Oh China, how you’ve changed! Part 1

by Neil Woodburn on


It’s been almost 15 years since I first visited China in 1995.

Having just returned from my second visit just a few weeks ago, I can now agree with the experts; China has indeed changed at a blistering rate.

My trip to Beijing in 1995 coincided with the capital’s first attempt at landing the Olympic Games. This was only evident, however, by a series of banners along the main road from the airport welcoming IOC officials. Otherwise, the place was such a backwards eddy of incompetence and hermit-kingdom mentality that my travel partners and I continually laughed at the notion of such a place actually hosting the Olympics.

As you probably know by now, China figured out what changes needed to be made for their second pitch and now they are indeed hosting the games in 2008.

The manic rush to upgrade Beijing to Olympic standards and showcase it as a model city of the 21st century has resulted in drastic changes that were immediately evident not only in the capital, but also when I visited the northern city of Shenyang. The Olympics, however, are only a passing catalyst. China is currently experiencing a booming economy that has had a much greater impact on the country at large than the Olympics ever will.

On the next page and over the next couple of days, Gadling will share with you some of the massive changes wrought by the double headed dragon of Olympics/Capitalism and how, as a result, China and its populace is far different from the spitting, gawking, bicycle riding, village-mentality I witnessed nearly 15 years ago.

Spitting

If there was a theme song to China in 1995, it would have to be the elongated spit. Not the simple, pa-too of someone expelling excessive saliva on to the street. No, the Chinese would start with a deep, visceral hack that sought, over an excruciating long moment, to strip the lungs and throat of every bit of phlegm and nasty matter trapped within. Sometimes the hack was repeated four or five times until an acceptable amount of gooeyness was collected into the mouth, at which point the abnormally large loogie was projected downwards where it landed with a sickening splat.

It didn’t matter where someone was standing. Spitting occurred indoors, on buses, standing in line–pretty much everywhere. The very worst condition for spitting, however, was an overnight sleeper train. The cheaper, second-class carriages were like rolling dormitories lined with approximately 40 bunk beds and about the same amount of people all hacking up goobs and spitting them on the floor. In the morning, it looked as though it had rained, with massive drops of spit every few inches. Yuck.

Over the last decade, the government has cracked down on the spitting problem, even going so far as hiring undercover goober police who fined those that spat in public. The efforts have paid off and I am happy to report that I encountered only one spitting episode during my time in China last month. It disgusted me, but it was also strangely nostalgic.

Gawking

Traveling through China in 1995 I was pretty sure that I was a freak of nature. People would stop what they were doing and come over and stare at me. And I don’t mean quick, secretive glances. No, the Chinese would literally drop their jaws, freeze in their tracks, and stare unabashedly without looking away.

If I was looking at something it was even worse. People would crowd around me to see what the foreign devil was gazing at in the store window. Or, if I was reading my guide book, they’d push in close to look over my shoulders and stare at the pages. My favorite activity was to stand in the open area between two train carriages and wave at farmers in the countryside as we blew past them. The looks on their shocked faces were always hysterical. Even simply buying something on the street corner attracted a crowd. That’s my travel partner Rob in the above photograph surrounded by a gaggle of gawkers who appeared out of nowhere to watch the foreigners do something really exciting, like buy food.

This special attention I received was because China saw very few foreign tourists in the 1990s; the presence of a white foreigner was as though a Martian had just landed. And let me tell you, it was very bizarre being that Martian. For the first time in my life, I felt what it was like to be a celebrity. It was fun at first, and then quickly became an enormous annoyance. I now understand why celebrities become so rude to the constant mass of strangers treating them like animals in a zoo.

Naturally, I was extremely curious if Westerners would continue to draw the same attention in 2007. They did not. Frankly, I was somewhat disappointed to discover that I had become just another pedestrian on the street that didn’t warrant even the most casual of glances. Sure, I got the occasional acknowledgement–like the thumbs-up sign from some guy at a restaurant in the suburbs of Beijing who had probably never seen a foreigner eat there before–but otherwise China had opened up enough, seen its share of Western tourists, and consumed far too many Hollywood movies for a lone American in 2007 to attract any attention whatsoever. I guess I sort of have mixed feelings about that.

Tomorrow: Oh China, how you’ve changed! Part 2

Halal Tourism in the Middle East?

by Abha Malpani on


An international report from the World Travel Market that opened this week in London has coined the term “Halal Tourism” as something that the Middle East needs to begin exploiting, especially with the increase of inter-regional tourists.

A halal airline, halal restaurants…ummm…but wait a minute — in my knowledge, Muslim countries are “halal”, i.e. the entire Middle East is halal — so, I don’t see how marketing services under “Halal Tourism” will do much when it has always been a given i.e. default.

