You sit down on a makeshift stool outside a roadside dumpling shop. The old man behind you lights up a cigarette as his bowl of noodles arrives. He slurps at them noisily moving each hand up to his mouth alternating between food and smoke. He is a picture postcard Chinese, wearing a blue Mao cap and matching button down shirt. A handful of wispy, white strands of hair hang off his chin and he is smoking his cigarette through a pipe. On his feet he wears the cloth shoes of a Kung Fu master, yet he walks with a cane.
You point to his noodles and instruct the owner of the restaurant that you want some of the same. he replies with a flurry of Chinese and a toothless smile. As you wait for your noodles you notice that you are under the watchful gaze of your fellow diners. Their stares, while relentless are completely without malice. Before long your noodles arrive and you begin to slurp away as the Chinese marvel at how well you can use chopsticks. As you eat the knackered old stereo in the back blasts you with the shrill treble tones of Chinese fusion pop. Not
so much strangling a cat as sending an entire platoon of cats to Abu Graib for an extended period.
Noodles finished you rise to pay the man nodding your thanks and appreciation and march off in to the road watching out for the thousands of electric scooters that glide around in absolute silence sneaking up on unsuspecting pedestrians. Once on the street you are passed by all manner of different people from all walks of life. Women bent double sifting through the garbage, young girls with freshly coiffed perms talking in to the latest Samsung video phone, groups of school children in identical tracksuits, Communist party officials proudly sporting their allegiance on their arms, old men sitting round playing Chess or Mah Jong. One of the most striking things you see on the streets is the outdoor gyms of which there are hundreds in every town and city. These are open to everybody but surprisingly they nearly always seem to be frequented by the elderly. You stop to marvel as 60+ year old men and women perform high kicks and stretch in to the splits
As you walk around taking in all the wonderful sights sounds and smells
you could be forgiven for thinking that there is a lot more here than just rice and chopsticks...
...and I didn't even mention the Olympics once!
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