Jade Emperor Hill

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Chinese Drivers Licence

Okay, so here is the coveted Chinese drivers licence.....and that is the exact face I will be making in my mug shot photo,when my road rage takes over! Kidding. The one thing driving here is teaching me .....is some serious defensive driving. You need to be on high alert at all times!

You have to have eyes in the back of your head....and side of your head! Bikes, cars, scooters,people are coming from all directions and they don't even glace over their shoulder to see what's going on around them. MADNESS! Anyway I have finally made it through that horrible exam and have some new found freedom! But before I quit my talks over driving hell for good....just for humor sake I will post a few more of the driver exam questions.

But in all seriousness maybe our country should look at making the driving exam a little harder. People should know what to do in an emergency situation, or how your car runs, or what to do if your car catches fire( besides get out and run....and let the piece of shit burn so insurance can cover a new one) I can't tell you how many times I prayed for that to happen to vehicles I have owned....heck I have thought about starting the fire myself! I was never lucky enough.

         1) When a wounded suffers bleeding in the forearm or shank, the rescuers may place a cushion in the armpit or in the rook of the arm, crook the armpit or rook and tie up.

                 Answer: Right

     WHAT???? rook? crook the armpit?

2) The ignition system is made up of battery, ignition switch, ignition coil, capacitor, distributor block and plugs.  

       Answer: Right

I'm a girl....and do I really need to know how the ignition system is made??

The accelerator pedal desi

A. The accelerator

B. The air throC. The clutch

D. The fuel injector

Answer:  B

I am a girl so I don't know this stuff or really care, but there are several

questions like this.

  

When a wounded suffers bleeding in the forearm or shank, the rescuers may place a cushion in the armpit or in the rook of the arm, crook the armpit or rook and tie up.

                 Answer: Right

WHAT???? rook? what is the rook? lol

When driving a vehicle, the driver ______ for the sake of safety.

       A. May wear slippers

       B. May wear any shoes

       C. Should not wear slippers

       D. May wear high heels

       Answer:  C

This should not even be a question!!!  although I would think it is safer to drive in slippers than 6" stilettos!

Lingyin Temple

Lingyin Temple

Lingyin Temple (founded 326 AD, oldest structures 11th century onward)

Lingyin temple, commonly translated as "Temple of the Soul's Retreat" is one of the largest and wealthiest temples in China. It was originally founded in 326 AD, but has been rebuilt no less than sixteen times since then. The current buildings are modern restorations of late Qing buildings. The hillside to the south of the temple is also famous as a site of old Buddhist caves and rock carvings. Many of these date back to the time when the temple was first founded and a great many were carved during the blossoming of Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. Despite some damage inflicted by red guards during the Cultural Revolution, the temple and grounds escaped much of the wholesale destruction that other temples in China suffered because of the protection of Premier Zhou Enlai. Today the temple is thriving, though most of the thousands of visitors who come do so for sightseeing and not for religious reasons.

Here are some Pictures I took.

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Pomelo Fruit





Pomelo Fruit



Cut the top off and section skin. Peel off thick skin





Fruit inside

This is now one of my favorite fruits. I bought one of these at Zhers one year around Christmas time,and I used it as a decoration instead of eating it! These are native to China as I would assume they are to Florida.  Check out the supermarket and pick one up! They are not tart like a grapefruit,and they are not sweet like an orange. They have a very neutral taste and are very firm. It takes me close to an hour to peel all the skin off,unlike an orange where you eat the skin. This skin is thick and tough. I had to throw this on here with the holiday season here I think you can find these in the supermarkets right now!













Dining InThe Streets

I am about to talk about food....and this is where I miss my Dad. He was planning on coming over in October. So many times I wish he would have had the chance to come here I know he would have loved the food.Well let's be honest, my Dad loved food no matter what country it came from!

If the Chinese know how to do one thing well, it's cooking. Now I'm not going to say they eat the most appealing things but on the whole, the food is exceptional! Everywhere you go in China there are these little hole on the wall places to eat. Now I have ordered food from one of these places....that look just like this one. The food smells wonderful when you pass by, however as I was waiting I noticed there was blood on the floor and a guy working there was telling someone how he cut his finger(or so I think.... he was pointing to the band-aid) The cook was the dirtiest man I ever seen smoking a cigarette over my food. In the end I took the food home and never ate it, I was nervous. I have only been slightly sick once. I ate at a night market and the next day my stomach was tight and I was a little sick. But so far we've had no problems. One place I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and ended up in the kitchen.....GOOD GRIEF!.....The bathroom was cleaner than the kitchen, but the food was really good, lol.

