When I was in China last month, I was tired of traveling and tagged along my mom’s tour group. I was feeling a bit braindead from dealing with a bad accident in Taiwan and the difficulties of traveling in chaotic China. Well, I wasn’t the only braindead person on the tour. It seemed like many of the passengers left their brains and common sense at home.
Several retirees got lost on their way to and out of the bathrooms. One didn’t bother to change her money to Chinese currency and tried hailing a cab in a non-touristy area of Shanghai without a map, list of common Chinese phrases or more than $3 in local currency. What was she thinking? Well, I don’t think she was actually using her brain much.
One of the women in the tour group came in a wheelchair. Another with a cane. Why go to the Great Wall of China in a wheelchair? It’s a pain not just for the traveler, but for everyone around them. They don’t have disabled access to national monuments in China. Many countries don’t have easy ramps for those who can’t travel by foot. The streets in tourist areas in China are often crowded. Canes and wheelchairs are cumbersome in most places.
Most Chinese toilets are squat toilets consisting of a hole in the ground. When I looked at the elderly and weak tourists, I was afraid that these tourists could not squat for too long without falling onto the toilet hole. Now, if they were of the 2/3 of the bus that got sick from the food, then their diarrhea would make their squating even more difficult.
I looked at these travelers in their silver age and repeated my mantra, “Discovery Channel, Discovery Channel, Discovery Channel”. Not everyone needs to cross an ocean to see the world. The Discovery Channel is a good subsitute. No crowds, no squat toilets, no diarrhea inducing cuisine, no harsh smells, etc. Travel via remote control. It’s safer for the environment.
Remember the mantra next time you see people who shouldn’t be on the road.