I miss my SV and I miss Biking and I miss London! :(

[mikerj]

Originally Posted by keith_d

I think that saying, "they don't know any better" isn't entirely fair. Each culture has it's own expectations for manners and behaviour. Within that culture they usually work well because everyone expects the same, but they can seem a little odd for outsiders.

Very true. I go to China a few times a year for work, mostly Shenzhen and Wuhan, and of all the various different social traits the one that annoys me the most is the slurping. It's not helped by sitting next to a Chinese engineer back in the UK for the last couple of years. As soon as he comes back to his desk with a cup of tea or coffee I have to either leave my desk or put headphones on and listen to loud music

sllluuurrrpppp, SLLLLUUURRRRRRPPPP, SLLLLUUUUUUUURRRRRRPPPP

ARGGGH!!

Slurping as well as all the disgusting spitting of salaiva, mucus and nose blowing out in the public onto public on roads, pavements, parks and even in aeroplanes.

Really can't stand it :S

[timwilky]

Having worked on a few construction sites in China made office time in Beijing luxurious.

One "hotel"/brothel was a converted warehouse where they uniformly built partition walls every 4 metre. which meant some walls were in windows so they had a 4" gap between rooms that allowed free movement of cockroaches and rats as well as the sounds of the local ladies at work.

One accommodation block in Guandong they hadn't fitted the guard over an air conditioning unit. Nice when a rat got into in, minced and spat into the lounge of a colleague.

All in all I love china and am amazed just how much it has changed since I first went 30 years ago and had to take a 30 hour rail from just over the border from Hong Kong upto Yue Yang. My first stay in Beijing at the Jianquo was posh at the time. The only decent hotel in the city I think. Boy even back then the hotel restaurant was beyond my expenses allowance so I was forced out looking for restaurants that had English translations to point at. And the taxis then were a nightmare. Especially the motorcycle ones in some cities.