I am not a picky tourist, so I feel the schedule and arrangement this time in Henan is highly acceptable to me: not bad B and B accomomodations in comfortable hotels, and tasty lunches and dinners with spreads of food which is worth TWD2,500 for each table.  But since our first meal I've been bewildered to find that there would always have a jar of lukewarm water "served" on the tables.  What was that water for when there were beverages like beers, cokes and tea to drink with?  The water was for cleaning chopsticks, bowls and other flatwares.  There were no exceptions; the water was always ready as the first "serve".  Everybody "did as the Romans did" except me, for I thought lukewarm water itself doesn't have effective antiseptic porperties.  Besides I assumed such kind of "service" was an arrangement between restaurants and the tour agencies which was paricularly made for those fastidious guests from Taiwan.  That is kind of discrimination towards Mainlanders to me. 

A square meal in the dinner hosted by my aunt and cousins testified that I was right.  No water for washing and wiping our flatwares was prepared.  See?  Romans didn't behave like that.