UPDATE Summer 2021, Check this shit out
UPDATE Feb 2020 - below
Dear fellow traveler. Do all Asians ‘look alike’ to you? Good news, that doesn't make you racist. Also, it isn’t discrimination. Far from it. You are not a racist. You are just a willfully ignorant traveler. We all start out that way. If you could discriminate features and behaviors, THEN you could be racist and generalize... like I am about to right now.
Dear fellow traveler. Do all Asians ‘look alike’ to you? Good news, that doesn't make you racist. Also, it isn’t discrimination. Far from it. You are not a racist. You are just a willfully ignorant traveler. We all start out that way. If you could discriminate features and behaviors, THEN you could be racist and generalize... like I am about to right now.
If you were a discriminating person, then you would know which specific
people you were slandering with your racist generalizations. I am here to
help.
First off, the Japanese are (still) the ones with cameras. You are thinking, duh. It's travel, everyone has a camera. No, they don't. Everyone else is using their cell phones. My cell phone camera surpassed my actual camera in megapixels about 8 years ago. Even if I lost or busted my cell phone, all the pictures up through the night before are backed up now. I don’t know if digital cameras do that, but I suppose many do. A rough guess would say 80% of tourists are just using their cell phones now. Except the Japanese.
Ok, now you can figure out which Asians are Japanese. Look at you, you budding little racist! *** NOT TRUE - I love the Japanese. I have no beef with them, and have not said a single thing unkind. We are not here to pick on the Japanese, or any other Asians. No sir, we are here to pick on the Chinese.
First off, the Japanese are (still) the ones with cameras. You are thinking, duh. It's travel, everyone has a camera. No, they don't. Everyone else is using their cell phones. My cell phone camera surpassed my actual camera in megapixels about 8 years ago. Even if I lost or busted my cell phone, all the pictures up through the night before are backed up now. I don’t know if digital cameras do that, but I suppose many do. A rough guess would say 80% of tourists are just using their cell phones now. Except the Japanese.
Ok, now you can figure out which Asians are Japanese. Look at you, you budding little racist! *** NOT TRUE - I love the Japanese. I have no beef with them, and have not said a single thing unkind. We are not here to pick on the Japanese, or any other Asians. No sir, we are here to pick on the Chinese.
Chinese people are
mean. There, I said it. Now let's get into it. I have
traveled a decent number of places internationally. Ok, let me
clarify before I insult an entire continent. Chinese people may be
fine. They probably are. Chinese tourists, though...
especially female and older, are just terrible people monsters. I can finally prove
it. I have literally had this piece in my head for the last decade... but
I was afraid to write it. That was... until I saw the train story. Then, there is what our Austrian tour
guide said, verbatim
"There are civilized people, and then there are the Chinese."
- our Austrian (local) tour guide
I don’t even know what prompted that comment, but it wasn’t me. I was all kinds of validated after I heard that, though. After he made that comment, even Linda popped up "yeah, what is up with that? I am scared of them!" Linda said that! Linda is a very very sweet older retired gal who spent her life teaching diversity classes on a native American reservation school. That means there is no one nicer or more patient on Earth than Linda. and the Chinese pissed off Linda. Once I had those two bullets (Linda, and our guide)... I knew I had to write this piece.
Soon, everyone was piping up about their recent experiences with Chinese tourists. As I am writing this, I wanted to do some research. Maybe I am just culturally insensitive. Has anyone else had troubles with Chinese tourists?
um... turns out big YES on that one. Read on!
In Switzerland, Chinese tourists are given their own trains to travel in. I thought this was an Onion article when I first found it.Switzerland has introduced special coaches for Chinese tourists, as locals consider them to be ‘loud’ and ‘rude’.This is some serious shit. This is segregation. This is ‘separate but equal’. This is how we treated black people. 50 years ago! You think the people who put this program together didn’t know that? You think they didn’t understand the potential blowback from one of the most powerful… and potentially threatening, countries on Earth? I thought the Swiss were a happy and contented cheese eating people.
This BBC articles blames their “strong presence”. I like that. That is diplomatically handled.
"There are civilized people, and then there are the Chinese."
