China Part 1 - Miscellaneous

We had a great time in Beijing, but unfortunately, my camera broke the first full day there, so it'll be a day or two before I get pictures back. So I have to start talking about my trip with random stuff I might not have mentioned otherwise.

Bathrooms
One of the first things I wonder about whenever anyone travels abroad is what the bathrooms were like. In the unlikely event that people who read my blog are the same way, I'm going to start there. The standard Chinese toilet is called (at least by the Powers family) the squatty potty. It's basically a female urinal, though it's used for pooping by both sexes. They're kind of scary to use, but Austin gave us plenty of tips (including showing us how to squat--it's a deeper squat than you would do for strength training), and I didn't have any problems. In case you're planning a trip to China, you may want to read this E-How article before you go.

Other negatives:
All the bathrooms stink, since the Chinese do not flush the toilet paper. I have no idea why they do not flush the paper. I believe they feel it'll clog the sewers.

Many of the bathrooms have no doors. Sometimes, there's not even a door at the bathroom entrance.

Generally, there is no toilet paper provided.

The handwashing equipment is hit-and-miss, and there is rarely anything to use to dry your hands.

Sometimes, there are no hooks. Once, I had to use a squatty potty while wearing my backpack. Not fun.

Positives:
What the bathrooms lack in quality, they make up for in quantity. It's rare to go more than 2-3 blocks in Beijing without finding a toilet.

One real advantage of the squatty potty in general is that you don't have to touch anything.

We did find many nice bathrooms while in Beijing. You could generally tell how many Westerners visited a location by the type and cleanliness of bathroom available. I was very glad I had brought along instant hand sanitizer, and I used so much of it that I wasn't really angry when the Chinese wouldn't let me bring it on the plane with me on the way home. (They also took the bottles of water we bought after we had cleared security. What the hell?)

Water
The water in China is not potable. This is a real problem because Beijing is very dry, practically a desert, and is also very hot this time of year. Bottles of water are somewhat cheaper than they are in the US. We got 3 liters of water per day for about $1.50, and then we bought additional water on the streets. I have never been so thirsty in my life.

Taxis and Driving
Driving in Beijing is harrowing. The Chinese driving style is apparently to watch everything in front of you, nothing behind you, and to honk frequently. Pedestrians yield to both cars and to bicycles, the thinking being that it's easier for a pedestrian to stop than for a car. Lanes are suggestions.

Taxi drivers do not speak English. We generally got around on our own using a handy card our hotel had provided. Whenever Austin and his girlfriend Dawn were around, they'd have long discussions with our cab driver about how to get to the right place. Taxis are dirt cheap, so we didn't really worry too much about being driven around the block an extra time or two. We once were in a cab for 90 minutes, and it cost us $10. It's all right to sit in the front seat of a cab in Beijing.

Well, that's all I know for now, and I am dog tired. I should have my pictures from my digital camera back tomorrow, thanks to a handy memory-card reader thingie Judson has at his office.

Tomorrow's topic: The Forbidden City and other first-24-hour activities.