars and bikes around you will get all screwed up. 3) Also on driving - the horn of a vehicle is as important to a driver as brakes or the steering wheel. Drivers honk to say, "I'm here" or "I'm coming" because they'll see an inch of space and head for it. Nobody turns to look - not even pedestrians - like we do in Canada, they just keep walking or driving. But they know where all the neighbouring vehicles and bikes are by sound. 4) While in Chengdu John got a hair cut. I tried to convince him to get a trim from one of the Chinese barbers who drag a chair and a pair of scissors out into the street during the early morning, but he wouldn't go for it. Instead he opted for one of the hundreds of salons that we walked by (there were probably 2 salons per block). I almost considered getting a trim myself after watching him get a 10 minute head and scalp massage (after which he said he was dizzy when he stood up) but reconsidered after seeing them trim him down pretty close to the scalp. I guess fine, curly hair is a bit of an anomaly in China. 5) Being a blond, blue-eyed Caucasian person in China is like being your own local tourist attraction. Every day I am asked if a local can take a picture with me, and the little kids run past us yelling, "Hello!! Hello!" to practise their English. 6) It is truly amazing to see how an entire kitchen complete with stove can be driven around and carried on the back of a bicycle. And it is even more amazing how good some of the food is that they can cook on it.