I recalled from my previous trip to China, that western standards are alien. Take for example, toilets. If you can call them that. Many times it's just a hole in the ground.

Also, Personal Space is an alien concept. Just when you think not another living organism could possibly squeeze onto the train. A half dozen passengers (with baggage) push into your car at the station.

Speaking of trains. On an overnighter through the Gobi, I had no alternative but to take a "hard seat" for 9 hours. A "hard seat" is literally, a wooden seat on an over-populated car. It's the cheapest and most popular class of train travel in China. I tried my best to upgrade to "soft-sleeper". No luck. I endured a smoky, noisy, sweaty, filthy, smelly journey only because I prepared myself by flushing all preconceived notions of luxury travel. It was actually okay, even though I stood for 8 hours of the journey. Hard- seat is always over-booked. What made it bearable was a sweet old lady and her daughter. The old lady cut and peeled a melon and offerd me more than I could eat. The young lady offered me her seat for a short time. But what I remember the most of the 9 hour hell train was the industrious cabin boy. You see, he had grand ideas of sweeping the entire length of the car floor clean. He did manage to accomplish this grand task despite the lamenting and protesting from passengers as he swept over and under their feet. By the time he reached the end of the car (my location) he had a pile if crap over my ankles and almost reaching my knees (dead straight). Aside from the problem at my feet, there was a much larger dilemma. He lacked the foresight to plan what he would do with the pile of crap once he reached the end of the car. I could see terror in everyone's eyes thinking "My God, he's not going to leave it there. is he?" Everyone had advice, "burn it" yells one man, "eat it" thunders another. He began to looked dazed and confused.

As a conductor made his way though the car, the little cabin boy sought his mentors advice. The mentor said nothing, but pointed a single finger to the window. I thought, Na, he couldn't mean jettison it out the window ! Sure enough, the solution --- 6 heaping piles of plastic, glass bottles, fruit, butts, etc.... were chucked out a window. I watched in horror as pile after pile littered the virgin desert floor. [ sorry, no pictures ] . The little cabin boy, exhausted from a full days work, made his way through the car with chest out and chin high.

Such is "a day in the life" in China.