Six Harmonies Pagoda Pictures

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Grand Opening

Grand Opening Fan Fair

Ok so this is a common sight in China when a new business has just opened.....accompanied by the fireworks for good luck. Isaac and I had just spent the morning relentlessly trying to hail a taxi to take us to the six harmonies pagoda we wanted to check out. After we checked out the pagoda we headed in the direction of home. I said to Isaac let's just walk....it can't be more than an hr......turns out it was more like 2! lol. We didn't mind because the reward in the end was stopping to eat at one of our favorite restaurants called Grandma's Kitchen...serves traditional Chinese food but has an English name. Finally we make it to the restaurant to find out that it is closed for renovation! So I tell Isaac there is a restaurant by our house that has a menu with some pictures so at least we can point out what we  want.....it's kind of a fast food Chinese style. So there is where we go! I order some chicken and rice, and Isaac orders pork and rice.....my chicken looks like brain, not much meat at all but alot of other things I have never seen in chicken before. Isaac's pork is a fuchsia pink color and taste purfumey. Anyway we don't each much of anything and end up heading home. Around 7:00pm I said to Isaac, do you want to go check out that new restaurant around the corner? We would have stopped there before the other crappy place, but we didn't know it was open.So off we head to check it out. We are greeted at the door by about 4 people...we tell them we are a party of 2. In the lobby there are about 4 tables filled with people chatting and smoking.....They smoke everywhere here by the way! Even when there is no smoking signs! We are not sure if it is in fact a restaurant, but it looks like one and we tell them we want to eat. The girl leads us up stairs and is saying in English, ok ok this way please, this way. We get upstairs to be lead through a long corridor with a whole bunch of doors.....we are thinking what the heck is this.?She shows us to our room and as we go inside we realize we are in a SPA! The room has massage tables.....lmao. Now we need to explain that we want food and not a rub and tug! The girl keeps saying you speak Chinese? you speak Chinese?.....well if I did girlfriend I wouldn't be standing in a massage parlor looking for dinner!  So needless to say we left hungry, Isaac way more embarrassed than I, as they laughed at us. As you age that kind of stuff doesn't embarrass you..... I don't know those people and I will likely never see them again in a city of 8 million!  Ok I kinda stand out since I'm the one with the "round eyes". Look at the picture it looked like the name of a restaurant to me! lol. That's what happens when you don't speak the language..... I know we like to bitch about foreigners in our country who can't speak English but you know, I am seeing what like is like as an adult when you are put into that situation. Maybe they are saying the same thing about us, why don't you go back to your own country round eyes and learn some Chinese if you wanna live here. Some of those people come to our country to make a better life for their family's.....and sometimes come with nothing! I have taken a new appreciation for people who move half way across the world, away from what they are so comfortable with, to a strange country and culture. A lot of our own fellow" country men"...( was that politically correct?) Are to lazy ,or to good ,to endure some of the things that people that come over from other countries do. Ok I am wandering into a whole other topic of conversation.....so here is where I will END! lol

Health & Chinese Medicine

Coming to China has changed me a little. It has allowed me to focus on me! Losing my Dad to cancer has made me wake up and pay attention to my own health. I have the knowledge, it's just applying it.

This is kind of a mission.... I am the guinea pig!  Upon arriving in China I was not healthy at all! I had just lost my Dad and the stress I had been under was breaking me. I had taken up smoking the 4 months prior to his death and was just eating crap that made me feel good. On top of everything I didn't exercise and drank very little water. I mean like maybe 1/2 a cup a day..... I am never thirsty. I had serious menstruation issues, major cramping all the time, back ache. I was afraid there was something wrong with the water , my hair was as dry as a corn broom and my skin was very oily and gritty. What the heck was happening to me I was starting to fear that I may die myself! Maybe I have cancer too???
So I got to reading and discovered that you are really damaging your internal organs when you don't drink enough water so that was my first step. I started drinking 8 cups of water a day, plus herbal tea. And within 2 weeks I noticed how much better my skin looked. The cramping and backache....gone! My diet has changed and not by choice, but it is amazing how creative you get when you have no oven and not alot of processed foods to choose from....well ok you do, but the American imported pizza and processed crap is soooo expensive here. I won't buy it cause I know it's not worth the money. Now the Chinese cook with alot of sugar and MSG which we know is not healthy, but I would say it is a better choice having MSG on fresh food...then eating prepackaged shit. Eating with chop sticks and sharing dishes really changes how much you eat. When it's on the plate in front of you, you feel obligated to eat it.....(cause that's how we were raised) but sharing multiple dishes removes that mind set, and nothing is put on your plate really, you just pick out of each bowl. Even if you served it up on your plate it's like eating off dishes made for munchkins. The chopsticks, well they prevent you from shoveling the food in  your mouth at break neck speed!
Next step.... get my ass to the gym! Sweating removes the toxins from your body which trust me I was toxic, and alot of us are. Then I went on my first mountain hike and there is where I met the woman who would introduce me to the most wonderful Chinese Medicine Doctor.

