How many of you have been taken for a shopping trip by your tour guide only to come out feeling disgusted at the method used? Frankly I haven’t taken much tour as I prefer to do it myself, but the one time I was on this tour to China, I felt it was bad enough.

For most China tour, you will notice how the tour package is reasonably priced. This is because they want to attract you on the tour so that they can entice you on to shopping trip buying worthless things.

I remember I was on this Shenzhen tour, where my tour guide prior to going to the next “shopping” destination said that where we are about to go to is of national importance. There will be someone important to talk to us and educate us about the importance of chinese medications. It is so important that only selected tourists will be given the opportunity to visit this place.

I was like flabbergasted. It must have been so important that the place where we entered do not have a signboard stating what place it is. All government buildings in China are properly signed. I do not know why this place is not. Secondly, not a single flag in display. This place reeks of a fly by night operation where they are about to abort for faling to pay rent.

As we enter, we were shown to a rather broken down presentation room. Someone dressed in China government official clothes came in and gave us a speech. Surprisingly, everyone in my tour group clapped. They seem to like what they hear. Hmmm..

Then he pulled out the miracle pill. Why miracle? It is believed that these pills, (probably the same immortality pill seeked by Emperor Ching, the first emperor of China) can cure almost everything. Cancer, rheumatism, leukaemia, vascular disease, impotence, liver disease, memory problem and all the one million and one disease you can read on Harrison’s Internal Medicine. I was taken aback because all those that I have learnt in a western medical school has to be thrown down the drain as this is the pill to cure all. Why waste time? Any patient that walks through the door, just pop a couple and bob’s your uncle.

Then we are all hurdled into private consultation rooms where we are told of how in a few more years time, you will have countless of diseases. I wasn’t about to believe what he said. So they roped in my wife. Both of us with western medical background getting “conned” by this fellow.

Even when we told him how we are educated in the field of medicine, he claims how western medicine got it all wrong and I have to buy his miracle pills. It was until I said, I want my tour guide in, that they are willing to let me go. They almost want to force you to buy something.

As I board my bus, I noticed how everyone except me bought those miracle pills. It is a rather disgusting tactic and I hope that people who are going on a tour to China to beware of such tactics and not fall into them.