When China Called: First Impressions
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| Bell Tower of Xi'an from Xi'an Drum Tower, Photo Credit: Mohamed Hakim |
Well, Google cannot be reached altogether over here. It’s not blocked per se, but it does time out, whatever that means, odd coming from an engineer by training... I know... It follows that none of the Google apps can be used online. The reason I am pointing this out is because the translator of choice I have installed is Google Translate, which I learned way later that I could've downloaded an offline speech library of. You’d be wise to do so before departure to China.
Find an offline speech translator ahead of your trip
There is also some difficulty working with Yahoo while in China. MSN seems to work fine. Add to that, Netflix doesn’t work either: connecting to the internet prevented me from using the app altogether. I still had access to downloaded episodes, disconnected from Wi-Fi, before they expired. Though after day trips like mine, being in your bed is going to be your most favorite thing to do.
Nothing made me feel more surprised than the way the traffic flows in Xi’an. You’ve got vehicles driving the opposite direction in roundabouts just to make an exit, motorcycles going the wrong direction all over to get to intersections, cars joining and exiting traffic constantly, buses driving in bike lanes, pedestrians and bikes sharing the same travelling spaces, people crossing the road all over the place, and children riding alongside their parents on motor bikes. This last one I knew about through my reading, yet I found it hard to believe until I saw it in person (2017 Kuperard Culture Smart China, Flower, p. 122). Even now I still can’t get over the idea that it actually is something that people do. Nevertheless, someway, somehow, traffic doesn’t come to a complete halt. I think part of the reason why this is because of Chinese courtesy. It’s like Karma speaks very loudly here. People allow others to join or cross traffic in front of them, all the time! It is also worth noting it is to my bewilderment that somehow the roads in China are very well maintained. This is not remotely due to lack of use!
That said,
if you have light sensitivity, you may want to consider closing your eyes while
travelling by car in Xi’an. There are a great many cameras on the street
recording vehicle plate numbers periodically. The flashing lights are so bright, likely very capable of inducing epilepsy.
In terms of stay, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge one more experience in which China has performed, I think, way better than the US: that is, the noise level in hotels! Usually, in a US hotel, earplugs are a must due to the nature of the material walls are made out of, wood. Here in China however, walls are made out of cement; so, you are sure to have a good night’s rest. Though part of this may be because the hotel staff were happy to provide me a room upgrade.
To be continued...
