Globe trotting

I am blessed to have had the ability to globe trot a little. Every year end, I plan a holiday with immediate and extended family members. They will include my cousins and my in-laws. So since my posting about our trip to Australia, I have had the pleasure of visiting Greater China, Korea, London & Paris, Italy, US West Coast and Japan. So how does a Chindian take all these different cultures? As someone that comes from 2 cultures, we are typically very interested and sensitive to the cultures of others. There are many difference as to the folks in these different countries. So I have compiled and summarized based on the criteria of friendliness of people on the street and service folks, food, shopping and places of interest. Let's start with:-

Australia
People : Folks are typically friendly but I think they don't like Chinese folks that much, especially in Melbourne. Brisbane and the Gold Coast seems more ok. They don't voluntarily help you but they will if you approach them. Some reluctantly, some more helpful. The Asian community are very helpful towards other Asians though.

Service : Retail folks are very particular about the time they close. Most close at 5pm (What's up with that!!) so when you walk in at 4.45, they give you that exasperated sigh and stare and are typically unhelpful. Then again only us Asians will enter a shop just before it closes. I have not seen an Aussie do that. As for food, it will depend where you go to. Some up places are more tolerant, mid class not so.

Food : There is a lot of Malaysian, Chinese and Indian food in Melbourne. So if you get tired of all the ham, bread, cheese, pasta, burgers, you have a lot of Chindian comfort food. One of their burgers made my list of comfort food and that's something they call The LOT. It has...the LOT. Meat, bacon, ham, fried egg, more bacon, etc.

Shopping : I think most folkd don't come here to shop. I've not seen any good shopping places. Maybe it's just me.

POI : Gold Coast's theme parks are for those who haven't been. Surfers' Paradise is nice and decadent, though full of Chinese retailers now. If you are into animals, take a 2 hours drive north to Sunshine Coast to visit Australia Zoo or Steve Irwin's Zoo. In Melbourne drive along the Great Ocean Road to Grampiens National Park and stop at small towns along the way. Philip Island is a good visit, stop by a Chocolate Factory and also the Twelve Apostles. City wise, is like any other city though the Yarra River is quite picturesque.


China
People : I say this with all objectivity. Most folks are loud, boisterous, dirty and rude. They knock into you, spit everywhere and children will pee anywhere. If you want the toilet, just follow the smell. Hygiene level seems to have been set to medieval times. Not every toilet outside of Beijing has modern plumbing. In the 21st century!!! We found a toilet with feces on the wall!! Like this person was during a mural or his a$$ exploded or something!!!

Service : They are more friendly and very attentive as most city restaurants and up market shopping places goes by a rating system. Airport service is also very efficient.

Food : For me, this really sucked!! The food we had was not as good as back home. Really bad. If you followed the tour food, God help you. We had some good food like Peking Duck and a meat BBQ buffet place. But mainly was not too my liking.

Shopping : It's shopping haven. Knock offs and non-branded stuff are cheap if you don't mind the quality. We bought some non-
branded stuff and some of them were quite good in quality.

POI : This is the place to be. You history coming out of your ears! We went to the usual palaces and temples and of course the Great Wall. My highlight was the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an. Absolutely amazing!!! China has also many beautiful sceneries.


Korea
People : Pretty ok. Friendly folks and they speak English. Didn't have any incident in memory.

Service : Very friendly folks. Even those who sold hot choco and churros in a cart, were chatty and friendly. Since most meals come with side dishes, most folks are patience with our constant refilling of it.

Shopping : There are some duty free outlets in the city and the airport for tourist. Snacks are worth buying and so are cosmetics. Everywhere else is more pricey.

Food : I love Korean food. They BBQ, Kimchi soup, grill stuff, the rice and the ox tail soup. Every meal was good for the Chindian palate.

POI : There are some history but not much and nothing beats China anyway. So they turned their attention to their dramas and K-Pop. Touristy places are sets for movies like Winter Sonata at Nami Island and Mount Sorak and something called All In. Pretty creative.


To be continued...........