The concepts of manners and personal hygiene are viewed very differently in China. In my two years in the country, I saw people clipping their toenails at their restaurant table, grown men defecating by the side of the road, a pretty violent brawl between two old men on a bus and virtually everybody smoking everywhere all the time. Luckily, it's always possible to retreat to … [Read more...]
Third-World Haircut
If you're the kind of person who cares about their hair, you probably shouldn't travel around Asia for a long enough period of time that you'd need to get it cut. Of course there are some excellent barbers in Asia who also speak good enough English to understand what you want, but it would be cheaper to just fly home and get a haircut there than to visit one. Travelers with … [Read more...]
Close the f***in’ window! – Commuting to work in Shanghai
One morning, as I was reading a book on the bus on my way to work in Shanghai, an elderly man in his 70s got out of his seat and started opening all the windows. He had a cold and in China when you have a cold, the best remedy is to open all the windows wherever you are, despite the temperatures (just above freezing in this case). When you combine the freezing cold drafts of … [Read more...]