china interview

Hi readers, This interview was conducted in China on various occasions (mostly long buses and the like) and its purpose is to give some more insight on our daily activities, observations and impressions. Please note that all comments are our subjective opinions. d&m

Our Interview about Travel in China

General China Travel

Describe China in one word

m: chaos

Most useful skill while in China

m: Daph’s Chinese
d: pushing

Describe a night on the sleeper train

d: tickets are collected at the start and returned to you before your stop. lights off at 22:00, followed by a sleepless night. waking up from stops, snores and stench. sometimes interesting people, always feeling gross in the morning. a way to get to know real China.

m: spitting, really hot or really cold, lots of waiting, not much moving, dirty sheets, smoke in cabins, symphony of snoring, avoidable bathrooms.

Food:

What’s it like to go to a restaurant?

d: you are expected to know what you want as soon as you sit down, hence the waitress will stand over you as you read the menu until you order. when eating- pick up food from main dish, tap your rice if there is a possibility of sauce drippage, then eat or bring bowl very close to mouth and slurp. generally people order a lot and meals last a long time, especially if there’s drinking involved.
m: inpatient waitress, tries to order for you, no napkins unless you ask. tables don’t get cleared until the end of the day. no tipping.

How about eating on the go?

d: bags of preserved meat, ramen, dried fruits and snacks are what Chinese people have, we stick to identifiable objects.
m: when you have chocolate sandwiches it doesn’t matter where or when you eat. crackers are a life-saver, so are cream-filled cookies (oreo knock-offs).

What’s the food you miss the most?

m: real bread
d: chocolate

Favorite meal while in China?

d: Sichuan eggplant and garlic
m: Muslim-quarter sticky rice, date-infused goodness with a side of pita (Xian); but the eggplant was pretty darn good

Scenery:

Best view:

m: from half-way house on tiger-leaping gorge looking at haba snow mountain
d: from the chairlift going down congshan mountains overlooking dali and erhai lake

Rivers in china

d: brown
m: dirty and dammed-up

Mountains in china:

d: big
m: mostly green, not an obstacle for agriculture

People:

Tell us about kids in China

d: there aren’t many of them, but they’re pretty cute. sometimes boys are dressed in pants that have a cut under their bottoms (enabling easier squat).
m: like to stare, love saying hello to us

China has a lot of internal tourism. What are your impressions of the Chinese traveler?

d: they seem to have necessary items always with them: newspapers (for sitting on outside), umbrellas (for rain and sun), cameras (for lots of pictures and lots of posing), dried meat (for snacking), and the ever-present tea cup.

As a foreigner, how has the interaction been with the Chinese?
m: people are helpful and welcoming to foreigners. they are noticebly trying. in general making things easiers for us rather than more complicated.
d: they love getting a response when they yell out “hello” to us, are generally fascinated by foreigners and want to take pictures with us.