Our trip includes a couple of family orientated adventures. Today was one of them. On tap for today is shopping at a local center, visiting a Buddhist temple, and having real Dim Sum style lunch. But before all that we went to Shaman island, this is where we stayed at the end of Jun's adoption. Every American family ends up in Guangzhou because this is where the American Consultant is based. Jun didn't remember any of it but for Kim and I it brought back some good memories. We passed the Starbucks where we first learned Jun was naughty (he dunked his sausage roll in my coffee), and the many shops selling art, silk and games. This is also where a lot of couples get married and clothing companies have photo shoots. We did a little shopping and then we went to the mall. As with most of China their are many street vendors. We passed vendors roasting chestnuts, cooking dumplings, and grounding up bamboo to make sugar cane. This shopping district is decorated differently every week, currently displaying Santa Claus. we walked down a side street and we ended up in a little "food court" I guess you could say. Jun came to a screeching halt and yelled "Ba Ba look!" I went back to see that he found cooked scorpions on a stick right next to the cooked beetles. Jun was waiving his Chinese flag as he saw all this different food. A vendor started talking to Jun in Mandarin and Jun just shrugged his shoulders. Jun just keep talking about "do people really eat that?" and "Is that a real scorpion?" The lady keep talking to Jun and I tried to say that he just speaks English. She was baffled. Our guide Peter stepped in to explain that we are form the USA and didn't give her much more info. Right about now Lena says that she has to pee... again. I laughed as Peter said "Oh no". He looked a little frantic as he searched for a bathroom. We went into an indoor shopping mall that looked like it had been vacant for five years and somehow turned the power on and all the shops were still there. To make things more interesting Jun said "I have to poop". Now I'm thinking Oh no. We were lead into a bathroom with no toilet just a hole in the floor. Jun looked at it and said "But I have to poop". I said that you have to use this hole and just squat down. I held his hands as he squatted so he wouldn't fall down butt first. I looked around and noticed what was missing, toilet paper. As I sat their thinking how I was going to get out of this one Jun said "Ba Ba, my poop ran away". Hurray.
The next stop was the 1000 year old buddhist temple. As soon as we entered Jun and Lena just started looking around and everything was very peaceful. The lady working at the desk gave Jun and Lena small oranges to offer to the gods which were quickly devoured. We looked around as our guide explained the three major religions in this area and talked more about Buddhism. I asked him if he was Buddhist and he said "I'm still thinking about it, I'll deiced when I'm old". Like the other Temples Kim and I have visited in the past this one was also very comforting and peaceful.
After all this activity we were all getting hungry. Peter wanted to take us to a real Dim Sum restaurant. I on the other hand wish we stuck to the Buddhist thing and went vegaritan. So off we went for a real Cantonese experience. We walked into a large but crowded restaurnt filled with tanks of fish, shrimp, eels and just about everything that swims. Our guide told us you can order anything you want and they will kill and cook it right here. We went upstairs and sat down. As we searched for an open table for six we drew many stares, not in a bad way, they just wanted to stare at us. I went up with Peter to search for some food. He said find what you like and I'll order it for you. Everything is cooked right in front of you and the choices were endless. Popular items were dumplings, noodles and lots of meat. The kids loved it and our driver keep us filled with tea when our cups got close to half full. We were sitting a large table and we had all these little steaming baskets filled with different foods.
Back at the hotel we had our laundry wanting for us as well as a $65 laundry fee.
-Todd-
The next stop was the 1000 year old buddhist temple. As soon as we entered Jun and Lena just started looking around and everything was very peaceful. The lady working at the desk gave Jun and Lena small oranges to offer to the gods which were quickly devoured. We looked around as our guide explained the three major religions in this area and talked more about Buddhism. I asked him if he was Buddhist and he said "I'm still thinking about it, I'll deiced when I'm old". Like the other Temples Kim and I have visited in the past this one was also very comforting and peaceful.
After all this activity we were all getting hungry. Peter wanted to take us to a real Dim Sum restaurant. I on the other hand wish we stuck to the Buddhist thing and went vegaritan. So off we went for a real Cantonese experience. We walked into a large but crowded restaurnt filled with tanks of fish, shrimp, eels and just about everything that swims. Our guide told us you can order anything you want and they will kill and cook it right here. We went upstairs and sat down. As we searched for an open table for six we drew many stares, not in a bad way, they just wanted to stare at us. I went up with Peter to search for some food. He said find what you like and I'll order it for you. Everything is cooked right in front of you and the choices were endless. Popular items were dumplings, noodles and lots of meat. The kids loved it and our driver keep us filled with tea when our cups got close to half full. We were sitting a large table and we had all these little steaming baskets filled with different foods.
Back at the hotel we had our laundry wanting for us as well as a $65 laundry fee.
-Todd-
Your experience with the toilet facilities reminded me of my first in country toilet experience in Korea. In Soule at a restaurant to the men's room. Through the door for men. Inside discover the women's door ended in the same place, one big room. Women on one end, men the other. For both genders, just holes in the floor. Pee and poop use the same holes. Toilet paper picked up on the way in. Found same in Thailand and Vietnam. Not so true in Japan. Does take some mental adjustment.
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