Have you ever been in this situation? Before going on a trip, you plan a lot of things on your itinerary _ what attractions you must visit, what food you have to taste, what clothes to bring for what kind of weather you'll face, even what you should wear every day during the trip. We're all greedy when it comes to holidays. We want to see all the famous and popular sights and eat all the famous food, otherwise the trip wouldn't be the same.
This is the normal situation for most Chinese tourists. Travel for them (for us!) is not about having a relaxing holiday, it's like going on a mission. Something that "they want to do" becomes "what they have to do". They only want to reinforce the I- have-been-to-many-places mentality, because more places means more experiences. Having a rest for them is basically a waste of time and they delete this option from their schedule.
Is this enough for them? No. Sometimes, because of limited time, there are always more places they want to go, all those places they see on the map or in the brochure but have no time to visit. This saddens Chinese people.
For example, if there are 10 places on the travel list, they will regret it even if they miss one. It's the same feeling as when you expect a birthday gift from a friend only for him/her not to give you one.
This situation happened to one of my friends from China. She was travelling around Thailand for a week. She wanted to see both southern and northern Thailand _ all the scenery and the customs. Even if she was not interested in a certain place, if she saw it in the guidebook, she would try to make it there. So she made an exhausting, non-stop itinerary to visit places and eat things.
Following her plan, we went to a restaurant which advertised hard-to-find and delicious Thai fare. But it wasn't what we had hoped for _ the food was nothing out of the ordinary yet expensive. Plans don't always work out, and Chinese tourists should try to come to terms with that. This is contrary to travellers from the West, who always want to explore and find interesting places by themselves and set aside time for rest during a trip. If they find a place that they like, they will stay there for a few days. That's a mindset Chinese tourists can hardly comprehend.
I decided that this approach was the real way to travel, so last week I visited Cambodia without making any plans. I just set aside one-and-a-half days for Phnom Penh and one day for Angkor Wat, surely a must-visit site for everyone.
Time was limited, however, so I did not set myself a mission. I didn't do any research about the customs and specialities of Cambodia. I wanted to be curious and let the country give me a full experience. And it turned out to be a fulfilling process. I had imagined an image of Phnom Penh. Does it look like Bangkok or Vientiane? What are the people like? Are they enjoying life like Thai people, or are they making a living like Chinese people? What is the food like? Would I like it?
I was surprised when I arrived in Phnom Penh.
The city didn't look like Bangkok nor Vientiane _ Bangkok is a modern city, Vientiane a peaceful one, and Phnom Penh is somewhere in between. The second stop was full of surprises, too. Before I went to Angkor Wat, I only knew that there were a lot of Khmer-style temples. I had been to Ayutthaya, so I thought that Angkor Wat must be similar _ blue skies, white clouds, green grass around ancient temples with wide open spaces. But I was wrong. Angkor Wat is a temple complex set near a forest. When the tuk-tuk took me into the forest, I was really surprised that Angkor Wat is surrounded by such a great environment. I enjoyed the cool and comfortable weather, the moist and fresh air. Even though I couldn't visit all the temples in one day, I still felt satisfied.
I am thinking about changing my travelling style. Just choose what you are interested in, then take your trip and relax as you encounter new places and experiences because too much planning is just tiring. The Chinese way makes sense when you want to complete your checklist and complete a mission _ but along the way you will lose many things. After all, travelling is not about the destination, but the surprises along the way.
Cui Yuchen is a Chinese journalist based in Bangkok on the FK exchange programme.