Chinese Tourists walking in traffic

[newermonkey]

1) I was working at a hotel some years ago and had lots of equipment I was taking down to the lobby, when I got there lift doors opened and about 15 chinese tourists piled into the lift blocking my way out. so having access to the controls I turned off the lift and waited, it was like they never saw me, I was a ghost to them. I waited about 20 min for them to finally evacuate the lift so I could unload the equipment. There had no reaction to me whatsoever even when they must have noticed me turning off the lift with a key!!!!!

2) Only last week there was a Chinese family in Tesco Lotus, I was looking at some products on a shelf when the fat woman pushed me out the way so she could grab something that was directly in front of me, in fact the entire family (5 people) just hijacked my spot without an excuse-me or kortoad in sight, nothing... just Argy-bargy

So I tried their tactic back at them I pushed in front of them and grabbed a product off the shelf right in front of the fat womans face (2 inches away) I thought my action was so rude they would have gotten the message, but NO they ignored me completely.

I wonder if the chinese are living in a different parallel universe and we are all invisible to them, just a thought?

[Lancelot]

The Chinese believe that spitting clears out the digestive system, or something like that. The health benefits of a good hocker are considered to be quite positive. At least they're not wearing pajamas in public here, which is acceptable in China.

The Hong Kong Chinese don't like the mainlanders as the mainlanders are considered to be rude, uncultured and unsophisticated. This is a stereotype as I've known many well educated and sophisticated Chinese citizens. As with any nationality, it's the oddballs who create a bad name for the rest. Perhaps China simply has more oddballs?

Having lived in China, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand and elsewhere in Asia, I nonetheless have to agree with a previous post commenting that the Koreans are in a higher league (more polite) than the generally ill-mannered people of China.

I've enjoyed traveling in China, but yes the Chinese do enjoy a good spit, LOL. I went on a package tour (west of Chung Du) with some Chinese tourists and I also learned that it was common for them to throw chicken bones on the floor of the restaurant. I never saw this in say, Beijing or Shanghai but I was later told that throwing bones, etc on the floor is not unusual in many restaurants.

Like the lady said "Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas any more..."

[patjem]

It might help if we had side walks you could walk on. As is you have to watch out for parked motor bikes and at times parked cars on them not to mention side walk sellers telephone booths holes in the side walks and different elevations in them.

I have never been to China are their sidewalks as cluttered up as are's?

I have no problem walking on the street but I walk on the side of it never two abreast and never in the middle of it.

Yes, they are. Same issues: telegraph poles, booths, trees planted in the middle of the sidewalks, and not forgetting slow-walking/ meandering locals. In China, it's much easier to walk in the street.

[impulse]

You have to remember that within living memory, Chinese folks that did not queue jump, lie and cheat- starved to death, or watched their kids starve.

By the same token, it was also within living memory that Chinese streets were for walking and bicycles- because only the top government officials had cars.

It will take generations to get past that kind of memory and the lingering habits necessitated by famine, and the effects of a life similar to what we're now seeing in N Korea.

[nami]

Certainly my last visit to China was an eye-opener. Zebra crossings are like a target for motorists, and even if the pedestrian light is green for crossing, motor cyclists and their version of a tuk-tuk just force people out of the way. Maybe they use the road as their footpaths are so crowded, and it's also easier to spit.

I kid you not, and just last week I heard and saw one clear his throat and spit onto the floor of TOPS supermarket.

Back in Europe, many years ago, my mother had a business relationship with Chinese migrants working in the clothes manufacturing. We went once to the apartment of one of the families and were talking with the wife when the husband came home from the street and spit on his own floor. The wife rushed to get the mop to clean it, we were completely shocked by the strange behavior.

[nami]

1) I was working at a hotel some years ago and had lots of equipment I was taking down to the lobby, when I got there lift doors opened and about 15 chinese tourists piled into the lift blocking my way out. so having access to the controls I turned off the lift and waited, it was like they never saw me, I was a ghost to them. I waited about 20 min for them to finally evacuate the lift so I could unload the equipment. There had no reaction to me whatsoever even when they must have noticed me turning off the lift with a key!!!!!

2) Only last week there was a Chinese family in Tesco Lotus, I was looking at some products on a shelf when the fat woman pushed me out the way so she could grab something that was directly in front of me, in fact the entire family (5 people) just hijacked my spot without an excuse-me or kortoad in sight, nothing... just Argy-bargy

So I tried their tactic back at them I pushed in front of them and grabbed a product off the shelf right in front of the fat womans face (2 inches away) I thought my action was so rude they would have gotten the message, but NO they ignored me completely.