Airlines like Emirates, Gulf Air and Qatar Airways serve only halal food and have praying areas or at least a direction that marks Mecca — at the airports and in their aircrafts. In fact, they have incorporated Islamic necessities so well that it makes all passengers feel comfortable — Muslim or not.
On a similar note, Dubai has what I like to call some “considerate” rules that allow it to keep its international spirit but at the same time serves well to those more religious Muslims. For e.g. it has “pink-taxis” with women drivers, undoubtedly only for women and families, women-only days at the beach, and they even sell halal cosmetics!

Now, will things like this encourage women from around the region to travel alone to Dubai or say Algeria? from Saudi Arabia, for example? I highly doubt it.

In fact, shouldn’t they be doing the opposite to attract a market from outside the Middle East? For instance, not long ago Dubai introduced “Pork-Sections For Non-Muslims Only” in supermarkets to cater to the high percentage of international population that lives in the city. Also, drinking alcohol is legal in Dubai — except in Ramadan when they serve alcohol but only to non-Muslims (they check ID!).

If Halal Tourism needs to be promoted, it should be outside the Middle East, beginning with countries that don’t make it difficult for people from the region to get visas to their country, don’t you think?

[Via AFP]

Drinking local stuff around the world

by Abha Malpani on


I get annoyed with people who travel miles across the world and then order Heineken at a bar in China, or a Coca Cola Light in Africa.

Also, as we all know, marketing can deceive authentic tourism: Australian’s do not drink Fosters, Mexican tequilas don’t normally have worms in them, and Spaniards do not eat Paella for dinner, nor do they drink sangria regularly.

So, knowing what locals really drink is culturally as important as knowing what locals really eat, and is one of the joys of learning about the place you are visiting.

I always ask for the local drink (and how to drink it local style!) when I go to a bar in a foreign country: be it the locally brewed beer (Toohey’s Old Beer that I drank with raspberry (!) all the time in Australia) or a nasty red wine-with-cola (Calimocho — drank here in Spain when you want to get drunk on the cheap), or an expensive Spanish Vermouth.On that note, our friends at Condé Nast Traveller have put together a list of what to drink in a variety of places around the world (other than the obvious); here’s what they say:

  • USA : Kentucky: Bourbon — a whiskey distilled from rye, barley malt, corn and yeast. California: Meritage Wine — an American version of Bordeaux.
  • Douro Valley, Portugal: Vintage Port
  • Islay, Scotland: Single Malt Scotch
  • Barbados: Dark-Aged Rum
  • Jalisco, Mexico: Tequila Reposado (means settled). They say this tequila is more mellow than the silver one we are familiar with.
  • Cognac, France: Cognac
  • Valtellina, Italy: Valtellina Superiore — it’s a dry red wine
  • Minas Gerais, Brazil: Cachaça — a clear alcohol distilled from sugarcane. It is also the national drink of Brazil.
  • Provence, France: Pastis — an aperitif made from Annis, and is a descendant of the lethal absinthe.
  • Flanders, Belgium: Trappist Ale — beer brewed by monks in monasteries across Flanders, over the last 1000 years.
  • Japan: Sake — rice wine brewed at cold temperatures, and drank cold. (I’ve had a lot of Sake in Dubai, but they always served it hot. Hmmm.)

You can check out details of all the above at Conde Nast Traveller.

One for the Road: A Tale of 12 Kitchens

by Kelly Amabile on

This cookbook gem came out last year but, I stumbled across some rave reviews recently, and thought it deserved a mention, especially as the holiday cooking season heats up! A Tale of 12 Kitchens: Family Cooking in Four Countries follows Jake Tilson on food adventures around the world, including stops in New York, Tuscany and Scotland.

Tilson used his artistic eye (he’s a photographer and painter) to create a one-of-a-kind “cookbook-cum-scrapbook” that doubles as a travel journal. Readers are invited into Tilson’s inner circle — his foodie family is a collection of colorful characters obsessed with cooking. In unique fashion, the book celebrates the possibilities of food, and the deeply personal aspects of communal meal preparation. The eighty recipes included in the book are gathered from all corners of the globe, but the real treasure of these kitchen tales is the original and refreshing way in which they are presented.

Tilson will appear in New York on December 5 as part of The James Beard Foundation’s Beard on Books series.

Who visits the U.S, and why

by Catherine Bodry on

Which country sent the most visitors to the U.S. in 2006? Here’s a hint: it’s one of our closest neighbors, and it’s really no surprise. If you guessed Canada, you’re correct — Canada sent 15,992,242. And if you guessed Mexico, you’re almost correct — our neighbors to the south came in second with 13,317,000 visitors. Next on down is the United Kingdom followed by Japan, Germany, France, and the Republic of Korea.

So, what are all these tourists checking out? It’s not all Las Vegas and Disneyland: Spanish tourists are “interested in rugged western outdoor tourism, and [there’s a] growing interest in Native American culture and traditions.” Japanese want to find scenes from their favorite movies. And with their strengthening dollar, many Canadians are coming to the U.S. to shop.

Forbes has a slideshow of the top U.S.-visiting countries, and you can read the full report on the U.S.’s foreign tourists on Forbes’ website.