User Comments - bodawei

Posted on: Nearby Tea House

Yesterday I had a hot chocolate flavoured tea. 巧克力味茶. I must admit I did not have the full experience. It comes with a package of those little gelatine balls you get in Taiwanese tea; I went vegetarian and left out the little balls. You fill your cup with the chocolate tea mixture then add boiling water. It wasn't bad actually - maybe I am completely losing my sense of taste.

Posted on: A New Jug for the Water Cooler

In 2007 when I lived in Hangzhou (by some measures the 'richest' city in China) there was a communal well nearby, and there were always crowds of people filling their containers from the well for free.  We can assume that they boiled the water for drinking - there were big signs saying that the water was unsafe to drink.  

Posted on: A New Jug for the Water Cooler

At sea level, water should be boiled for one minute to purify it. At 2,000 metres it should be boiled for about two minutes. The higher the altitude the more boiling required. I gather that was 'two minutes' you meant, not 20 minutes?

Posted on: A New Jug for the Water Cooler

They are 10 RMB here - I am intrigued how they can do them for 5 RMB in Shanghai! Where the cost of living is at least twice as much as here - do people trust this 5 RMB water? Here there is much discussion about the best 'brand' to buy. Do you have to carry it home yourself? :)

In any case, the average person in China does not use this system, they boil their water or buy from a community service that provides kaishui. The average middle class person uses this system. Even Chinese people themselves conveniently forget what the average person earns in this country.

Posted on: A New Jug for the Water Cooler

Just a reality check - Jenny's comment that 'most' people in China use bottled water at home and at work.  Average monthly earnings is around 1,200 RMB and this is distorted by very high income earners, so a large proportion of the population are on very low incomes.  If you need 600 RMB a month to eat, and maybe 400 RMB for a bed in shared accommodation, and 100 RMB a month for transport, just for starters, you are not going to spend 50 RMB a month on bottled water.  

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Yunnan

Hmmm, Barbs, looking back I think I sound a bit jaded on this subject. I can say that the average Chinese tourist experience is different to the average Western tourist experience out here. And of course when I say 'tourist' I am primarily commenting on how the Chinese people see it. When I was in Xinjiang recently I saw a total of three other foreign tourists - foreigners are not a big part of the tourist industry in these parts.

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Yunnan

I'll just clarify #9 - about the 'bitter' vegetable; then they refer to it as 'qing cai'. (This '18 oddities' seems to have been written by a foreigner?) The 'bitter' reference I think is to 苦菜. 苦菜 is a larger version of 青菜. They do look alike - the main difference is size.

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Yunnan

My thoughts: Embarrassing? A bit Hollywood? A touristy gambit? Evidence that much of the rest of China (the main audience) thinks Yunnan is a (backward) joke? More revealing about the rest of China than about Yunnan? (In relation to their difficulty dealing with differences.) Indicative of the great variety of people that live in Yunnan? Hugely understates the rich cultural differences in this province? But makes the differences palatable for the average tourist by making them a little jokey?

All of the above.

If you sense some disappointment in my comments it is because it represents a meagre effort to really understand the different cultures here. When 95% of the country is Han Chinese, dealing with any minorities is bound to be problematic. This is not to write off Chinese people in general - I am referring to the broad middle ground I guess. Many people these days have a real interest and appreciate the differences.

For example, I was talking to a man here about my not being able to eat wheat, soy sauce etc. and he passed the comment 'no problem, no problem. In Yunnan we are used to many people not eating the food of other people. For all sorts of reasons.' So (this is just a small example) .. Yunnanese do tend to be a unusually tolerant people (compared to the rest of China.) Dealing with a lot of differences provides great hands-on training.

The use of the word 怪 is interesting here - In Xinjiang they talk about 石怪 (strange shaped rocks.)

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Yunnan

This maybe refers to the popularity of karaoke. ;-)

Maybe this is not peculiar to Yunnan - Chinese people I know are much more prone to singing in public (that is, not in the shower) than I am! It's not unusual to spontaneously sing for yourself or others. How many of your Australian friends have ever sung a whole song through for you? We usually leave it to the experts. :)

Posted on: I want to buy this one

Good point, I have only heard her do higher level lessons, plus the video ones which I guess are an elementary level? I was generalising, and my comment may not be too helpful for the poddie asking the initial question (at least the comment regarding Connie). My main point stands; it seems to me that lessons have improved on a number of dimensions over the years (that is frm the perspective of someone looking back, criticising in a 2010 context.)