I wonder if the chinese are living in a different parallel universe and we are all invisible to them, just a thought?

Haha, good experiences. I agree with you, it's like they are living in a different world and are unaware (or don't give a $h17) about the rest of the standard world X-D

[thaifamilyguy]

I lived over a decade in China, some of the considerations are where these particular tourists are from, its a big country. Even chinese in the big cities have to deal with chinese that come in and have no clue how to navigate (or appreciate the risks). I used to chaulk this all up to growing up when there were no cars only bikes and so long as you walked w/out any sudden moves, the bikes just move around you...then they show up in a city and wham!...Walking down the street is very often the norm in many places in china where the sidewalks was short and cluttered with merchants using as if extensions of their shops and again, few cars.

I would guess they are mostly reletively poor employees on company trips, 1/2 the cost of which I am sure ends up in the CEO's pocket. I have heard the tour guides stand up at beginning of flights and explain how they need to stay in their seats on take off and landing, no spitting on the floor, etc....and still there is often some guy, at 300 ft on approach, who gets up and goes to the bathroom.

Company trips are expected and Thailand works very well as very favorable entry.

[marell]

Nonsense. I've never seen a Thai do this in more than 20 years living here.

+1

[thaifamilyguy]

1) I was working at a hotel some years ago and had lots of equipment I was taking down to the lobby, when I got there lift doors opened and about 15 chinese tourists piled into the lift blocking my way out. so having access to the controls I turned off the lift and waited, it was like they never saw me, I was a ghost to them. I waited about 20 min for them to finally evacuate the lift so I could unload the equipment. There had no reaction to me whatsoever even when they must have noticed me turning off the lift with a key!!!!!

2) Only last week there was a Chinese family in Tesco Lotus, I was looking at some products on a shelf when the fat woman pushed me out the way so she could grab something that was directly in front of me, in fact the entire family (5 people) just hijacked my spot without an excuse-me or kortoad in sight, nothing... just Argy-bargy

So I tried their tactic back at them I pushed in front of them and grabbed a product off the shelf right in front of the fat womans face (2 inches away) I thought my action was so rude they would have gotten the message, but NO they ignored me completely.

I wonder if the chinese are living in a different parallel universe and we are all invisible to them, just a thought?

Haha, good experiences. I agree with you, it's like they are living in a different world and are unaware (or don't give a $h17) about the rest of the standard world X-D

mainland never did "lines" to line up for anything, you pushed your way to the front (say to mail a letter) and the clerk just decided who was next, realized it gave the clerk the power to choose and she/he couldn't care less what was happening on the otherwise of the counter....you would not see this in Shanghai but in most of china? yeah, you lean in grab what you can and get out, they expect no less from you if that is any help!

[SiamKitt]

Time & time again we see Thai-Chinese Hi-So's crossing the roads in Hua Hin without even hesitating to look for traffic.

We always see groups of 4-5 or 6 'white-faced' Bangkonians walk straight out causing cars & bikes to stop..& they NEVER look at the motorists..just keep walking with heads held high..pure cockiness. (makes my blood boil at their arrogance also).

[johnlandy]

They walk as they do because they have been taught that Thailand is still using buffalo to transport people around.

But the 'chous' don't have this on their own, many tourists seem to leave their brains at home or turned off. The do things here that they would never do at home.

That is why some return home in boxes.....

[SDH]

In CM recently, near Thapae Gate, a turn in the sidewalk narrows, enough so that 2 Chinese could not get through with their motorbikes. Rather than back out, they just parked them there, so nobody could walk on the sidewalk. Everyone had to go into the street to get around the corner. They went for lunch.

You see how well the Chinese can adapt to the plight of no parking!

I wonder what restaurant they went to?

I hope they were given a discount for being Chinese!

[Mapguy]

1) I was working at a hotel some years ago and had lots of equipment I was taking down to the lobby, when I got there lift doors opened and about 15 chinese tourists piled into the lift blocking my way out. so having access to the controls I turned off the lift and waited, it was like they never saw me, I was a ghost to them. I waited about 20 min for them to finally evacuate the lift so I could unload the equipment. There had no reaction to me whatsoever even when they must have noticed me turning off the lift with a key!!!!!

