Life and Travel in China

Many people treat Hong Kong as a civilized, modern and cultural part of China. Hong Kong isn't that great after all! Certainly, during a few days' stay we will be delighted with this city, its atmosphere, views, skyscrapers and people. However, we should be aware that there are millions of people living there who often cheat others to earn money for a living. A year ago, a guide from Hong Kong shouted at a Chinese man from mainland China so much that he died of a heart attack. The point was that the Chinese didn't want to buy jewelry and the guide got a commission from it. In March this year, a guide from Hong Kong shouted at a group of Chinese tourists for not buying anything at a similar jewelry store. She got mad and said they were going back to the hotel and wouldn't have dinner tonight! Everything was recorded on a mobile phone and a scandal began at the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Of course, Hong Kong will clear itself of these accusations, as it is a very friendly city for tourists. The Chinese will not particularly protest and have no one to appeal to for such treatment. These are just two documented cases, but what about the rest? I suggest that individual tourists be careful when shopping, especially watch out for electronics stores along Nathan Road (Tsim Sha Tsui), Kowloon. There are many scammers out there. Their typical practice is to talk to the customer, take a lot of time, take some deposit, promise a great camera at a low price, which they will not actually sell. In the meantime, they can offer something different, something from two years ago that no one will buy anymore. They will advertise it as something new or some reliable model. At the end, when a customer doesn't like something, they will get offended or shout at the customer. They know that people from all over the world shop in their store and that they won't be coming back to Hong Kong any time soon - so they assume that it's worth deceiving them once and for all! Hong Kong is full of small and big tricksters!

Today, a Chinese woman told me that Poland is a nice country because it has never been involved in any wars. When I told her that World War II started in Poland, did it surprise her a bit?! I think she got confused with Switzerland. The Chinese woman considers herself a world-savvy person, she traveled a lot and had a boyfriend from Australia. She even told me that she had read a book about Hitler, I asked her - so you somehow skipped the chapter about Poland? Ha ha! Unfortunately, when it comes to the history and geography of Europe, the situation in China is poor. The situation is similar in our case in Asia - we do not know the history of China, the Opium Wars, the colonization of these areas, individual dynasties and civil wars. We usually only bark about Mao Tse-tung, and we don't really know anything about him either. Evidence: we are unaware that the Chinese value him mainly for regaining independence, ending the war with Japan and winning the civil war. Of course, the rest is censorship and propaganda, but there are certain historical facts that we ignore in Poland. Of course, I significantly expanded this knowledge while in China. Both from sources from the Middle Kingdom, as well as from the accounts of various people, from books bought in Poland, from information from the Internet, from friends' stories. Recently, a girl from Malaysia said that it is good to know different languages because you can not only read books by different publishers from different countries, but also get to know completely different points of view and perception of the world.

Today, a friend of mine told me that she signed up for a driving course. I asked what the cost was, it turns out it was quite high. 4,380 RMB, i.e. approximately PLN 2,000. For China, this is not small money! Consider also how they teach them! Zero common sense, zero rational thinking, zero safety, zero imagination. The cost of such training is not high, they drive regular VWs, fuel is practically half the price than in Poland, which means that driving schools are another great business! The Chinese are simply lining up en masse to get their driving license, and the dream of 99% of Chinese people is to have their own car, so this business is certainly not in danger. They earn good money, but they don't teach them anything, they cram 4-5 people in the car during the course, and recently I even saw an instructor who was maybe 25-28 years old, he has probably had a driving license for several years.

Life for many Chinese is becoming very formulaic: school - university - girl/boy - quick engagement according to the parents' will - wedding - apartment - car - child. Many of these people do not even notice that they are becoming very boring and monotonous to others. Recently, I witnessed two young Chinese women talking about housing prices in Ningbo. One of them became so engaged in the conversation that she almost started screaming with excitement. Some of my wife's friends can talk about children all day long. At dinner they talk about breastfeeding, vomiting and diarrhea in babies. I have already mentioned driving lessons and dream cars! They become really predictable, boring and ordinary, they become one big mass of middle-income Chinese, family is important to them, but the main tool for their happiness is money. There is enormous pressure from society to be wealthy, resourceful and rich. I know several girls who got married just because the guy already had an apartment and a car. This is usually what shy or not very handsome Chinese people do. They are trying to earn a lot of money, buy an apartment, a car, and find a fianc

My wife's assistant has been dating some military guy lately. The meetings were arranged by the girl's mother and the soldier's sister. I recently said that since he is a Chinese military man, he may be a bit brainwashed. My wife told me that he admitted it himself. He said that Americans and English have mental problems after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there were a series of suicides and depressions. This Chinese man said that their soldier never has a problem with it. They are so brainwashed, they have been subjected to such strong propaganda for several years that they always believe that they are working for a just cause. If they sent him to quell a riot or strike, they would have no problem killing defenseless people. As he put it: for them it's just like a roadblock that needs to be destroyed. Cool guys! I now know how they deal with the Uyghurs and Tibetans.