Unforgettable Incidences in Yunan, China

When I was in Yunan recently two incidences happened that I will remember for a long time to come. One I witness personally and the other is told to me by my friend who was directly involved in the incident.



Incident No 1

I was in Dali, cruising in a five-storey high ship in Erhai lake. The lake is about 42 km from one end to the other. The view is fantastic with the seagulls following along side. Naturally at one point of time I have to visit the toilet. It was always crowded with people especially the ladies. On that particular day we had about more than 500 people on our ship.

Side view of the ship that I cruised in.

Nearing the end of the cruise I went to the toilet for the last time. I was surprise to find it quite empty with the cleaner in sight. This man actually looked very stern and graff. While I was at the urinal, I heard the cleaner talking to someone in one of the cubicles. With my limited knowledge of spoken Mandarin I could make out that he was asking the man in the cubicle to hurry up. I look around and then it dawn on me that the cleaner was waiting to clean that particular cubicle. Probably he was waiting to change the container as there was a clean and empty one on the floor next to him.

I heard the man in the cubicle answered back. There was a brief exchange of words that sounds like they were arguing. Suddenly the cleaner pushed open the door and stood in front of the cubicle and started shouting at the man inside. From the corner of my eye I could make out the man in the cubicle was actually in the midst of doing is business as he was squatting down over the potty with his pants down. They continued to shout at each other. Of course I could not understand them as they were shouting in an accent that is typical of a China national. Not wanting to be caught in an ugly scene in a foreign land I quickly zipped up my trousers and make a dash for the narrow door, not even looking back at them.

Whew! What an experience!

Incidence No 2

One of my friends was queuing in the ladies. She was next in line. When the door of the cubicle in front of her opened a lady appeared from nowhere and dash into it, leaving my friend stunted. Almost immediately a younger lady appeared in front of her and announce loudly that she is next in line. Our tour leader who happened to be in there saw what happened and being very experienced told the two ladies off for jumping queue. The younger lady responded immediately that if she needed to queue up then she will go into the cubicle with the older lady at the same time. They both sounded like China nationals. With that remark they went in together. My friend was left standing speechless.

Cultural shock??????????