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Q: Asking for directions in China?
Have you ever been given a straight answer?
Last week, my wife and I were visiting a shopping mall for the first time. She knew of a supermarket in that mall. We decided to go have a look and buy some supplies.
After asking at least a half dozen mall staff and being given various different half hearted conflicting waves of fingers, we found ourselves at the exit of the supermarket we wanted to enter.
My wife asked the exit staff where the entrance was. They said they did not know.
We went home.
Anyone else experience this?
I was standing outside the bar tonight having a smoke. The usual procession of strollers were doing their bored walking laps around the block. All of a sudden a rather good looking girl came flapping down the street, scuffing her feet, and clenching her arse cheeks. She tossed me a smile and flaped more madly..... an old chinese dude saw her, pivoted on his heels and started to follow her.... She told him where to go. I have never heard directions better given. I have had a bad Chinese week., but by God that made me smile 
sounds like me asking the wife where something is at home .
We get the same thing and it is nearly all ways in a different province where the local dialect rules , so yes we have has the experience but still don't have a answer.
belle_watson:
Now which of your wives has not been able to answer the question, my dearest lambchops?
belle_watson:
Now be nice Phillie pooh, we all know that you are much married. So which wife are you talking about? The current one or one of the previous two?
Kisses, my much married Crocodile Dundee,
your sweetest Belle
Chinese people don't want to lose face. So even if they do not know the answer, they will tell you an answer even if its wrong...
This looks like the very epic fail. i want see video from cameras 
Agree, it is an experience here, which you should go trough, or you wasn't in China.
When i ask a question like that, i always feel i am being given the answer they think i want (even if it not correct), not the answer i really want (good or bad)
The worst part about asking for directions is that you also get the other persons opinion if something is "easily achievable"
"Where is blah blah"
"Oh, blah blah blah but you have to take a taxi there"
....and it's right around the corner but people are so afraid of using their feet, or they think foreigners cannot walk
teaching directions in english is absolutely the worst class i have to experience.
just wish they understood irony, when i tell them columbus would have gotten lost with out the invention of the compass and coming to the country where it was invented and nobody can tell which way is north or south, makes me wonder who they stole the invention from, but sadly they dont get the irony or the sarcasm, so just another day in china.
My pet thing..direction. Where is it? How can we get there? I'll meet you on the corner of such and such at X o'clock ( the lack of adherence to time is another yarn all together...).
Chinese people have no knowledge of direction, or realisation of a lack thereof, at all whatsover. How can they treat themselves so seriously??
What's your name?....I'm twenty eight years old... How are you ?.... I like chicken...
Fukn hell, they've been learning English for thirty years!
No they haven't.
Here's what it's like asking for directions in China:
2-3 people debate amongst themselves for 10 minutes. "Why does he want to go there? Maybe he should to go X instead of Y," "He shouldn't go there. He should go to X instead. Let's tell him."
Asking a "yes" or "no" question is one of the hardest things to do in China.
With the mother-in-law, a 3 second "ok, let's go" literally turns into a 30 minute fight about how we should stay home and save money.
I stopped asking for directions after several times of getting wrong directions because they don't wanna fukin lose face by telling you they don't know so they improvise
I guess they probably didn't understant your question and they were too shy to tell you!
My GF gets annoyed when i ask her where the place is that we are going to. Don't ask so many questions, the taxi driver know where it is. But where is it? No need to know, the taxi will take you there. But where is it? You won't be able to understand
In the end I just got a map and studied it, now I know where we are going, at least more or less. really clever laowai, he knows the streets
So, 14 mths down and not much has changed. All the locals I know think I'm some kind of conjurer or mystic in the way I can get myself around the town. I know more about this city than all of them put together.
Things such as north, south, east, west are only the tip of the iceberg. They don't even know the names of any of the streets. And try asking about distance! Hahahaha....
How far, how many, and so on, like that. Absolutely no effing idea! And so it is that with these simple gifts (ability to see, think, etc..) I am thought of as a freak.
royceH:
@Scots... We had a similar experience in a supermarket here a few weeks ago. Just could not find the way in and no one could help. We did go in eventually but if we'd found the building's exit first we'd have gone there.
And then inside, there wasn't really any joy. Still nothing to buy.
I was standing outside the bar tonight having a smoke. The usual procession of strollers were doing their bored walking laps around the block. All of a sudden a rather good looking girl came flapping down the street, scuffing her feet, and clenching her arse cheeks. She tossed me a smile and flaped more madly..... an old chinese dude saw her, pivoted on his heels and started to follow her.... She told him where to go. I have never heard directions better given. I have had a bad Chinese week., but by God that made me smile
It really doesn't do any good to ask questions at all, because, 1). Nobody knows where the place is you want to go, 2), because nobody is quite sure of where they are, and 3). they really couldn't care less whether you make it there or not, unless there is something in it for them... 
Hence, we drink!
