View Single Post
Old 03-17-2015, 11:03 AM   #3010
glatt
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Arlington, VA
Posts: 27,717
A fascinating instagram feed from a traveler in China. You can get lost in here going through her posts and looking at her pictures.

One example:
Quote:
I'm experiencing the phenomenon of collaborative drunk driving. After a day of drinking Bai Jiu alcohol and BBQing with the fish farmers of #QingshuiRiver in #guizhou, we are heading back to the village to sleep. Our host has had way too much alcohol to stand up straight, but he's the only one who knows how to drive the van to the village. The road is a mix of rocks and concrete. To my left is a cliff with no guardrail, to my right is a mountain with signs of ongoing rock slides. To my front is a curve where incoming cars alert other cars by honking as there are no "lanes." There are a total of 7 grown ups and 1 baby seated in a 4-row van. The front seat passenger and the two people in the second row are leaning forward to actively watch the road for the driver. Their body language displays an alertness to the road, as they make slight utters to keep him attentive. His wife, the front seat passenger is saying, "hey keep your eyes open." Inside the van, It's a very convivial mode as everyone is laughing about the difficulties of driving after drinking. People burst out into laughter when one person says that his brother prefers to drive drunk because the mountain road becomes wider. During our whole trip, the driver doesn't swerve. He is navigating the vehicle at an exceptionally slow speed with other cars passing us. At one point the person sitting behind me jokingly said, "hey you're driving too slow, speed up!" While there are no social norms or laws around drunk driving in this part of rural China, the jokes amongst the riders and the collaborative navigation of the road reveals a recognition of its risks.
glatt is offline   Reply With Quote