2) Only last week there was a Chinese family in Tesco Lotus, I was looking at some products on a shelf when the fat woman pushed me out the way so she could grab something that was directly in front of me, in fact the entire family (5 people) just hijacked my spot without an excuse-me or kortoad in sight, nothing... just Argy-bargy [/size]

So I tried their tactic back at them I pushed in front of them and grabbed a product off the shelf right in front of the fat womans face (2 inches away) I thought my action was so rude they would have gotten the message, but NO they ignored me completely.

I wonder if the chinese are living in a different parallel universe and we are all invisible to them, just a thought?

The elevator story reminds me of the posts about the crowds gathered outside the door of the Chiang Mai immigration office in the morning and the pushing and shoving --- it seems mostly by farang --- at various windows inside the office. It seems to equate ethnicity with pushiness doesn't hold up so well.

[pacovl46]

They probably were like: "Can you believe how little traffic there is on the road compared to back home?!"

[Choonpon]

Such a shame to read about the chinese's behaviour in Thailand. They probably think they are like deities over there, just because they have money.

But I hope people don't discriminate all chinese, just because of some black sheeps.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[aussieexpat1068]

Driving here is treacherous enough. YES having to dodge Chinese and Korean pedestrians that just seem to breathing oxygen minus the simple physics fact that car v's human body = a dumb look when you hit your horn, is more than beyond comprehension.

[Mapguy]

Come on, people!

A person does not have to be "politically correct" to be appalled by some of the slurs above.

On the simplest level, many tourists from wherever, not just China, seem to wander or bike around lacking a sense of self-survival! Locally, many Thai students and friends walk in the road here, or seem oblivious to vehicles, even on very busy roads, not just very narrow lanes. Never mind Thai drivers going the wrong way! If you drive, it can be scary! But don't always blame them, either. As some have posted above, how "walkable" is this city? It isn't !!

China is a big country. I haven't been everywhere, but I know many cities have very broad and attractive footpaths. There are also some tighter spots with narrow lanes. Caution is advised, of course. Many people are new drivers, just as they are in Thailand.

But I think one of the reasons many Chinese come here is because Chiang Mai has not been totally overwhelmed by modernization, as many places in China have been. Why --- shopping mall denizens excepted --- are you here?

[charmonman]

Rightly or wrongly (rightly IMHO) the Chinese are getting a reputation for being the most badly behaved tourists on earth, no matter where they go. The Ugly American is a thing of the past, say hello to the Ugly Chinese.

Obviously not all Chinese are rude and obnoxious but enough of them are for it to be a problem, especially when there are 1.3 billion of them.

I dread to think of a world overrun by a relatively wealthy people with a false sense of cultural superiority over everyone else but who are still f(*ing peasants as far as I can see.

[impulse]

Those of you who are amazed that they're oblivious to being honked at have never been to China. In China, they drive with their horns. If you react every time someone honks a horn, you'll be one big, raw exposed nerve at the end of the day.

That's one of the beautiful things I noticed right away moving from China directly to Thailand- the lack of horn. Of course, it's compensated by the miserable din of tuk-tuk exhaust noise and the fumes, but hey...

[Mickeem]

To be fair, in tourist areas it's not unusual to see westerners walking around in the road, seemingly oblivious to traffic.

And don't forget the Japanese tourists they are just as oblivious until you give a toot on the horn then watch them jump..

They are also a danger to road users and themselves .. I remember about 10yrs back when a young lady I knew turning into a lane off Loa Kroh ploughed right into 3 Japanese walking in the middle of the road.. then just a few days later saw a Japanese guy wandering around in the middle of Loa Kroh get hit by a tuk tuk.

[HaleySabai]

I kid you not, and just last week I heard and saw one clear his throat and spit onto the floor of TOPS supermarket.

...holy s*%t, that must be the same freak that I saw do the same in Walmart's produce-section in Kunming a few years ago! disgusting.... and no one even batted an eye.

The Chinese seem to have no sense of direction or peripheral awareness; just walking down a side walk resembles an ant-hill.

[Payboy]

I kid you not, and just last week I heard and saw one clear his throat and spit onto the floor of TOPS supermarket.

You just witnessed the live birth of one of those wonderful Chinese oysters. Nat Geo would pay a fortune for footage of that elusive event.

[spidermike007]

I know this question will come back and bite me on the a... but. How do you know these are Chinese people? I can't seem to tell the difference between them and Koreans or Thais unless they are talking.

You can always tell by listening. The Chinese languages sound very distinctive, and guttural. Alot of throat scratching sounds, and wierd tones. Twisting of the tongue. Very peculiar sounds. Makes Korean or Japanese sounds like an elegant poetry reading. Yes, the Chinese are very peculiar people, with bizarre customs, and strange behavior. But, they will never be as rude or unpleasant as the Russians. Never. Get used to it, as they are now the largest tourist group in the world. More Chinese people travel now, than any other group. They are here to stay.

