Here are some unexpected things about China:
It is really clean! We’re talking about the most populated country in the world, but none of these people are littering. A small army of sweepers are constantly about looking to obliterate the smallest infraction of trash. Also, there’s hardly any graffiti (I don’t miss the litter but a city without street art is kind of sad.)
The middle aged and senior citizens are limber and downright hot. We have video of sexy seniors dancing in the park but since the internet censors have a lockdown on my computer I can’t upload video and (and am having a lot of trouble blogging too).
We met this pretty lady, along with her photography club, taking pictures of early spring blossoms in the park by the old Ming city walls. The next time an entire club lines up to take our picture I hope it isn’t right after we’ve been sleeping in our clothes on an overnight train.
Our hotel in Beijing is comfy and clean. There’s just this one small thing….
The bathroom is enclosed in glass. HOB and I have been shouting a lot of orders at each other like “Face the other direction and DO NOT TURN AROUND until I say so.”
Before we came to China I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find public bathrooms. I was wrong—they’re everywhere and mostly clean. The issue is—-well maybe the picture can speak for itself—privacy. Some bathrooms have no doors. Some bathrooms have no partition at all so you’re just squatting along with your neighbor all out in the open.
Another funny thing is the dogs, which often seem to be walking themselves, without leashes, in heavy traffic. The two pups above were just leashed to each other, seemingly without a person involved.
The subway is extremely crowded, but orderly. Riding the train at rush hour is like being a toothpick in one of those toothpick containers, but where all the toothpicks are staring at cell phones.
I’m not homesick, but I miss my personal space. While waiting in line at the train station a woman pressed her whole body up against me and I wanted to yell at her. I guess that’s part of traveling too—renegotiating what privacy means (and learning to poop in a glass toilet.)
How we got to Beijing: train from Xi’an.
Where we slept: Nostalgia Hotel Beijing- Yonghe Lama Temple. Price: €44 for a double. Recommended: yes.
Picnic at the Cathedral 
I like the glass walls on the bathroom. At least your spouse can’t claim you didn’t wipe good.
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Ewwwwwwwwww!
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Thank goodness mother is not visiting China…I can see the curtains pulled from the windows to provide a modesty barrier followed by a few choice words with the hotel manager…before being dragged away by the police….
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Short of pulling down the curtains, I suppose we could have used our sleep masks. It could have been a kind of Fifty Shades of Gray for middle aged backpackers in Beijing……
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There has to be a niche market somewhere…luckily I don’t know where…
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Yes I”m a big fan of personal space and China just didn’t offer enough for me. Hope you never need to use the hospital there. The other patients just form a queue, so they’re all there watching you get examined whilst waiting for their turn. Great fun.
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I’m sorry to hear you had to go to the hospital in China—hope it wasn’t too serious. We’ve been lucky so far since all our problems have been remedied over the counter meds.
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Hmmm… tricky issues. Do they vaccinate the street dogs?
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China is so organized it wouldn’t surprise me if they did.
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Hahaha what were they thinking with those glass wall toilets!! That would be a big issue for me!!! This remind me one time being in Malaysia and wanting to pee really bad and only being able to find those toilets were you have to squat and telling my husband it is fine I can wait 2h lol. No need to say it was the longest 2h of my life 🙂
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It is weird enough traveling with your spouse, but what about those people traveling with friends? Hey everybody! Want to watch me sit on the pot?
By now I’m used to the squat toilets but that doesn’t mean I want to do my business without some kind of a partition around me.
I’m jealous you got to go to Malaysia—I want to eat street food there because it is supposed to be the best. What did you think of the food?
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I have very good memories of the food of Malaysia, tasty and lots of flavor 😀
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Ughhh, I am not sure if I would love this… 😀
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Hey, at least they are clean bathrooms!
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I bet! And do you have to throw the paper in a trash bin? Here in tourist spots frequented by Asian groups, it is a big problem that in the toilets the trash bins are overflown with used toilet paper – yuck!
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I always enjoy your blog and the light hearted view of traveling you provide.
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Awwww thanks—that means a lot!
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