10 Things I Won't Miss

Location

It was only just now that as I was cleaning out old boxes and getting ready for more travel and a big move that I came across these notes from my last big adventure. It was a list of things I wasn't going to miss about China during a winter break between seasons as a tour leader.

I had scribbled the list down on a piece of paper, probably at an airport somewhere, with the intention of posting it to my travel blog. I never did get around to writing that post but I did keep the list for the past three and a half years.

The top 10 things I wasn't going to miss about China (in no particular order) were:

1. Squat toilets offering up gifts from the previous occupant;

2. Taxi drivers who employ the 'red is for good luck' approach to traffic signals;

3. 11pm phone calls to my hotel room asking "Hello, massage?';

4. Answering the question "What are the Terracotta Warriors made of?" (it did happen more than a few times);

5. The greeting "Hello water, hello!" (to which I would often reply "It's nice to meet you too but my name isn't Water)";

6. Documentaries about Japan and WWII (it was almost a daily occurrence on CCTV4);

7. Hot stagnant summer weather that would seemingly give every plump man in the city license to roll their t-shirts up under their nipples and stand around on street corners comparing guts;

8. Catching lung cancer while trying to check my email (evidently chain smoking is compulsory while surfing the net);

9. Rice (and I love rice but you really do get it for every meal); and

10. The sky (only because I never got to see it through the thick layer of smog).

Almost four years since I left I actually do miss a few of these things, and most of the others at least make me smile. My very first visit to China was fun and interesting but I didn't really get to know it and love it until I had spent a good amount of time there. I'd love to go back to visit again one day. There's a lot of the country I haven't seen yet.

As I continue packing for my move to the US I wonder if I should write a list of things I won't miss about Australia. If I do I know it will be a struggle to find 10.