Bob informed us last night that the breakfast at the hotel was outstanding!. He said that when Kobe Bryant stayed at the hotel he spent so much time at breakfast that fans and paparazzi started to show up and want autographs and pictures. And…true to his word, the breakfast was spectacular! They had fruit, pastries, and every kind of juice, smoothies, omelet, and waffles. It all looked so good! Diet be gone!!
The toilets in these countries have been different. For the most part there have been normal (at least it is normal for me) sitting toilets.
At some places there are only, what we have started to call them, “squatty potties”.
Terrifying, right?
It is devastating at times when there isn't a sitting toilet. As of now, I refuse to use them. If it comes down to it, a girl has to do what a girl has to do…but for now, attempting to use them is terrifying.
On our way back to Shanghai Bob took us to the water village in Wuzhen, China. Bob said that there were two projects in China: the Great Wall and the Canal. The water village is built on the river that is directly associated with the canal. This village was built hundreds of thousands of years ago. There were homes built directly above/on the river.
The water village.
In recent years the village has been turned into more of a museum. There are hotels in the village now. There are also markets where locals and foreigners can purchase produce and other trinkets. There are museum exhibits. One of the museum exhibits that we walked through was about shoes. These aren't the kind of shoes that you or I would wear. These are shoes that the Chinese would wrap.
This is what it looked like as we walked down the street.
At another one of the museum like exhibits they demonstrated how they dye fabric. They showed the fabric hanging out to dry after it had been dyed. They also had a man in the museum demonstrating how they get the flowery pattern onto the fabric.
Fabric hanging up drying before they sew into products to sell such as
purses, headbands, dresses and flip flops.
Bob made us try stinky tofu. It was definitely stinky and not my favorite. Bob and some of Dad’s other friends in China refer to tofu in front of the Americans that come to visit them as "stinky tofu." Very few –if any- of the Americans like "stinky tofu." Fortunately, Bob took us to have a real meal later and not just stinky tofu. It was so much better than the stinky tofu.
Here is the view from a bridge looking at the village.
"This is likely hotel rooms", said Bob.
Once we got done walking much of the village, we took a cute little boat back to the beginning of the village (aka where the car was parked). The boat ride was very cool. It was one of those times when I had to remind myself that I was riding on a boat in a river in the middle of China with my dad. It was surreal. AND it was freezing outside. It was on the verge of snowing and we are riding a boat on a river. Not the smartest idea but heck it was a lot faster than walking back to the car. Plus, I had not brought the warmest clothes along with me.
The boat we took across the river. "No, those doors don't shut", said Jillian.
Air blew in and out freely. F.r.e.e.z.i.n.g. Are you with me on that one?
The view from the little boat we road in.
Dad had thought of one more thing while we were in Hangzhou and Wuzhen that he wanted to get while we were in China. Bob took us to get a Starbucks (we were freezing) and get dad's souvenir. It was late afternoon by now and we were going to be having dinner close to 7pm. Dad asked Bob to take us back to the apartment so that we could relax and pack. We have an early flight tomorrow morning and who knows how long dinner will take.
We were having dinner with Dad’s friend, Tiger. When I heard that I was thinking Oh Lord that means there will be a lot of people at dinner and then Dad mentioned that it also means that this will be a looooong dinner. Tiger and his half brother (Da Ge Da), Bob and his wife (no American first name), Denny Garcia (the pro that runs Tiger’s Golf Academy) and Richard and his wife (Olivia) were all at dinner.
At this point in all of the ports, I start to get sick of the food. I'm not opposed to trying everything but after a while I start to want something familiar and get sick of foreign food.
I had already eaten a lot of shrimp and sushi on this voyage. I was actually surprised how much shrimp I had ate because the texture of it typically bothers me. This meal was, again, family style. The first dish that came around was sushi. I said that I was going to pass and wait for the next dish to come around. I think Tiger may have been offended. He started ordering dishes for me personally. (Oh crap. I’m gonna be so full after this meal. Where’s the dog under the table when you need him?) He ordered beef for everyone to eat. Everyone just passed their beef to me. Throughout the dinner people just passed me some of their personal dishes. I was soooo incredibly full. I need to not eat so much.
I think it was a very cool experience to be able to eat with these people. Danny is an American who is working in China for Tiger Tech. Danny's wife had just died a few months back and he was still struggling with moving on. He made the comparison of life being like a movie. Now he is working to change the script of his life without his wife. I thought it was a pretty solid cultural experience to watch these Chinese people interact and socialize.
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