We have all been to see him.....but I will tell you my story, cause well I am the one typing! And frankly guys don't really give a crap about this stuff.( Ok don't email me and say I'm a guy and I care....your either an exception or a fruit!....my blog I'll say what I want! lol) As it would turn out he has explained to me (Dr) that almost all women in there late 30's into early 40's suffer from.....insomnia,extreme mood swings(that's me!!!.... and No it's not bipolar like our husbands think, although they are probably the reason for the mood swings....them and the kids!)  always tired, mental fogginess,hard time losing weight. I could go on and on but you get the point. I have read alot over the past couple of years about holistic health, and I believe a great deal in it. Dr Livingston has summed it up...if your body is functioning properly than you should have no troubles. In Western medicine if you go to the Dr and have high blood pressure he puts you on pills. Western medicine is a band-aid to fix the aliment or pain right away.....Chinese medicine fixes what part of your body is not functioning properly.....the reason for your "high blood pressure". Granted sometimes you need western medicine, but on the whole you are masking the problem and not fixing it, makes sense to me.

This is the herbs that have already been boiled by the pharmacy.
We each drink 2 of these a day, they are about 1 cup each.
And yes it tastes like dirt!

There is no claim that Chinese herbs will fix you over night.... but over time they heal your body and help it to function the way it should. That's why Chinese medicine Doctors live till their 120 yrs old! So I have been drinking the herbs for 3 weeks now(the taste is bitter and NASTY) but I notice an improvement in energy, he is working on my insomnia  and night sweats at the moment. Our body's all run a little different and according to him I run on the cold side.....I thought I was pretty hot! he he. So my blood runs a little slow which causes blood stagnation, metabolism is slow as well. I should stay warm and eat warming foods to keep my blood circulating well. He also told me I would benefit greatly from drinking alcohol....which is funny cause I don't drink much. And he told Deane to stay away from alcohol.....How do you tell a Maritimer he can't drink.....that's like telling a fish he can't live in the water! lol. Anyway as my quest for health continues I hope you can find yours, I am suprised at how much better I feel about everything in my life......just through taking care of MYSELF!

Drivers Licence Question

After a vehicle falls into water, the wrong method for the driver to rescue himself is to ________.

A. Close the window to prevent water from flowing into the vehicle

B. Immediately use hand to open the door

C. Let the water to fill up the driver’s cab so that the water pressure both inside and outside is equal

D. Use a large plastic bag to cover the head and tight the neck closely

Answer:  A

Ok seriously!!!! What the heck? So the WRONG method for the driver to rescue himself is to roll up the damn window????? The WRONG method isn't to put a plastic bag over you head and "TIGHT THE NECK CLOSELY???? Lmao. See why I failed this stupid test! Oh the joy of translation. I have a hard time reading English sometimes then they go and screw me right up!!!! I will let you know how my 3rd attempt goes Friday morning at 10am.
Think good thoughts for me!

More Bad Signage

Again!...... I am going to write my damn Chinese licence this Friday. I have been studying my A%$ off! I still may not be able to retain all of the stupidity. When I am finished with that manual I plan on posting different things so you can see how the questions and road signs make no sense! Here is a picture I took at Ming Tombs in Beijing..........Luxuriant grassland????? WHERE? Do you see it? Cause I sure don't! lol

Hangzhou Wushan Night Market dancing queen

This is very common to see dancing in the square. They all seem to be coordinated.....it's kinda neat to watch. Why doesn't our culture do things like this?

Buddah Carvings

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Rant

I have moments where I can't imagine being anywhere else in the world! And moments when I walk out the door I want to drop kick every China men I see! Now I don't mean to be rude and disrespectful to the Chinese, but compared to the way we live in the western world, I struggle alot with the way they do things here!