[spectrumisgreen]

I must admit that today I saw three Chinese tourists walking side by side walking down a fairly main street forcing all the cars going in their direction to go around them. The problem was when a bunch of cars came from the opposite direction they continued on their merry way and seemed oblivious to a bunch of cars stuck behind them.

But not simply a 'Chinese' thing is it? It may well be all Asians, but certainly in Thailand, Thais themselves wander along oblivious to all sounds of traffic especially on smaller, narrower roads.. as a teacher here it both amazes me and screws my head up the way kids seem totally unaware of approaching cars or motorcycles WITHIN schools unless you actually 'BEEP!!!' right behind them or throttle up or whatever... even then its seen more of a joke.. all 'hee-hees' as they jostle each other playfully out the way.. even seen bunches of teenage girls do this out on the main road, such as when big truck going too fast anyway came past, nearly clipped me on my little Honda and and the f* total imbecile driver then nearly waylaid the girls without a second glance.. still they went 'Oooh!' and laughed and carried on regardless ('We were nearly killed, tee-hee!'???).. any lessons absolutely NOT learned to be f* careful and always aware on these roads or you may actually just die in a f* blink!!! Not much different to adults when it comes to traffic awareness, in my six years experience, though I think it's commonly and largely a noise-desensitised issue, not just traffic/ danger awareness, with all the speakers possible blasting everything from when to be respectful (fair enough!) to who's given how much to the temple(s) or other local fund (to make the 'lesser' donors feel bad and do better next time?) and.. mostly.. advertising (including musical plug-ins!) on a Philip K. Dick futureworld scale...

... ps: I do not say these things to 'slag off' Thailand.. I long ago realigned my 'wish to live here' allegiance to this country, the UK and even my own small-town being/ feeling far too serious, nowadays, with too many there seemingly half-content to play out their lives in what seems a continuously unhappy living soap-opera!!.. they tell me how bad it is themselves! (+ I was back for 5 months last year, when my dad was seriously ill).. but awareness of ALL issues, here, ie in a country where life can be too easily lost and bad things can quickly happen in a million different ways is a MUST just NOT an option for ANY of us... as for the Chinese, specifically, most of the ones I know are quite young, also teachers or student-teachers and often quickly trying to integrate into the 'Thai-way', and I can well imagine their similarly thoughtless (non-)attitude to the roads and traffic, even the older ones.. after all, probably as in Thailand, an older person will 'assume' their maturity based on the physical fact they are not kids and so couldn't possibly be acting like one on the roads or anywhere else!!.. In truth, when it comes to tourists and traffic, we even used to get this in England where I lived by the sea, every summer when the holiday-makers and day-trippers (from UK cities, so mostly Brits!) would overwhelm the town and wander aimlessly in front of cars, sometimes mothers or fathers even pushing their babes in prams in front to MAKE vehicles stop for them... (so , yes, I'd say mad people - of all denominations - make it a mad world, sometimes, but it'll have to do for now, I reckon!)...

Edited June 15, 2013 by spectrumisgreen

[Microwave]

Nothing like working up a good hocker to make a person feel good. Shanghai is hocker city!

[uptheos]

Is this shapes of things to come?

3,500 years survival until the ignorant Chinese arrived.

How long before they start defacing relics in Thailand?

The boom in Chinese tourists traveling abroad appears to have led to at least one embarrassing incident for Chinese officials. Earlier this month, Mandarin characters were found etched into a 3,500-year-old relic inside Egypt’s Luxor temple. An ashamed Chinese visitor snapped a photo of the graffiti — which read, “Ding Jinhao was here” — and posted it to the country’s popular microblog, Sina Weibo.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/05/29/tourist-behaving-badly-chinese-teen-defaces-egyptian-relic/

[Lancelot]

Sad the chinese have landed...

Naaa, I love 'em. The Russians too because they make us Americans look good

[trainman34014]

I think most countries will ignore any bad behaviour from most tourists no matter where they come from because they are spending loads of dosh. I'm sure Harrods in London are not too pleased when Chinese spit on their floors but hey; Chinese tourists are spending many more millions in Knightsbridge and the West End than anyone from any other country these days.

I've spent long enough in China to see most sides of life and generally speaking they are no better or worse behaved than most other countries i've been to.

