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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Chris Radke, as told to Katie Cunningham

The kindness of strangers: I was hopelessly ill in China – then hotel staff offered to take my elderly father sightseeing

Black and white photo of people on the Great Wall of China with colorful outlines and shapes added
‘The respect shown to my father when I was sick and helpless was beyond amazing.’ Composite: Victoria Hart/Guardian Design/Alamy

The food poisoning hit like a tsunami. I remember being out at a dumpling restaurant, grabbing a heap of napkins and just vomiting directly into them. I’ve never been sick like that in my life.

I was travelling in Xi’an, China, with my father, who was then aged 88 or 89. I really should have been in hospital but I didn’t feel I could leave my dear dad on his own. Instead I retreated to my hotel room, where I spent the night projectile vomiting. A horrible, embarrassing experience.

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