I have the biggest issue with the pushing,shoving and butting in front of me!  I mean come on really? These people are educated.... they are not a  third world country. So how does it work? .....Chinese people are never raised with any kind of manners?...... I will tell you it sure doesn't seem like it! Here is a great example, in the supermarket yesterday and the girl handing out FOOD SAMPLES does a  "farmers hanky" on the floor!!!  WTF????  The woman's washrooms are disgusting. No one flushes toilet paper... they wipe and put it in the  OPEN waste paper basket. The smell can be a little overwhelming sometimes, I swear I walk into every stall that has a dirty maxi pad face up right there staring at me! I am not easily grossed out by alot, but I have been here!

Sorry about the graphicness ..... ok no I'm not really. I am trying to paint you the true picture.....or I could just take a picture! lol   The spitting is a little overwhelming also! Always dodging great big hoarks on the side walk, oh  and the sound of getting ready to hawk that spitball.....the kind you mother would have cuffed you upside the back of the head  for.Again these people for the most part are educated, I don't get it. I find over all the Chinese are not friendly.... compared to other cultures. Shopping.......... when you enter the store a salesperson or 3 will follow you around the store...on your heels I might add, and as soon as you touch something and put it down they fix it like you didn't put it back it the right spot.There are usually a ton of people working in the store......back home we complain and say.... does anyone work here??? lol

There is something  kinda neat about being in a foreign country where nobody knows you and you are free to explore. We have been to some cool places and consider ourselves lucky that we get to see things alot of other people may never get the chance to see!

Chinenglish Part #2

What prompted me to even do the post on Chinenglish was seeing the terrible signs and T-shirts people are wearing with really bad English phrases on them. One T-shirt we seen said NEW YORK SMOKING???? what the hell does that mean? I have learned that I should have a camera on me at ALL times! The best one was a little old lady all hunched over with a cane,who looked like she was 107 yrs old. She was wearing a shirt that was very bright with all kinds of glitter on it.....which was funny enough all by it self. When she finally got to where we could see the back of her shirt it said.....Bite My Ass!

Anyway since the last post with all the bad English signs was such a hit I decided to post a few more..........Enjoy! lol

Chinenglish

I really don't know what to say......you will now get a good idea of why we failed our driver exam! lol. Who does these translations??? Some of them are soooo bad! And the bad words?
I will just let you see for yourself!

THANK YOU

Thank you to everyone who reads my blog. I have had 607 page views since Oct 6/10. Thanks for all the interest..... I will try to keep the stories comin!

Tea Field Hike ....Part 2

So after my first hike that was painful and hard, I decide to do it again....with the family. Let me note it was no easier the second time, however there is a great sense of accomplishment when you have finished the 4 hours. I believe it's the mental high that makes it worth it...oh and the views! lol. As we hit the base of the mountain, and started through the village, a friendly voice called to us to come and have lunch.

We sat on the balcony of a family home set with a few tables. As our Chinese is not the greatest we struggle with the language so trying to order food is a treat sometimes. The woman brought out a fresh dead chicken and showed us 3 different kinds of veggies and we agreed to what ever she said! lol. Not sure of the meal we would end up with....turns out it was FANTASTIC! and soooo fresh!

As we were descending down the mountain to the village we counted 947 stairs....and none of the stairs are the same height. That's gotta be good for the ass...right???. I was thinking we should make it a weekly hike,but as I am climbing the mountain I think.....NOT. There is something about the climb after your finished that makes you want to go back for more! We'll see :)

Lunch was so fresh and delicious!

Lunch at the Tea House at the base of the mountain

The Chicken soup at the tea house! Very fresh!
after awhile you get used to the head being there!

The lady that owned the tea house



We counted 947 stairs!



Cool lizard  on our hike

Part of the trail in the tea fields

Soon I will be able to tell what this says! lol

Incense that lines the trail that leads to the temple.

                                      

MOON CAKES

We had the pleasure....... if that's what you want to call it, to try Moon Cakes. I don't think I will ever eat one again. My brother Wes tried a "cookie" that Deane brought home from one of his trips, and Wes referred to it as tasting like ass. How he knows what ass taste like.....well that's a whole other blog, I'm not willing to write. Moon cakes are comparable......they taste like ass! I think???? I don't know for sure! lol The legend behind the Moon Cakes is very interesting however.....here is what I found.