Anyone thought the reason they are walking in the road could be because of the lack off decent pavements to walk on? I have to walk in the road a lot myself in some parts of town.

[newermonkey]

1) I was working at a hotel some years ago and had lots of equipment I was taking down to the lobby, when I got there lift doors opened and about 15 chinese tourists piled into the lift blocking my way out. so having access to the controls I turned off the lift and waited, it was like they never saw me, I was a ghost to them. I waited about 20 min for them to finally evacuate the lift so I could unload the equipment. There had no reaction to me whatsoever even when they must have noticed me turning off the lift with a key!!!!!

2) Only last week there was a Chinese family in Tesco Lotus, I was looking at some products on a shelf when the fat woman pushed me out the way so she could grab something that was directly in front of me, in fact the entire family (5 people) just hijacked my spot without an excuse-me or kortoad in sight, nothing... just Argy-bargy [/size]

So I tried their tactic back at them I pushed in front of them and grabbed a product off the shelf right in front of the fat womans face (2 inches away) I thought my action was so rude they would have gotten the message, but NO they ignored me completely.

I wonder if the chinese are living in a different parallel universe and we are all invisible to them, just a thought?

The elevator story reminds me of the posts about the crowds gathered outside the door of the Chiang Mai immigration office in the morning and the pushing and shoving --- it seems mostly by farang --- at various windows inside the office. It seems to equate ethnicity with pushiness doesn't hold up so well.

I guess pushiness can be any race's forte but some just seem to be champions at it.

[spectrumisgreen]

I must admit that today I saw three Chinese tourists walking side by side walking down a fairly main street forcing all the cars going in their direction to go around them. The problem was when a bunch of cars came from the opposite direction they continued on their merry way and seemed oblivious to a bunch of cars stuck behind them.

But not simply a 'Chinese' thing is it? It may well be all Asians, but certainly in Thailand, Thais themselves wander along oblivious to all sounds of traffic especially on smaller, narrower roads.. as a teacher here it both amazes me and screws my head up the way kids seem totally unaware of approaching cars or motorcycles WITHIN schools unless you actually 'BEEP!!!' right behind them or throttle up or whatever... even then its seen more of a joke.. all 'hee-hees' as they jostle each other playfully out the way.. even seen bunches of teenage girls do this out on the main road, such as when big truck going too fast anyway came past, nearly clipped me on my little Honda and and the f* total imbecile driver then nearly waylaid the girls without a second glance.. still they went 'Oooh!' and laughed and carried on regardless ('We were nearly killed, tee-hee!'???).. any lessons absolutely NOT learned to be f* careful and always aware on these roads or you may actually just die in a f* blink!!! Not much different to adults when it comes to traffic awareness, in my six years experience, though I think it's commonly and largely a noise-desensitised issue, not just traffic/ danger awareness, with all the speakers possible blasting everything from when to be respectful (fair enough!) to who's given how much to the temple(s) or other local fund (to make the 'lesser' donors feel bad and do better next time?) and.. mostly.. advertising (including musical plug-ins!) on a Philip K. Dick futureworld scale...

... ps: I do not say these things to 'slag off' Thailand.. I long ago realigned my 'wish to live here' allegiance to this country, the UK and even my own small-town being/ feeling far too serious, nowadays, with too many there seemingly half-content to play out their lives in what seems a continuously unhappy living soap-opera!!.. they tell me how bad it is themselves! (+ I was back for 5 months last year, when my dad was seriously ill).. but awareness of ALL issues, here, ie in a country where life can be too easily lost and bad things can quickly happen in a million different ways is a MUST just NOT an option for ANY of us... as for the Chinese, specifically, most of the ones I know are quite young, also teachers or student-teachers and often quickly trying to integrate into the 'Thai-way', and I can well imagine their similarly thoughtless (non-)attitude to the roads and traffic, even the older ones.. after all, probably as in Thailand, an older person will 'assume' their maturity based on the physical fact they are not kids and so couldn't possibly be acting like one on the roads or anywhere else!!.. In truth, when it comes to tourists and traffic, we even used to get this in England where I lived by the sea, every summer when the holiday-makers and day-trippers (from UK cities, so mostly Brits!) would overwhelm the town and wander aimlessly in front of cars, sometimes mothers or fathers even pushing their babes in prams in front to MAKE vehicles stop for them... (so , yes, I'd say mad and/ or thoughtless people - of all denominations - make it a mad and/ or thoughtless world, sometimes, but it'll have to do for now, I reckon!)...

Edited June 15, 2013 by spectrumisgreen