Been There, Done That
Saturday, July 7th, 2007I’ve been to China, but I hate to admit it.
What got me thinking about it was writing the lead story for next Tuesday’s eFlyer, which is about new flights to China. When you travel a lot over a number of years, as most of us have, the list of places you’ve been starts to outweigh the list of places you haven’t been, and China is on my “been there” list–but barely.
 I was doing a story in Macau, and took one of those little cross-border tours. You get on a minivan, go through the Chinese border checkpoint, get a stamp in your passport, go about a hundred yards into China, and get out to stretch your legs. Coming out of the teeming urbanization of Macau, it definitely was different, but not in any scenic sort of way. No picturesque rice paddies being tended by people in pointy hats, no temples, no breathtaking mountains, just a stark plain, and in the distance some ’60s-era highrise public housing. And then we got back on the van and went back to Macau.
 You know the drill. Inevitably you’re in a situation where other people know that you’re the most-traveled person in the room, and they like to ask, “Have you been to X?” In a situation like my China “visit,” whether you say “yes” or “no,” you feel like a liar. Say “barely,” and it demands more explanation than it’s worth. Maybe the answer has to do with time.
So let me ‘fess up right here. I’ve been to China–for ten minutes. Ireland? An hour Christmas-shopping in Shannon’s duty-free. Louisville? Three hours to tour a hotel and get a haircut.
 For some reason, I don’t count the places that were just en route, just passing through without stopping (except to wait for the connecting flight, or to get gas). It’s the places I went on purpose, and didn’t do justice to, that tweak my conscience.