- our Austrian (local) tour guide
I don’t even know what prompted that comment, but it wasn’t me. I was all kinds of validated after I heard that, though. After he made that comment, even Linda popped up "yeah, what is up with that? I am scared of them!" Linda said that! Linda is a very very sweet older retired gal who spent her life teaching diversity classes on a native American reservation school. That means there is no one nicer or more patient on Earth than Linda. and the Chinese pissed off Linda. Once I had those two bullets (Linda, and our guide)... I knew I had to write this piece.
Soon, everyone was piping up about their recent experiences with Chinese tourists. As I am writing this, I wanted to do some research. Maybe I am just culturally insensitive. Has anyone else had troubles with Chinese tourists?
um... turns out big YES on that one. Read on!
In Switzerland, Chinese tourists are given their own trains to travel in. I thought this was an Onion article when I first found it.Switzerland has introduced special coaches for Chinese tourists, as locals consider them to be ‘loud’ and ‘rude’.This is some serious shit. This is segregation. This is ‘separate but equal’. This is how we treated black people. 50 years ago! You think the people who put this program together didn’t know that? You think they didn’t understand the potential blowback from one of the most powerful… and potentially threatening, countries on Earth? I thought the Swiss were a happy and contented cheese eating people.
This BBC articles blames their “strong presence”. I like that. That is diplomatically handled.
A mountain resort in Switzerland is launching special train services for Chinese tourists to defuse tensions with other visitors, it is reported.Noisy throngs of Chinese tourists disturb those who visit Mount Rigi in the Alps in search of peace and relaxation, reports the Swiss newspaper Blick.
They crowd the corridors while taking pictures from the train, there has been rudeness in packed carriages, and some even report seeing tourists spit on the floor, the paper says. Visitors from Asia have helped to bring the struggling local railway company back on track, but, according to its chief Peter Pfenniger, "their strong presence is a challenge".
I am a thinker, and I have been stewing over this for years. Why the Chinese?
I think culturally they are just super alpha, and tough as nails. These are not a meek people, and never have been. They are a land of conquerors and pioneers. While annoying, I also must admit I admire their chutzpah. In Thailand, Chinese folks were kinda respected and kinda feared.
Think of being at the Louvre, there are probably a thousand people in front of the Mona Lisa at any minute. Imagine a tourist behind you telling you to get out of the way so they can take a picture. Now, imagine that same person expects all 1,000 people to move out of her way for her single need. NOW... imagine it works and we all DO get the fuck out of the way. That lady is scary! That lady is the middle aged Chinese tourist.
I bet they got the best pictures, though. I missed my sunset pics at Angkor Watt because of this terrorist behind me. In fact, many of my memories of Ankgor Wat was Chinese women screaming at everyone to get ou of their shot. Now... I know better. I would ignore her. Then, though, I did not. I was a naive and respectful tourist. What an ass I was.
UPDATE 2020
they are literally ruining Antactica now. China is one of the few countries that (for some reason) takes tourists to Antactica. It's creating problems. I read this week they are littering everywhere, and getting in the way of the science. Now, I read they have been hunting down there. WTF?
I think culturally they are just super alpha, and tough as nails. These are not a meek people, and never have been. They are a land of conquerors and pioneers. While annoying, I also must admit I admire their chutzpah. In Thailand, Chinese folks were kinda respected and kinda feared.
Think of being at the Louvre, there are probably a thousand people in front of the Mona Lisa at any minute. Imagine a tourist behind you telling you to get out of the way so they can take a picture. Now, imagine that same person expects all 1,000 people to move out of her way for her single need. NOW... imagine it works and we all DO get the fuck out of the way. That lady is scary! That lady is the middle aged Chinese tourist.
I bet they got the best pictures, though. I missed my sunset pics at Angkor Watt because of this terrorist behind me. In fact, many of my memories of Ankgor Wat was Chinese women screaming at everyone to get ou of their shot. Now... I know better. I would ignore her. Then, though, I did not. I was a naive and respectful tourist. What an ass I was.
UPDATE 2020
they are literally ruining Antactica now. China is one of the few countries that (for some reason) takes tourists to Antactica. It's creating problems. I read this week they are littering everywhere, and getting in the way of the science. Now, I read they have been hunting down there. WTF?