 The most famous legend surrounding the Moon festival concerns its possible role in Chinese history. Overrun by the Mongols in the thirteenth century, the Chinese threw off their oppressors in 1368 AD. It is said that mooncakes - which the Mongols did not eat - were the perfect vehicle for hiding and passing along plans for the rebellion. Families were instructed not to eat the mooncakes until the day of the moon festival, which is when the rebellion took place. (In another version plans were passed along in mooncakes over several years of Mid-Autumn festivals, but the basic idea is the same).

How to Celebrate the Moon Festival

Today, Chinese people celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival with dances, feasting and moon gazing. Not to mention mooncakes. While baked goods are a common feature at most Chinese celebrations, mooncakes are inextricably linked with the Moon festival. One type of traditional mooncake is filled with lotus seed paste (see side photo). Roughly the size of a human palm, these mooncakes are quite filling, meant to be cut diagonally in quarters and passed around. This explains their rather steep price (around $5.00 in Canada). A word of caution: the salty yolk in the middle, representing the full moon, is an acquired taste.

More elaborate versions of mooncakes contain four egg yolks (representing the four phases of the moon). Besides lotus seed paste, other traditional fillings include red bean paste and black bean paste. Unfortunately for dieters, mooncakes are rather high in calories.

Crazy Hangzhou Traffic

Let me start by saying very respectfully.....the Chinese can kiss my ASS! Deane finally passed on the 3rd attempt. I however failed the second time and am really not sure I want to try a 3rd time. I have enough road rage walking.....let alone behind the wheel. I am learning curse words in Chinese so I can tell people off! lol. These people are some of the worst drivers I have ever seen! There are NO rules on the roads here!

Back on the East Coast if you are even remotely close to the curb,traffic will stop in all directions to let you cross. Here they will run you over!  It doesn't matter if it's an 80 yr old women they honk and they will keep driving at you until you jump out of the way. I'm not sure I understand why drivers are so ramie, they aren't peddling the car!!!

Children do not wear seat belts! Children ride on the front of these scooters...weaving in and out of traffic. Not one person wears a helmet! I have though about getting myself an e bike, however I am a little nervous and I would be the geeky "round eyes" ( that's what they call us)  sport'n a helmet.

Chinese Medicine

So next Wednesday I am off to see a local Doctor that practices Chinese medicine. I am pretty excited as I was told he is fantastic.....and I have alot of aliments so let's see how good he is! lol

My Chinese tutor arrived one day with these bruises all down her neck on both sides and down her back. She explained to me that she was feeling very sick on the weekend with a fever and chills, I am assuming she had the flu. So she was talking to her friend who said she would come over and give her some treatment that would make her feel better. I don't understand why anyone would opt for this kind of treatment!!! She said she was crying while they did it because it was so painful. However she did say the next day she felt better.... Really who puts themselves through this over the flu???? She said they use their index and middle finger knuckles to pinch. This draws all the toxic blood to the surface. She said if you are healthy when they do that it will not leave any bruises.

I have tried to research this but I am unable to come up with much, other than  "cupping" which is similar to this pinching only they use jars and suction them  on your body. Either way I think I will stay in bed and sleep it off the next time I come down with the flu! 

Mountain Hike Photos

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Mountain Hike

As I type this I am unable to feel the lower half of my body. Like the moron that I am I thought last week it would be fun to join some of the other expat wives and go on a hike.....should have thought that one through a little longer! lol. 4 hours.....ya you heard me! The picture above is what we did for 2 solid hrs as we climbed the mountain, now I know my sister-in -law Gail is reading this saying WHAAAA ya big baby! She just returned home from climbing Mount Everest. I figured it would be no sweat I have been working out at the gym, 5days a week...and lifting weights! My body was sooooo not prepared for this. I was sure I was going to throw up or have a heart attack , some of these women do this 3 times a week....WHAT-EV-ERRR! I'm beginning to think this is China through MY eyes...lol. When I finally made it to the top and pushed my body WAY out of it's comfort zone, It was all worth the climb. Upon arriving at the top all you could see for miles were the tea fields, and a Temple. They sell water and drinks at the Temple.... I would like to know who the hell carries all that up there? If it was me I would have a chopper fly the stuff in.

Now I've heard the foot messages are amazing here! I am so going to have to get me one of those.....soon. They cost about $11.00 for 90 mins, and $17.00 for a leg & foot message. I have been told they can be a little painful when you start, but quickly become addictive. Speaking of pain, that will lead me to my next post.....The affects of Chinese medicine.

Safe Sex

We had to know if it was stocked!

Cost: 16 cents!

