Bye Bye China

The Dalai Lama has announced that he will not be reincarnated in Chinese occupied Tibet. There may very well be no new Dalai Lama after his death according to his Holiness. This is of course a great concern to Tibetans who will be left leaderless and at the mercy of the Chinese government without someone to represent their plight to the world. The PRC will no doubt announce their own fake Ocean of Wisdom to take charge of Tibets Buddhists (much like they have already done with the Panchan Lama).

I too would like to throw my hat in to announce that if I am reincarnated at all (Pema is still praying for me), it won't be in China. This is a nice country with nice people and a motherload of sights, towns and cities but something about it drives me crazy. I think it has something to do with travelling in the two autonomous regions where the people are subjected to Chinese rule despite their will, traditions and culture.


These are the things I will miss about China:
1) Instead of taking rehidrations salts orally the Chinese prefer to be hooked up to an IV drip that the happy recipient takes for a walk on the streets, all the while smoking a cigarette. If a girl is really lucky she'll get her boyfriend to hold the IV bag as they stroll through the shops.
2) Crotchless baby pants are high on the list. These are available in Mongolia as well. Many a days I have witnessed the absolutely delightful first poo of the day as a mother will hold her child over a garbage can in a train or on the street. No wipes required.
3) Barbecue. It's deepfried to retain all the essential vitamins.
4) The neutral gear. I took a bus that drove me from the train station through the sloped streets of a small town in noiseless neutral.
5) Waking up in a quiet dormroom, disoriented until I open the curtains and see a billion people parading on the big, wide streets below. 'Yup, I am still in China' thinks me and goes back to bed.
6) Hoarking. It's a national pastime along with smoking. A must if you are Chinese. Everyone's doing it.
7) Chinese hospitality. They feed me whenever I show up on a train, help me with my bags, give me the thumbs up in restaurants and help me order the local delicacies.
8) Watching locals excerise in the rush hour morning traffic on the sidewalk.


9) Big spicy dinners. Below is last nights dinner for two. Yuko and I finally gave up after 1.5 hours of trying to finish the boiling pot of oil, vegetables, chili and meat.


Bye Bye China! Hello Myanmar!