Afternoon in Shenzhen

This weekend I made my final voyage to Mainland China, crossing over the border to nearby Shenzhen, a city of 10 million and the source of much of the pollution wreaking havoc in Hong Kong. I wish I could tell you something interesting about Shenzhen, but in fact I didn't see any of it. My visit was limited to a shopping mall about 100 meters away from the train. This wasn't a scenic trip you see, but rather a very specific opportunity to cash in on China's cheap labor for some conspicuous consumption.


The first stop was the tailor, where, for US$230 I am having a suit custom made for me as well as two shirts, all of which will be mailed to me in a few days. Fingers crossed that they are nice. Who knew that picking out fabrics could be such a agonizing decision?!?


Here I am getting measured by the tailor....

From there it was on to the spa, where the greenback really goes a long way. For less than US$30 I got treated like a king, getting worked on by three different women at the same time while briefly attracting a crowd of onlookers apparently interested in seeing a white guy at the spa (though there were plenty of other men). I got an hour-long reflexology treatment on my feet, a pedicure, a manicure, a facial and a back and shoulder massage, plus a soda and a small meal. What a deal!


I'm not proud of these pictures, but I share them for the sake of documentation on this blog. It sure was nice, though somewhat painful....reflexology hurts!

Rob poses with a friend at the airport

It seems as thought the Chinese will take pictures of anything. We saw people taking pictures of photographs of themselves, of signs announcing flights delayed at the airport and, believe it or not, of this very popular Hello Kitty display at Taipei International Airport. Rob had to wait in line to get his photo taken with her. Well worth the wait though...just look at the smile on his face....

Views from the Markets of Taiwan

Taiwanese Food

During a rainy weekend in Taipei, the best thing to do is eat...here are a few pics of some local delicacies...

Soup dumplings

Sweet and Sour Noodle Soup

Fruit and condensed milk served over shaved ice

Rob eats dumplings...

Taipei 101

One of the tallest buildings in the world (up until 2004 it was the tallest), Tapei 101 is perhaps the most recognizable icon of Taipei, dwarfing the otherwise average city skyline. The views from the top are impressive, but were obstructed by cloudy weather...

The strangest bus ride of my life

Early one morning in Lijiang we decided to catch a bus to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. After consulting our guide book and a bit of hunting around, we found bus No. 7, a smallish vehicle with room for maybe 15 people. 


We climbed inside, anxious to start the day and beat the tourists. A number of locals were already seated on the bus and a friendly Chinese man explained that the bus would leave as soon as it was full. Great, fair enough. 


It soon became apparent that everyone on the bus knew each other as they were all engaged in a big conversation. Over the next 20 minutes or so they took turns getting off the bus and then getting back on. As the bus was finally filling to capacity, the driver followed suit and disappeared as well. No sooner did that happen and everyone got off just in time for the bus driver to come back.


We'd been sitting on the bus for about a half hour by then and had no idea how long this little song and dance might last. Fortunately, our friendly Chinese man poked his head back in the bus and alerted us to the arrival of another bus. Great, so we get off and find a small minivan has pulled up behind us. It sits maybe seven people and I notice that one of the passengers from the bigger bus is now behind the wheel. OK, whatever. We get in.


Eight of us cram into this van that's built for seven (bear in mind this is a Chinese van, not some massive US SUV) and off we go. Soon after, we're in the middle of the highway and, as if perfectly normal, our new bus driver shouts out the window and suddenly we're picking up a seemingly random woman off the street. As she squeezes into the back we quickly discover that she knows the bus crew and that this bizarre pick-up was apparently specially orchestrated for her. 


Meanwhile the old man next to John has decided to strike up a conversation with him. The only problem is the old man doesn't speak English and John doesn't speak Mandarin. Not deterred by this hurdle, the old guy fired off rounds of questions (or maybe statements?) in John's direction, which he could only respond to with quizzical looks.


Well, before we knew it we were approaching the gate to the park and suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder. It was the woman we'd picked up off the road just a few miles back and it became clear that she was using my shoulder for balance and she began to maneuver herself over my seat and into our row as we sped down the highway. With no shame once so ever, she next proceeded to put her ass in John's and my face as she worked her way forward, climbing up to the passenger's seat in front. That seat, by the way had just become vacant, with its occupant now crouched on the floor in front of it. Meanwhile in the back of the van a similar maneuver was in the works as one of the guys started to lie down behind the seats, hidden from view.


The result was that by the time we arrived at the gate, our van filled with nine people appeared to only contain seven. In a way, it was like we were crossing Check Point Charlie. The guards at the gate clearly suspected something was up, but our bus mates dismissed them and soon we were through. 


The interesting thing was that while John and I sat with gaping mouths as all of this unfolded around us, the rest of our bus mates executed the procedure like a well-oiled machine. Clearly they'd done it a million times before -- they just hadn't bothered to tell us what they were up to.

Lost in translation?

A collection of unusual signs that I saw in the Mainland. The first one, about "warm tips" was positioned above the urinal...

Sadly, the best sign that I saw is the one I didn't get a picture of. Posted in large lettering in front of the bathroom of a nice Tibetan restaurant was a sign that read, "Pee Only, No Poo."