Wow. Dinner was good tonight. Ha Ha. Just kidding. We ate at the Greenery Cafe again, probably for the last time. It was okay. The scorpions on the left are just a small sampling of what you can get on a stick around here. Next to this street food booth is where you can get octopus tentacles on a stick. WOW. Pretty interesting. Haven't gotten the nerve up to try a scorpion yet, but maybe if we drink some more Tsing Tso beer we might!!!!

China - Day 12 - Guangzhou 2008.10.29

Kinda blurry. Taken from the back of the van while we were moving. This guy is packed down with stuff on his bike. hope he doesn't have to go uphill!!!!



That's it for now. More to come....

China '08 - Day 11 - Guangzhou 2008.10.28

Tonight Paul and I went to dinner at The Greenery Cafe down from our hotel. We order the Western Set Meal. Set Meals are common in China at restaurants. It is like a combo, which includes a soup, salad, meal, desert and a drink. We had so much food, and it all came out a once. It was all good, but I have had better steak. However, the funnest thing happened when I went to pay. Paul and I have been alternating paying for means, so tonight was my turn. I gave the waitress my Diners Club card and she returned with the receipt for me to sign. I signed it and she left then returned with another receipt for me to sign. I signed it again and she left again all this time keeping my card. Another person...a manager...returned with yet another receipt for me to sign. At this point, we were confused and we are both laughing and she told me that my signature on the receipt did not match the one on the card, or at least we figured out that was what she was saying, because she was talking chinese. I remember that I had written "Ask For ID" on the signature part of my card and that is what they were looking for me to sign on the receipt. So I printed out "Ask For Id" on the signature line, and they took the third receipt and then came back...We were both laughing hysterically, and the manager asked if his name was "Ask For ID" and I...aka..."Ask For ID"...said yes, and they gave me my card back and we left laughing so hard we were crying...It was so funny. I am laughing so hard right now, I can barely type this...

Paul and I went walking after dinner the other night. This is a shot of the Pearl River that makes a small island of land. On this island is the White Swan hotel where we were supposed to stay before they raised the rates due to the Canton Fair that is going on. This hotel is where all the adoption folks stay when they are over to get their children.
This is a shot from inside one of the nicest Pizza Hut's I have ever seen. When we asked if they took the diner's club card, a petite manager that looked like she was just as innocent as she could be told us as long as it could swipe and wasn't a sim card credit card it was fine. She then launched into this story about a guy who tried to use a sim card credit card and was denied. She was imitating what he was saying and yelled out "F*ck!" in the middle of the story. Paul and I were rolling in the floor laughing. It was just the fact that no one paid any attention to the outburst. I'm not sure if she knew what she was saying. It was hilarious!!!!


More to come....Stay tuned.

China '08 - 2008.10.24 - Day 7 - Guangzhou

Okay, one of my favorite vehicles i have seen so far over here. We call it the MadMax vehicle. The motor is mounted over the front wheels. This guy had a bunch of stryofoam. Not sure what his intentions are or what he is going to do with it.


Didn't know they still made this type of pop-top. Don't think i have seen one since the late '70's.
Just a few pics of what is available in the mini-bar in my hotel room. Guess you take your chances if you don't recognize the label like the first one that is a coke.




Also, probably to Kelli's surprise, I have yet to turn on the TV in my hotel. I would be having TIVO withdrawals if i wasn't so busy and tired. Haha.

I have pretty much eaten some sushi at every meal, including breakfast. There is always sushi and Dim Sum available. I am going to try and see how many meals in a row i can have sushi.

Kind of cool to be able to walk around and say pretty much whatever you want to and not have to worry about who hears it because more likely than not they will only understand a few common words.

Teri/Bill/Missy - We were scheduled to stay at the White Swan but there is a convention here called the Canton Fair (which is some type of business convention or something) and the rates quadrupled at the White Swan so we moved to the HolidayInn ShiFu which is not far from the White Swan. Kind of cool cause I'm getting 30 days worth of Holiday Inn points. Also pretty cool that it is right in the middle of a big pedestrian center so it is easy to walk around and sightsee things and people watch.

China - 10.22.2008 - Day 5 (part 2) - Guangzhou, Chiina

Well, a pretty good day. Slept pretty good last night. Slept from 9:45 till about 4:00. Still pretty hot here. Think it was 90 today. Wow! The smog, pollution and haze make it look like it is going to rain everyday, but it doesn't. The smog is so bad that you can barely see the top of the control tower at the airport (although I have heard that it is the tallest control tower there is). Went to a Chinese McDonald's in the airport to grab some lunch.

It was crazy. There must have been 20 or so people working in the kitchen and it was just chaos, but quick as hell. The menu looked about the same except for a few items. You could get a cup of corn instead of fries if you wanted to.

Here is a couple of shots of a little of what is on the buffett. Posted the sushi pics for kelli.

Thought Jack would like the oyster setup....
That's enough for now. Just got in from working. It's about 7:30 and Paul and I will probably hit the buffet and walk around outside for a little while.

China - 10.21.2008 - Day 4 - Guangzhou, Chiina

Drivers are crazy over here. All traffic signs, signals, lines on the streets, lights, etc. are all just suggestions. There are bicycles, scooters, and people everywhere. People walk out in front of cars, ride their bikes and scooters in front and between cars. Stop at red lights...sometimes. There are also some interesting scooters, bikes, vehicles in general over here. I will take the camera tomorrow and post some pictures.

The food over here is pretty interesting also. I am really not sure what I ate for lunch today. Some of it was sushi, some dim sum, and some other stuff I am not sure of. One item was called "Wooden Ear"...something. It is VERY hot and muggy here.

Ate some dinner at the hotel and walked down in the Mall and to the square for a few minutes (see picture). The picture above is right outside our hotel. It is like a mini Times Square and busy all the time.

Three young girls stopped us and wanted to take a picture with us. They were SO HAPPY. There are so many people here. We get a lot of stares from people. Notsure if they are to used to seeing people that don't have black hair, dark eyes, and tall people. Stuff everywhere.

China - 10.19.2008 - Day 1 - Narita, Japan

Okay. Made it to Tokyo, but that was it for today. The flight to Guangzhou was canceled due to maintenance issues. We were put up in the radisson for the night with the next flight due out of Tokyo @ 3:55. The flight was nice. First class is the way to go. Fully reclining seats with massagers built in, movies on demand and plenty of pretty good food. Watched: Get Smart, Hancock and Incredible Hulk. Drinks i had: bloody mary, scotch rocks, red wine with dinner, beer. Food I had: Snack Tray (crab dip, bread, assorted nuts), Dinner

China - 10.18.2008 - Day 1 - Minneapolis Airport

Okay, just got off the plane for the first leg from MEM to MSP. Had a pretty good flight. Slept for most of it. Did have 2 bloody mary's, a banana and a power bar on the flight. Sitting in the NW elite club right now updating this blog drinking a Dr. Pepper after downing a few excedrin's (sinus headache). About to go grab some lunch in the airport and relax before we have to get on the marathon flight from MSP to Norita. Not looking forward to that!!! Updates to come......

Day 1 - 10.18.2008 Memphis

Showered, shaved and on the way to the airport for the marathon flight to Guangzhou. Leaving this morning from Memphis @ 9:45 a.m. to fly for about 24 hours. With time change, I'll arrive in Guangzhou 11:00 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday). Updates to follow.