For no apparent reason my travel companions in China have been exclusively girls. We have witnessed odd behavior along the banks of the Li River, trekked through ancient ruins in Cambodia, and survived insane tuktuk rides in Thailand. All while we conversed at lighting speed and debated the merits of “The Rules”.
Last weekend was the Chinese Tomb Sweeping Festival, and like every week when we receive a day off, my friends and I fled Shanghai. This time we journeyed to Huangshan, one of the sacred peaks of China. Uniquely, among our traveling fellowship were two guy friends. Before we even left the airport, the disparities of traveling with guys became readily apparent.
For the sake of anonymity, I will refer to the guys as Laurel and Hardy
1. Vital Documents
Girls: Not only do we check and double-check all documents and important papers, we remind each other to the point of annoyance. We guard passports with the maternal instincts of a lone lioness among hyenas.
Boys: The female traveler who is responsible for the plane tickets only relinquishes control when absolutely necessary right before the security checkpoint. Barely a moment after that exchange occurred last weekend, Laurel dove into the trash bin to retrieve the boarding pass he just threw away among the egg shells and used tissues. He mistook which hand held his ticket and which the trash.
Twenty minutes later, Hardy’s name was called over the airport's loudspeaker. He left his boarding pass AND his passport on the countertop in the bathroom.
2. Incentives
Girls: A few days before we left for Huangshan, we went on an expedition to the international grocery store to stock up the subsidence that we would need to trek up the mountain. We were strategic in our purchases and held up different snacks as we debated the weight, likelihood of surviving in a book bag for eight hours, and nutritional content. We even bought a Capri- Sonne for each trekker as a rare treat.
Boys: The boys finished their precious Capri-Sonnes before we even left for the airport.
Driven to compassion after seeing porter after porter draped in everything from drywall to eggs on the mountain, Hardy decided to lighten one man’s load. No, he didn’t carry the porter’s cargo for him; Hardy bought one of the beers that crowned the top of the porter's pile of commodities.
3. Packing
Girls: Since we hauled our own luggage up the mountain, we limited our packing to those essentials needed for survival and basic hygiene. We conferred and debated the merits of each inclusion in person and online during the week leading up to packing.
Boys: For the boys the list of essentials included the most recent electronic toys and gadgets. Laurel might be the only person to hike up Huangshan with an I-pod Touch.
4. Late-Night Manic Activities
Girls: After spending all day hiking through the fog and pushing meandering Chinese tourists out of the way, the girls headed to bed. The knowledge that watching the sunrise required waking up at 4:30 drove us to attempt an early night.
Boys: After taking a night hike….on top of a mountain…in a heavy fog…with very few if any security devices like railings….with only my mini maglite to see by, Hardy, in a manic state, decided to enter the extreme of late-night activities. He built a “Fortress of Solitude” out of everything readily available in his hotel room including: chairs, blankets, lights, and strategically placed coat hangers. The effort took him well into the evening though he somehow was still full of energy the next morning when he bursted into our rooms shouting, “Come see my Fortress of Solitude!” (For the girls out there scratching their heads, the fort is a Superman reference.)
5. Emergencies
Girls: If an injury occurs among our ranks, the ones not cringing in pain warp into modern Florence Nightingales. They fuss over the tiniest splinter or scrap. A man burnt me with his lit cigarette even though signs were posted everywhere that smoking was forbidden in the natural area. My girl friends showered me with first aid attention, offered me cold water to pour on the wound, checked for blister formation, and assisted me with the proper way to apply the band-aid to allow the wound to breathe.
Boys: After glancing over to confirm that my finger was not about to fall off and that my current malady would not slow their progress down the mountain, they wondered off in search for something to entertain themselves while the girls set up an impromptu triage on top of the mountain.
6. Witness Responsibilities
Girls: Girls abide by that all-important Understood Rule. If one of their cohorts collapses into idiocy or suffers embarrassing gravity malfunction, the victim will be playfully teased but never in mixed company
Boys: Equipped with a camcorder, the boys were prepared to capture every momentary lapse in intelligence or coordination, inserting funny commentary and guaranteeing that strangers and future generations could mock the sufferer as well. When I stepped off the path to make room for a porter and fell unceremoniously on my backside, Laurel was right behind me to capture the moment, which included the collective gasps of the forty Chinese vacationers who witnessed.
Though sore and tired, we successfully journeyed up and down the mountain, capturing some lasting memories in the process. Even more astonishing, we accomplished it all with two guys in tow.
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