The Chinese like everything hot. In Guangzhou, the weather was quite warm. After a hot sweaty walk, my cousin and I arrive at a restaurant and were immediately served boiling hot tea. Without much hope, I asked for cold water, which they did not have. So I settled with waiting for the boiling water to cool to at least a drinkable temperature after which I took a small sip. My cousin immediately refilled my cup with boiling hot water. I resigned myself to my fate of dehydration. I’m sure this is a very common experience for Americans in China.
The same day, I got an unbelievably cheap massage because I had a nasty crick in my neck from the plane ride. In addition to it already being a very warm day, the masseuse shone a heat lamp over the bed. Then she used hot oil. When I thought I couldn’t take the heat anymore, she brought out burning hot stones. It may sound like I’m complaining, but I did enjoy the massage, it helped my neck a lot, it was super cheap and the first time I’ve had a hot stone massage. Afterwards, I rejoiced at the cool air and was offered a cup of boiling water.