One week back

So I realize that while I was in China I had way more time to blog then I do when I'm back here.  I guess with the softball season starting, volleyball at nights, and the random dinners and get togethers I attend it's difficult to keep this up to date.

Anyways I thought I'd take this chance to add a few more photos and even videos of some of the things we saw and did while we were in China.

One question I've always been asked is about the toilets.  China mainly uses squat toilets.  They actually prefer to use them over "regular" toilets.  Their theory is that nothing touches anything so it's more hygienic.  The problem is that most squat toilets I saw were a nightmare.  Here's a picture of one that's actually really clean.  I guess pre-demolition, don't worry I don't have any pics of it post war. lol.



I actually had to use it once.  What a horrible experience.  First of all, the bathroom I was in was very dark, it was hot as there was no ventilation, dudes were smoking in there like chimney's, and you need to bring in your own TP.  Let me tell you, my legs were burning like crazy and I was sweating.  Sorry not exactly the prettiest of pictures.  And to top it off the sinks were full of cigarette butts and the water didn't work.  Crazy...

Then you have the total opposite.  One day we went to the World Financial Tower and since this building was completed a few years ago it has a lot of modern features.  One for example was this toilet that sprayed water out to clean your butt and then had a dryer function as well.  You just have to try it because it's so interesting.

Okay enough of this poopy talk.

Here's a video of us at a Teppenyaki joint.  The flames generated some serious heat.

Here was us eating a dumpling place.  I posted photo's on an earlier post of the place we ate at.  You can see the kitchen in the back and might be able to see the large pile of ground meat to the left where the ladies make the dumplings.  I thought if anywhere I was going to get sick from the food it was this place, but I was all good.  They dumplings were fantastic.  Not exactly a tourist place.

Here's another not so touristy place we ate. Yep, the restaurant beside those pile of jeans.

It was a noodle place and we just ordered by pointing at this menu. I think I ordered on of the ones near the bottom right.  The numbers you see on it are the prices in RMB.

Once you placed your order this young guy would come out and start making your noodles from scratch.  He had this big piece of dough that he would nead with his hands and eventually he would make them into noodles in which he would throw them into a pot of boiling water on the sidewalk.  Really neat to watch.



Another really neat thing to watch was this lady who made us our breakfast.  They were like breakfast wraps but obviously Chinese style.  They were really good and cost about 3RMB (50cents maybe?)



One of the days we went to the "fake" market.  It was actually a 5 storey shopping mall but it was all little stores that sold pearls, silks, bags, watches, and whatever else you could think of.  I don't recall buying anything from here but it was pretty neat to see.  Here was one of the random things we came across.  An escalator to no where... only in china.

I'll hopefully add some more photo's this week, but it's late and I've got to be up early in the morning.