When I went to China in 2010, we took the overnight trains from
Guangzhou to Guilin, and later from Nanjing to Beijing.
I didn't think they were overly nasty, although both did have the squat
toilets. I don't remember if they had toilet paper or the traditional
spray, but they had sinks with plenty of HOT water & liquid soap for
washing your hands.
The conductors came along and locked the doors to the restrooms while
the trains were in or near urban areas.
On 7/7/2015 3:21 AM, John Coyle wrote:
Try a Chinese overnight train, Bob - even your Indian one would have
seemed sanitary! And I never minded the squat toilets either: to some
extent they are more natural than a sit-upon one...
John in Brisbane
-----Original Message----- From: PDML [mailto:pdml-boun...@pdml.net]
On Behalf Of Bob W-PDML Sent: Tuesday, 7 July 2015 5:16 AM To:
Pentax-Discuss Mail List Subject: Re: PESO: Rapid Transit
I think the golden arches were inspired by two boys in a pissing
contest...
I've only eaten at McD 3 times in my life (and that's two times more
than I wanted) but they are handy for toilets sometimes, and in both
Russia and Romania I was told that they did an enormous amount to
raise standards of service and hygiene there.
You should be able to get an Americano in Paris, even in places like
Deux Magots. They're called Americano precisely because Americans
can't drink espresso, so they added hot water to it.
As for the toilets, well when I was there recently I was bemoaning
the fact that that type of toilet has all but disappeared from French
bars and brasseries, although there are still some in the
vespasiennes of the Midi. They were very common when I first started
visiting France in the 70s - I never understood them, but it's all
part of the texture and stopped the world being a bland homogenised
bleh. Since travelling in the 3rd world I do understand them now, and
they are much healthier than the western ones and, on Indian trains
at least, much cleaner. You have to unlearn your western habits
though.
B
On 6 Jul 2015, at 14:17, Daniel J. Matyola <danmaty...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Thanks, Rick and Alan.
What interested me was the McDonald's logo. Wherever I travel, I
am unable to escape their evil influence. OTOH, I always advise
travelers to look for the McDonald's when they first arrive in a
strange city. Without fail, it is located in the middle of the
major attractions, and it is a reliable source for clean, warm and
free toilet facilities, as well as large doses of decent, if not
excellent, coffee. In Paris, my wife and I had lunch at a famous
left bank cafe. They featured 20 varieties of ham and cheese
sandwiches and 2 ounce servings of coffee. When we asked about the
rest rooms, we discovered there was only one, in the basement, with
only a porcelain ring on the floor. We quickly fled to McDonald's,
with its very comfortable bathrooms and 20 ounce cups of hot black
coffee.
Shortly after arriving in Beijing, we took a stroll around the
neighborhood while waiting for our room to be ready. We walked to
the main Beijing train station, which was an overwhelming
experience. O, the humanity! <G> We were the only westerners in
sight. We then crossed the main road to a large shopping center.
In contrast to Tokyo (or even Kyoto) there was no written or spoken
English anywhere. The only Latin letters in sight were on one sign
outside a restaurant: KFC." Nothing else in English, just the
three letters. Nearby was another restaurant bearing the "roof"
log of Pizza Hut, but not even the name of the franchise was in
English. It was a most informative and educational 90 minutes
indeed.
In any event, that is why the golden arches caught my eye on this
vehicle.
Dan Matyola http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola
On Mon, Jul 6, 2015 at 12:26 AM, Alan C <c...@lantic.net> wrote:
Imagine trying to pedal that thing uphill with 4 large
passengers!
Alan C
-----Original Message----- From: Daniel J. Matyola Sent: Sunday,
July 05, 2015 10:42 PM To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List Subject:
PESO: Rapid Transit
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=18048442&size=lg Pedicabs
outside the Summer Palace in Beijing Comments are invited.
Dan Matyola http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola
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Religion - Answers we must never question.
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