Posted By: JR on June 06, 2005 at 01:09:33:
I have been in Asia off and on since August 2001. During the years I have been here, I have seen and learned many things about this place. I have have lived in China, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. I have also visited most of the
countries in East and Southeast Asia including Japan, Korea, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. I am not an expert on Asia, but I do think I am qualified to comment on what has shocked me here and share some tips on Asia, mainly in regards to China. Southern Asia has been my favorite place because the cost of living is very low, jobs are plentiful, and the weather is warm. Living is pretty easy for Westerners here because of the novelty factor and the common perception (true or not) that foreigners in Asia are worldly and rich. Foreigners often feel like movie stars here even if
they were losers back in their home countries.
China especially is a culture shock, though. People in China tend to stare, cut in front of others in line, squat, wear black socks with shorts and white socks with dress pants, not say "excuse me", "sorry", or "thank you", spit, urinate outside, vomit everywhere, hold hands with same-sex friends, and wear two-piece suits to do construction work or pajamas to go shopping. Owning a car, speaking English, or seeing foreigners are rare here. Windows are often opened here in the winter and hot water and heaters are hard to find. Clothes are of poor quality and very small. Living in a third world like China may be harder than its sounds. Electricity, water, and Internet services may often have outages. Don't overestimate how much you may miss seeing books and magazines in English, western food, ice, churches, safe tap water, and western medicine.
China seems advanced in some ways and behind in others. For example, China still uses oxen to plow, yet has DVD players, telephone cards, and the big city skylines look futuristic. China has bullet trains, but the stewardesses and nurses wear uniforms from the 1960's. John Denver and The Carpenters are still popular here.
Visitors should also be aware that China has many pickpockets. Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and many other cities have gangs that wait on busy corners and target unaware people with bags. Be careful!
If you come to China, be sure that you consider bringing supplies of the following difficult to find items:
Deodorant
Dental floss
Underwear
Large clothes
T-shirts
Your Shampoo
Socks
Syrup (Can be found in Shenzhen)
Razors
Shaving cream
Mustard (Can be found in Shenzhen)
Pancake mix (Can be found in Shenzhen)
Croutons
Pickles (Can be found in Shenzhen)
Big shoes
BBQ sauce (Can be found in Shenzhen)
Tacos
Taco sauce
Coffee?
Cobbler/pies
Turkey
Stuffing
Fruit cocktail
Canned tuna (Can be found in Shenzhen)
Whip cream
Gelatin
Aspirin
Cranberries
Cranberry juice/sauce
French bread (Can be found in Shenzhen)
Frozen strawberries
Index cards
Cherries
Litter boxes
Salsa (Can be found in Shenzhen)
Poptarts
Parsley/oregeno/paprika/dry mustard/cumin/basil/thyme/dill weed/celery salt/rosemary/peppercorns/cinnamon/garlic salt/tarragon/onion powder/cilantro seasonings
Worcestershire sauce (Can be found in Shenzhen)
Frozen pizza
Hamburger buns (Can be found in Shenzhen)
Waffles
Toasters
Fish batter
Tartar sauce
Corndogs
English books
Large bras/condoms/sweatshirts
Tampons
Perfume
Power converter
Bibles
Cereal
Pasta
Gyros
Nyquil
PeptoBismol
Diet Coke
Chapstick
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Breath mints
Nachos
Chex Mix
Pretzels (Can be found in Shenzhen)
Marshmallows
Graham crackers
Tortillas
Shrimp cocktail sauce (Can be found in Shenzhen)
English muffins
Fortune cookies
Eggrolls
Snapple
Cotton balls
Calamine lotion
Construction paper
Felt
Duct tape
Powdered sugar
Baking powder
Pudding
Chocolate syrup
Conditioner
Large towels
Cake mixes
Easter egg dye
Caramel
Kool Aid
Gatorade
Bacon bits
Pot pies
Lasagna
Potato salad
Ice cream cones
Ranch/French/Italian dressing
Food coloring
Canned pineapple/prune juice
Blueberries/raspberries
Pumpkins
Hot dog buns
Cake decorations
Chilli
Casseroles
Clam chowder
Cotton candy
Baking pans
Ovens
Melba toast (Can be found in Shenzhen)
Romaine lettuce
Garlic bread
Rye bread
Pie shells
Shortening
Bagels
Muffins
Cupcakes
Donuts
Au gratin potatoes
Meatloaf
Brisket
Bumper stickers
Smoke detectors
Insulation
Fluoride
Birth control pills
Cinnamon rolls
Danishes
Lettuce, butter, cereal, raisins, fresh milk, and cheese are very difficult to find here. Many of the above items may be available in Asia, but the brand may be not be very good or the price will be very high.
Maybe some of these items are seasonal or can be bought in large cities like HK, but it's still amazing how such common and simple products are so difficult (impossible?) to find here. Many Chinese just don't realize how
deprived they are. People looking for brothels, dried fish, cooking oil, noodles, rice, or 50 kinds of tea, will find China to be heaven. Other people may find Zhongguo to be a bit boring after a while. Eating rice, noodles, and dumplings everyday gets old quick. Overseas Chinese are lucky that they can go to the local Chinatown if they get a little homesick when they are abroad. Too bad foreigners can't have the best of China and the best of our home countries, too. At least saving money is easy since most things are cheap and there's not many good things to buy.
Although foreigners in China probably won't miss these items if they are just coming here for a little two week holiday, those who plan to stay longer should consider having someone send them care packages or packing an extra large suitcase.
Perhaps there could be a market for foreign products in China. If a smart business person considers the 1.3 billion Chinese and the 230,000 foreigners living in China, he or she could make a fortune importing foreign products here. The few imported goods already in China are just a drop in a bucket. Pepsi, Coke, and McDonald's are fine, but it would be nice to have Thai, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern, German, Greek, and Indian food, Italian Garden, Wendy's, and Taco Time, too. China has been cut off from the rest of the world for years and they don't know what they've been missing.
I hope this is helpful to someone. You have been warned.
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