Some more interesting Pics

This is a restaurant in the mall in Chongqing.  We happened across this as we were looking for the Harry Potter Store.  Now you know what they think of Western Toilets.  The sinks in the center of the table is the serving bowl.

The Shop Bag at the wall, the bag has now been to two different continents. 

John eating a fried seahorse we found at the street market in Xian.

Some Moe Pics

Amazing!!!! and Fun to Watch

I need a Cool Hero Name!! Of course ,Wonder Woman Works!!!

One of the few Pagodas

I'm Home

Things I have learned while in China

Knee-How... are the words for Hello,How are you?
Pea-Joe .... Beer after all you cant drink the water and the alcohol content is below 2% so, you cant get a "buzz on" either.
Gambay....Clink your glasses and finish off what you have in your glass
Shay-shay...Thank You
Houlie...Nurse

Ok, so, i did not learn too many words but, enough to be some what polite.

There are the three T's that the Chinese never mention nor, will they talk about if you find some one who speaks your lingo. Ti-an-amen Square, Tibet, Thailand.

There are also the three F words. These you will notice as far as courtesy goes. It is the first time I have travelled to a non-Christian place, you can really tell a difference.
There is no helping one another. If you fall in the streets here there would be people surrounding you asking if you needed help. If you fall there and no one knows who you are, you may lie there a very long time. The three F words are Family, Friends, and F#$% you. They really don't care about you unless they know you. This is why if, you move to one of their towns the other foreigners get to know you and they stick together.

Just because a place is dirty, does not mean they don't have good food. Of course, I'm still waiting to see about parasites.... Just kidding!!! Though there is some truth to that.

It is also better to not ask what a dish was until a day later. You might not like the sound of what you ate but, it might have been very good. You do not touch your food, there is no finger food in China. There is no three second rule, if it drops to the table, leave it there. If it falls to the ground, it was never yours to eat. I'm sure this has to do with the fact that there is no toilet paper and no soap. You Never put your fingers to your mouth even when chewing on a bone. Spit it out and preferably on the floor. Some places do hace rolls of napkins on the table.

Contary to what Americans believe there are stray dogs and cats in the streets.

They will take your picture if you are a westerner and they might get right up into your face to do this.

They drink Hot water and hot tea through a staw.

It is very common to push your way through a door instead of lining up to go through a door. Such as waiting for a bus, instead of lining up to get on, you would push your way on, same with the subway, or train station. at the airport you have metal bars that make you form lines.

Mainland China and Hong Kong are two different countries, even though they are both considered China. You do not need a Visa to go to Hong Kong But, you need one for Mainland China. The Chinese need a Visa to go to Hong Kong. The Mainland Chinese want very much to claim Hong Kong as theirs and The Hong Kong Chinese want nothing to do with the Mainland. Hong Kong has many rules such as no spitting, they form lines, health rules for restaurants, it is very much a european town.

I'm sure i will think of some more but, for now i'm jet lagged. Maybe try to get a bit more sleep before work.

More Pics



The one day we seen the sun set, Notice how grey the surrounding sky is.  We are up on top of the Xian city wall



John and I are riding the metro (subway).  We thought we got lucky and it was an empty train.the next stop it filled beyond capacity and we left people standing waiting for the next train.

The Warriors!!!!

Some more pics



Muslim Duck In Xian after visting the Wariors.  Can you see the tiny plastic cup?  Whatever you oder you get a collapsable plastic cup with either hot water, tea, or beer.  You can not drink the water unless its been boiled.  so, you always get hot water with a straw.  There is no 2 minute rule in China, if it falls on the table, leave it there!!




John and I in a motorized Rickshaw.  He did not want to be in the  picture.



It is the Year of the Dragon

Hong Kong

Before i actually get to Hong Kong, there has been a mix-up with my flight/  They claim they never got a confirmation number, even though i have the paperwork in my hand.  What the heck, am i supposed to do.  After going at this for about an hour, i have handed over my credit card and have paid way too much for a ticket that should have been a quarter of that amount.  I have since checked my account and the first airfare was never charged but, the question remains "how did i get a confirmation number?"..

I got to Hong Kong and checked into my last Hostel, which is no more than a bed and two feet on one side of the bed.  Definetely a place to sleep and not much else.  The cool thing is, i can blog freely and post pics, you have to love the British for that. For, i have noticed that when i post it takes about two days before you receive it back in the states.  I have not read through them so, not sure if things have been altered but, whenever i tried to post pics, they just wouldnt go through.

When I arrive in an unfamiliar city at night.  I personally like to stay close to the hostel so, that i can get myself acclaimated to the area.  Lo and Behold right next door to me is a pub, which serves food and of course drink.  I managed to get a spot at the table facing the street.  I'm very pleased thinking that i have scored, i can eat, drink and people watch.  Nothing seems better after the terrivble time i had at the airport.  The table to my left is speaking chinese and to my right English.  After awhile the English man engages me in conversation.  At which point about 5 others join in too.  I find out that one of the men owns a boat (54 Foot Sailboat) and is waiting for his sails to be repaired.  We talk at length about sailing ( my Father built sailboats) and he has now offered me a chance to set foot on his boat.  I'm very hesitant because, well just becuase, i dont know him and have no clue if he's telling me the truth nor do i know his character, nor so i know where the heck i am.  In the end i go, and  i didn't realize how close i was to the marina, which was about two blocks away and we get into his Dinghy and he motors us to the boat.  The Boat is INCREDIBLE and the skyline AMAZING!!!! We sit and chat until the wee hours of the morning and he was a perfect gentlemen. Thank you LORD!!  My only regret is that i did not have a camera so, no pics.  But, a beautiful end to an otherwise bad day!!!

Hong Kong,  I'm Loving it!!!  They Speak English, Not everyone is staring at me, I blend in once again.  YEAH!!!!!   There is Sun, Sand, Ocean, Mountains and it's gorgeous.  I have ate out on the street near the South China Sea and I got Sun burned.  I was only there tops for about 45 Minutes but, i could not get enough of the sun.  I then headed to Stanley street Market where i was told the best souvenior shops were.  I finally picked some up and now hoping everyone will be pleased. 

Enjoying a beer and catching some rays!!!

Pictures, I hope....

John and I at the Great Wall.  It was 18 degrees at the wall. One of the only times you can see blue skies.  We didnt realize how lucky we were this first day.

The WALL

Pekind Duck.  YUMMY!!!!
Some sort of green vegetable but, tastes more like a bean sprout with Pancake.

Leaving Leshaun

Leshaun stands for Happy Mountain. It is such a beautiful part of China and the last day there the sun is shining and you can somewhat see the mountains, still a bit hazy but, their are shadows today. Took a boat ride this morning and enjoyed being on the rivers. There are three that run through town, with the sun it is warmed up to about 50 degrees and it is nice to sit without my jacket on.

That is one of the things I miss, never taking off my jacket.

The rest of the day I have spent going through the markets...meat, vegetable, souvenir, still have not found what I want but, will have to bring something home so, I'm getting a few small items and some I'm sue will be disappointed.

I have eated " hot pot" several times now and enjoy it very much, things are very, very , very spicy in eastern China. It doesn't matter what you eat, there is flavor to it. We went out last night for " shau cow" which is much like hot pot but, they cook everything for you on skewers and bring it to your table. They do not set this up until about nine at night and once again the place is hopping. You bring your own drink and there is lots of conversation and good times. Picking out the skewers is always fun, sometimes you know what it is and most often you guess after you have tasted it.

Tonight, we are playing cards and packing. It's hard to say good-bye.

Tomorrow, we have rented a car to take us to Chengdu and from there fly to Hong Kong.