Lina in China

Drinking enough Water is really important in China. You are easily tempted to ignore your thirst while travelling. The Water from the tab can’t be drunken and often enough I ended up somewhere in the evening realising I had no bottle of drinking water.

In China the tab water can be drunken if it is boiled so what I did was boiling the water and drink it hot just like the Chinese do. The problem is that I am not accustomed to drinking hot water and never drank more then a cup in such situations.

Chinese breakfast is usually served without any drink. And since no one is drinking you feel strange about ordering some drink. The Chinese eat a strange soup or porridge containing no salt for breakfast that I find inedible. For Chinese this restores the water supply and I end up dry.

During the day, walking around then there are sold small bottles everywhere. These usually only contain 0.5 litres and are emptied soon and you end up dry in China. Usually I was drinking little bottles of sugared green tea while from Germany I am used to only drink water.

Also not accustomed to the warm-wet climate of Beijing I was sweating very much. And when I talk about sweating I mean that the whole body is wet, the sweat is running down my face.

Since days my skin had started to hang like in an old woman. I saw it, wondered about it and did not realize what this means. So I had started to live on my body-reserves without realising. Yesterday this ended in a big collapse.

At the night before I had gone to disco. I had danced with real fun until I was like in trance. I danced and danced and probably sweated several litres. I bought one small bottle of green tea witch I drank during that time and ate some pieces of water melon.

Since I was not supposed to come home in the night I was sleeping in a massage salon (more about that in another text). The breakfast offered was without any fluids not even a coffee or tea – Chinese breakfast. Then I started out for Olympia, running through the city, sweating and all I had to drink was some green tea. When I arrived at the Olympic Stadium of Beijing Security Check even took away from me the one bottle I had.

I suppose making it forbidden to carry fluids into the stadium is supposed to keep people from carrying alcohol. Bottles of water and tea where sold everywhere but I was in such a hurry to arrive at the game that I forgot to buy water. Once I had found a seat in a good position and with my big backpack I started to feel unbelievable thirsty. I was thinking about water all the time. My mouth was dry and my body.

Once I left my backpack (containing my laptop) and my seat in the mercy of some very nice Chinese in the Olympic Indoor Stadium of Beijing. I did not know them and I did not speak there language. So I did not sneak to go and buy some water. I was stupid enough to only buy one small bottle since it was expensive for Chinese relations (5 Yuan = 50 Eurocents) while a large bottle can be bought for 3 Yuan elsewhere.

I ended up dry again. When a woman of a Chinese family started to buy some something I asked her to bring me two bottles of water and a piece of bread. She came back with two pieces of bread…

When I returned home my friend was in a great hurry. Even though we had to drag along my whole luggage he insisted on taking the public transportation which is faster and cheaper then a taxi. I pointed out that I don’t think I can make it. That I have no water.

I was covered with sweat, running behind him carrying heavy luggage in the swearing sun. The sweat was running down my forehead and my toe that I had hurt a few days before started hurting more and more.

I started fantasising about water. I tried to buy water but in the shops we crossed there was none to be found. I believe my friend did not take my request as urgent as it was. He was in a great hurry and thought I can drink once we arrived. But I was close to collapse. I started to hate everything Chinese. Every Chinese sign I was seeing every Chinese word spoken I did not understand. Every Chinese face I saw and I even started to hate the Chinese patience. And especially the Chinese, who tried to enter the bus before we could leave it such that we missed our station.

My friend was trying to distract me by letting me tell stories about funny situations. But what I needed was water not stories.

When we arrived the idea was that I would stay in Starbucks (where I have Internet) in the care of a non-English speaking friend of my friend until they have finished their chores. Then something was wrong with my mobile phone, I believed I needed a pin number which I did not have. I opened my suitcase on the street in order to find the card I had gotten with it.

I cried and cried was unable to stop crying, was fearing to be left alone without mobile phone, without anyone whose language I speak. My thirst was unbearable my head ached and the sweat ran down my face, my body. I sat on the street with my opened suitcase; my belongings scattered on the street and cried and cried. My friend, who had been in such a hurry, just turned and walked away after a short time. I was left there crying and beyond reason with the Chinese and no one to speak German or even English.

I left all my possessions where they were. My laptop, my camera, my passport. I hated everything and everyone. I ran in the next restaurant requesting water. I did not know anymore how to speak or make myself understood even though I usually do. All I could remember was two words: “Shui” (water) and “ke” (thirst). “Shui” I pronounced wrong. I was just repeating shui and ke until they realized what I want. They gave me half a litre of water that I downed in one sip. Then another. They made me sit down in their air-conditioned room.

I slowly returned to my senses even though I was still miserable. The problem with my mobile phone was solved without language and the numbers exchanged. The friend of my friend than brought me to Starbucks, made sure my luggage is stored in a sae corner and left. At Starbucks they even spoke some English and many foreigners were there. I would have loved that place. It was great. But all I could feel was my unbearable thirst. I received a glass of Ice water with my coffee that was empty to fast. I did not dare to ask for more even though I would probably have gotten it.

Then I tried to find a toilet. The one inside was taking like forever. So I went to another floor where the toilet was also busy. So I went back downstairs and just saw someone else enter the toilet. My very loud “Scheiße!!!!!!!!!!” came from the heart and was not understood by anyone. But I guess the meaning was transported. Then I saw from afar how they removed my half coffee I had not drunken yet. I did not know what to scream in what language. I ran after my coffee screaming something, complaining in English I believe.

Then I went back to the upper floor for the toilet and another girl was now waiting for the door. So I went up one more etage and saw how the toilet door was closed. I screamed and pushed the door open. Inside was one employee of the store trying to clean or whatever. So finally I could use the toilet.

Back downstairs the brought me a new coffee for free. All Chinese where so unbelievable nice to me and still I hated them all. My heat was hurting and my thirst unbelievable. And after they ve been so nice how could I ask for more water?

Then my friend, his friend and me had some language or whatever mix up or whatever about where should I sleep and how to get there. I could do no more. I asked an English speaking Chinese friend from the Internet that I had never met before for help. She helped me to find a hotel for the night. She was even taking the next taxi to go to the hotel and help me there. She had also offered to come to Starbucks but that was far away. So I figured I could manage, just hop in a taxi? Forgot I was in China!

There was a long street, two many people and two few taxis. The taxi is stopping wherever The guest want to get of. And you are always in the wrong place. When the next taxi came I ran beside it jumped, stumbling against the taxi in front of some Chinese who had tried the same and screamed: “THIS IS MINE!!!!!” I had expected some fight, some argument now, maybe the driver refusing to drive me. I was screaming, crying and shaking. One security man came to check what it’s about and figured I am harmless. The taxi driver put the suitcase in his car and opened the door for me and everyone else stepped back and smiled. I gave the taxi driver the card of the hotel (I had slept there before) He confirmed with my English speaking Chinese friend. I was droped of safely and for a fair price.

I bought a big bottle of water and had a good shower. My friend treated me with some Pecking Duck, my favourite. I was drinking lots of water all night. This morning I wake up relaxed, my skin tough like it has always been. My head is fine only the toe still hurts and is swollen. But I am back to normal and fine so far.

I have never known what real thirst means until yesterday.

Tags: Dehydration while Traveling, Hot Climate, Sweating, Thirst in China

This entry was posted on Friday, September 12th, 2008 at 18:08 and is filed under Chinese Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.