Safe Sex

Condom Vending Machine

China Fireworks Expo 2010

Here is a few seconds of the fireworks we watched Saturday night from our balcony. These were continuous for almost an hour! October 16th was the International Fireworks Expo.
Fireworks happen here at all times of the day and night. I don't think there is a disturbing the peace law........I love the ones at 5 am! It is my understanding that the Chinese use fireworks as a means of good luck ex: weddings, grand opening of a business, or to chase away evil spirits.

One night shortly after we moved here, I had been asleep for a couple of hours....and soundly sleeping I might add. Then they start, It scared the sh*% out of me! I jump like 4 ft off the bed and in the process got a charlie horse in my leg. I start hollering and thrashing around on the bed, poor Deane wakes and has no idea what the heck is going on, so he starts hollering what's the matter! lol.....ok ya had to be there.

I can't wait for the Chinese New Year.....the fire works last for days at a time. I think I need to invest in ear plugs!

Count to 10 with Chinese hand signs

As some of you may know I am taking Mandarin lessons. This to me is not an easy language to learn. Their words have different tones, so the same word may have more than one meaning. Ex; the word for  Robbery and Rape are the same word.....but the tone in how you say it distinguishes which word you've said.

Deane had a computer Mandarin program installed on my computer. It proved to be great fun one night for my brother, sister-in-law and I , a few drinks and trying to say sentences in Chinese.....sometimes the program would tell you that it was said correctly,when clearly you did not say anything close to what they said. I believe my brother was speaking french at one point! lol. However it was picking up the tone and as long as you mimicked the tone it would say you were correct.
This has turned into a long story about nothing! I wanted to share something that I just learned about how the Chinese count to 10 with their fingers it is very different then how we do it.
Here is a short little video to show you how it's done.

Food.... The Good & The Bad. Click to view photos

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Snake Wine

I would like to start by saying that this makes the Mexicans look like a bunch of pussy's! I would say it takes a real man.....or a real idiot to drink an alcoholic beverage with a venomous snake in it.
Speaking of Tequila and its little submerged worms, there is the Chinese drink that most fascinates and revolts most foreigners: snake wine. It is generally a rice wine bottled with one or more submerged snakes. Most Chinese, especially younger ones, do not drink it, but you find it in many restaurants and can buy it around the country and region. In China there are three snake wines, five snake wines and others. (They also have wines made of intimate body parts that shall go un-identified. In Chinese restaurants you often find snake wine in huge, broad-necked bottles or jars, the snake or snakes, often quite large, flopped at the bottom but sometimes filling a major portion of the jar. The restaurateur usually ladles out as much as you want. Or you can buy it in smaller bottles to take home with you.

It is not clear to me if the snake is drunk, dead, or dead drunk. I gather that the snake gives a special taste to the wine. The Chinese undoubtedly cook and eat snakes. I imagine that drunk snake tastes good. I guess I will never know....cause I'm not an idiot! lol

Exotic Foods of China (insects, snails & more)

We were at this very place when we went to Beijing,it was down the road from our hotel. They refer to it as the "Snack Market" it opens at 6pm until around midnight. The song to this made me giggle.....I know I'm mature! lol

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China Toilet 101




Tradional Chinese Toilet

  OK this is one of the things I may never get used to over here! Yes as you can see there is NO door!  And Yes I believe that is fecal matter on the floor! This is the first time experiencing no door...however I did read about it so I knew I would encounter it at some point.
Taking a pee break in this country is a bit like gambling....you never know if you'll win or lose! Most bathrooms have NO toilet paper,or a place to hang your purse...as you can see you do not want to put it on the floor! And when your finished peeing and allow yourself to drip dry... you then have no way to wash your hands. Most of these squatter toilets have a dirty old sink with some dirty old rags NO soap and nothing to dry your hands with. So finally after months of stupidity I have some packages of tissue in my purse and a bottle of hand sanitizer.  I wish this picture was a scratch and sniff..... This was by no means the worst bathroom I was in,and it doesn't seem to matter where you are. You could be in a higher end place and think the washroom will be nice and maybe even have a western toilet.....Nope it's gross! The woman's washrooms here are busy like back home, but there is no etiquette when it comes to taking turns. I literally pulled a girl out of the stall one day! There was a line and she walked right in front of everyone right into the washroom.....ummm no! get in line! That is my greatest pet peeve here, they are pushy and they will step right in front of you ,if you tell them to get behind you they will! ( and physically grabbing people is acceptable here...not like at home where you would be charged with assault).......Ok enough of my toilet rant! :)