gobbledonk Posted October 17, 2002 Report Share Posted October 17, 2002 I dont know that there is much to be gained by trying to compare China and Thailand as travel destinations, but my experiences did make me appreciate the more open nature of the Thai people. I also believe my dining experiences in Thailand were significantly more satsifying. Conversely, I'd like to be controversial and pronounce the people of Guanxi province to be some of the best drivers in Asia. Oh, road rules are still made to be broken, but I was impressed by the controlled chaos which unfolded before me, and I felt safer than I did on Thailands roads. I also had more confidence in the Chinese Police than I can profess for Thailands, er, finest ... I have read a lot of negative stuff about the Chinese on this board, and my experiences would intially seem to bear this out. 'Racist', 'mercenary', 'backward' etc. Sadly, these descriptions could also be applied to many of my own countrymen, and to some Thais / Japanese / Martians etc. People are people, and we need to realise how hard the life of the average Chinese remains. I saw young shop assistants passed out at their counters at 3 in the afternoon, the sub-tropical climate and 12 hour days clearly taking their toll on girls who should still have been in school. No-one seemed overly concerned : as long as there were no customers to be served, it wasnt an issue. Some of the Chinese I met gave me hope for the future, and they had no apparent financial motive for their kindness and warmth. China is making great strides in so many areas, and I firmly believe that they will be the next economic superpower. Let's hope they bring the wisdom of their centuries old civilization to their new position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted October 17, 2002 Report Share Posted October 17, 2002 China is making great strides in so many areas, and I firmly believe that they will be the next economic superpower. Couldn't agree more. It's a matter of time and they are developing very fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirit_of_town_hall Posted October 17, 2002 Report Share Posted October 17, 2002 Interestting report, on the lady front how forward are the ladies? One question i and everyone is no doubt curious of, did you consumate your relationship with CG. STH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted October 17, 2002 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2002 STH, Hmm, 'consumate' ... CG remains a virgin, and I respect that. Easily the most uninhibited virgin I've ever encountered, and it was clear that CG's find ways to please their lovers without sacrificing their all-important purity. I'll leave it to your imaginations. As for the other women I encountered, they are a mixed bunch. Many of the younger Chinese girls seem to have embraced the West in everything but language, although I was pleased to see little in the way of blonde dye and noserings. Give it time ... I found many of the shop assistants to be flirtatious, and got the occasional smile in the street, but most were more concerned with making a living than fluttering their eyelids in the direction of foreigners. Some were keen to practise their English on me, but that was about the extent of their interest, particularly when CG appeared on the scene. I dont see Guanxi as a major Sanuk destination any time soon - CG told me there were working girls in the city (we spoke of many things), but I got the impression that this was a Chinese-only gig. Anyone looking for a 'good girl' would need to invest considerable time in developing the relationship, in much the same way as in Thailand. I was lucky enough to find a girl with excellent English, but learning Mandarin remains a priority if I am going to continue the relationship. I expect that the same is true of most guys who have chosen to seriously pursue Thai women. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhat_Man Posted October 18, 2002 Report Share Posted October 18, 2002 Says artiew: STH, "....but learning Mandarin remains a priority if I am going to continue the relationship...." Best of luck if you decide to take up the Mandarin. I recently started a course and its not as hard as you would think. If you need to get hold of any text books PM me as there is an excellent book/CD set available from commercial press (Can't remember the title at the moment). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted October 18, 2002 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2002 Thanks, BM, but I only have one quibble. Mandarin is every bit as hard as I believe it to be, largely because I dont have ready access to native Mandarin speakers. I heard enough mangled English in China to make me realise how bad my 'homegrown' attempts at Mandarin must have sounded. My CG actually spent considerable time at University mastering written and spoken English - most Chinese dont have this luxury. All of this only increased my admiration for the 'average' BG - faced with the task of learning a difficult language such as English, my BG said 'At first, I listen for a long time (several months). Then I speak. No problem !'. If only I could find a bar with women speaking nothing but Mandarin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhat_Man Posted October 21, 2002 Report Share Posted October 21, 2002 Says artiew: If only I could find a bar with women speaking nothing but Mandarin Jesus, how did you know what I dreamed last night! Your spot on with your comments..... we English speakers don't know how lucky we are (even bordering on ignorance) when considering the effort other people put into communicating in "English". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 24, 2002 Report Share Posted October 24, 2002 Says Bhat_Man: Says artiew: If only I could find a bar with women speaking nothing but Mandarin Jesus, how did you know what I dreamed last night! Your spot on with your comments..... we English speakers don't know how lucky we are (even bordering on ignorance) when considering the effort other people put into communicating in "English". BM, I think it is more like arrogance than ignorance in that most of us make little or any effort to speak even a little of the language of the country we are in. I used to do talks at schools on the importance of learnig languages but the schools would only let us talk to 15 / 16 year olds, who were just itching to leave school. IMO you have to get kids to learn other languagues at primary school. Taipan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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