First off, this is where we were in china... This post covers most of the pictures not from our wedding reception
View Larger MapThat was the start... ~30 hour delay in Seattle. A big thank you to airbus and hainan for making that delay possible....
I did not take as many pictures as I should have on the way in... primarily due to exhaustion...
In there are some excellent foods.... Mandarin oranges, longan fruit (gods gift to fruit right there), Lychee (great except for the pit),and some other stuff that is known or I don't recall.
That is lychee, tastes great, pit sticks to fruit something fierce
If you don't try the duck tongue, don't bother vacationing in china. It is that good. just watch out for the bones.
That would be some form of snake, also delicious and worth eating.
Another picture of snake. They cook it skin and all, even the skin tastes great.
That would be me holding a dragon fruit
And now for its closeup.
Me eating dragon fruit.... you peel it and chow down. think really really really large kiwi fruit crossed with something else. would be great on a hot day, or with rum (and with rum also works)
Random aside from food now... if you ever get the chance to try the fire in the bottle massage technique, do try it. It hardly hurts at all.
Not that you would know that from the picture. That went away after a week or so.
My wife, contemplating my demise.... I should note from the garb, that her parents, fundamentally, do not believe in HVAC systems... the condo is open to the outside no matter how cold it is.
That is a large inland lake... the haze is the air, it is better than it used to be but not great.
Me, in Starbucks, In Shenzhen. Interesting thing about Shenzhen.. it could easily be a major western city, were it filled with westerners. it was a good city to visit, plenty of shopping for the wife.
Shenzhen Skyline
The Wife (Yangyang) in Starbucks, Shenzhen
If you ever wanted to know what a vending machine for automobiles looks like, that is it. This is vertically integrated automated parking rack...
the second highest building in china.
The best hot pot I have ever had. Bar None. EAT THIS IF YOU GET THE CHANCE. Ding is one of Yangyangs friends, and she took us here. it was glorious food...
If you are not familiar with hot pot, get familiar and have it, you are missing out.
A different restaurant with another good friend, Carol (english name). Had a great dish that was squid and ribs, never would have thought that would have been a good combo, but it is.
My wife forced me to take a picture of her favorite style of sink.
Mango Desert Restaurant. Freakin AWESOME
MIX City, new shopping mall, generally more expensive than in the states.
Can you see the pizza hut in the background?
Sally and wendy with Yangyang. This is a northern china styled restaurant. If you have never tried sweet and sour pork made the right way, you need to. American sweet and sour pork tastes awful in comparison. Theirs is the perfect mix of crunch, sweet, tangy, sour.
Another great desert place. the green thing is Durian pancake... DO NOT BUY DURIAN. It tastes good but it is one of the most awful smells you will ever smell while chewing and the smell sticks with you for a long time.
Another Starbucks in Mix City
Another view of china's second tallest building
Downtown Shenzhen. City center. Tallest building in city (second tallest in china) on right.
City Center another direction
Rural area, train ride back from Shenzhen. That is about as far as we were from people during the whole trip. That is also the least densely populated area I saw while here...
And now for the car ride back from the train depot to Nanxian
I should note that Chinese drivers are certifiably insane (or fearless, take your pick). All road markings are at best strong suggestions.... Just wait till you are on a two lane road and there are 5 vehicles side by side with traffic flowing in both directions... and only one of the 5 vehicles is going the other way from you.
My wife's grandmother
Nanxian, an artificial lake
My wife's father is to my right. others are relatives.
And that would be dog. it is probably some of the best food I had in china.
Spicy Fish, GLORIOUS
Lunch in changsha before our flight out.
These guys really have a good handle on the absurdly large hot water pots. (watch the whole series in picasa)
Beijing from one of her cousin's condo.
