China has reached a new low or new high, however you choose to look at it, on the driving situation in this country. ex-Marine and I are not a timid passengers. Far be it! We’ve sat in jeeps that crossed one-lane swinging bridges over chasms. Sat in terror on switchback roads in Pakistan barely wide enough for the 4×4 let alone trucks and buses that passed us on curves. Crept up the mountain road to Darjeeling in a thick fog with no guard rails on the side. Almost been killed in Pakistan when road builders set off dynamite directly above our car sending boulders cascading down near the car. And, driven thousands of kilometers as a passenger in many third world countries.

This last trip through Southeastern China absolutely scared the bejesus out of us on a daily basis. China has created a monster driving situation with its burgeoning middle class who can now afford to buy cars. They tear out of side streets into traffic without a second thought or second look. They cross the double yellow line and speed into ongoing traffic in tunnels, and on six-lane highways. They make right turns from the far left lane and screech across opposing traffic. Buses and taxis run red lights consistently. No one signals and it appears that they drive with blinders on.

They do have to go to school for drivers ed before taking the two part test for a driver’s license – oral and driving. But you’d never know it. Other vehicles jockey for position and turn three lanes of traffic into five with narrow misses, fender benders and it was a miracle that we didn’t see bodies all over the streets.

People cross streets wherever they want and that includes darting out between cars. Women stand on the highway cleaning with a broom (the Chinese method of “cleaning streets”) while cars zoom by at 100 km/66 miles an hour. It has to be seen to be believed and we did a lot of gasping and “oh my God” interjections on a daily basis.

Another few words on a few plumbing eccentricities and hints that taxed our ingenuity.

- Sink stoppers. There are never sink plugs over sink drains. Occasionally, you’ll find a solid metal plate as part of the drain that flips sideways to let the water out. Push down on the plate and it will turn sideways. Others have a solid piece over the drain. Push down on it and it will pop up.

- Public Toilets. A few important facts when dealing with squat toilets. Women, roll up your pants or they’ll drag in the water. Watch footing because the marble around the toilet hole is always slippery. There may be a pedal towards the floor that you step on to flush. If not, use the buckets of water to flush waste down and DON’T throw toilet paper into the toilet. A big no-no that will clog it up. Throw toilet paper into the basket.

- Western toilets may look operational but still not flush. Again, use buckets of water to flush the waste and don’t throw toilet paper in it. If it does flush, there may be a level, handle, button on top, button to press in on the side of the toilet tank…do a little hunting.

- Showers and bathtubs. Ask how to use them instead of driving yourself nuts! I still remember one bathtub that had no connected plumbing to drain the tub and when I pulled the plug, water ran all over the floor!

- Look under the wash basin to see if there are actually pipes. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve turned on the faucet only to have all the water empty until our feet since there aren’t any drain pipes!

Live…learn…and traveling is never dull!