Weird, gross, and crazy Chinese things

Now that were home, here are some of the crazy, gross, and common things you find in China, AKA, things I am happy we don't have in the United States. China is a very different culture and place than the U.S. and I liked a lot of things about it. But, as with everywhere, there were things I didn't like...

• The Food
• Snake head
• Duck blood on meals
• Chicken feet and head still attached to the body in a meal
• Scorpions
• Lemonade, this is hot water with think, concentrated lemon syrup
• Hot Chocolate (in places other than Starbucks) It is like the lemonade, but with chocolate syrup
• Toilets
• This is the same in England, no one has any idea of what a bathroom, restroom or men/lady room is. You call it a toilet, which for Americans is pretty inappropriate.
• They are holes in the floor
• "Squat Toilets"
• Beds
• The beds are hard as a rock (really)
• They are pieces of ply wood with a sheet
• Staring/pointing/pushing
• These are not rude or impolite
• Everyone does it
• Shouting
• No one talks, they shout
• Especially on the phone
• When we were in a hotel, a house keeper nodded politley to us, "good morning" then turned and screamed to someone 10 feet away from her.
• Barack Obama (this is good)!
• Good!
• Everyone, who spoke English or not, asked "Obama?" We nodded a lot and they were very happy.

Hong Kong: Sixteen

Today we went to Disneyland. To get to it, you have to take the subway and get off at the Disney line. This was fun because the windows were shaped like the Disney logo of the mouse head. Inside, there were little statues of the characters. The park is very small compared with the one in California. It had all of the same parts, but with half of the rides. The rides that were there, were the same as the one in California. What surprised us were the shops. Hong Kong seemed like the place to go shopping in the whole world, and the shops were minimal. We didn’t buy much of anything. My favorite thing there was not an actual ride, but an attraction. I had never seen a 3D movie before and they had one. The movie was a combo of some famous and well-known scenes in Disney movies. In the “Be Our Guest” song from Beauty and the Beast, the champagne bottles squirted in to the audience and water sprayed out. I also liked the Autopia ride. Driving around in a car on a track that over looks the park was has always been a favorite. When you go to a Disneyland park in the U.S. the food carts have popcorn, sweets, and little snacks. In the carts there, there are fish balls, squid tentacles, and other things that would not be anywhere near the U.S. parks. I really enjoyed the day and was happy to have gone to Disneyland Hong Kong. This was our last day in China, and the next day we went home. This was a great way to end our trip, going to Honk Kong Disneyland!
Lianne

Hong Kong: Fifteen

On our second day in Hong Kong, we went to Cat Street (that is its nickname). This is an old street with little booths, like a night market, and some nice-looking antique stores. Again, it was nice to shop without being followed. It was very relaxed and there was a variety or items to look at. After walking though, we came out on a street with a small old temple. We went in and saw more statues of gods and spiritual people. We had gone out on the water before, but decided we wanted to go on another ferry, so we walked to the ferry station. Never having in mind somewhere to go, we took random ferries that met our time limits. Being on the water, you could see much different views than on land. Instead of walking by the skyscrapers, you could see the whole buildings, all about fifty to sixty stories of them. In Shanghai, there were taller buildings, but in Hong Kong, there are more of them. Since we had been on vacation for almost the whole time and had had almost no breaks, we thought we deserved an early day. We pent it swimming in the hotel pool. It was a very nice pool overlooking the harbor. It was not at all like in Yangshuo, but we went to a public to a light show. Actually, we just took another ferry over to the Kowloon side again. Then music played and lights were projected onto the buildings in different patterns and colors. It was very cool, but also crowded, like everywhere in China. We had a short and our last day going around China. The next day we were going to Disneyland!

Lianne

Hong Kong:Fourteen

Our first day in Hong Kong was filled with many places, Victoria Peak, Kowloon, and many markets. To get to Victoria Peak, you have to take a trolleyish tram up. I thought that it would be like a gondola, but it was more like a small trolley. Victoria Peak has beautiful landscapes. There are some places where you can just walk on a path though the trees. The best landscapes are seen from high above on balconys that look over the city and water. The rest of Victoria Peak was shopping malls. A little background about Hong Kong, there is no place without shopping malls. When you go to a subway station you walk in to a Flatirons Crossing type mall. When you walk anywhere, you never touch the street level. This is the city of pedestrian overpasses. It is so confusing to try and get down. We have spent about thirty minutes trying to get down. I am not a fan of shopping, and so I didn’t enjoy the Victoria Peak. I just liked the landscapes. We took the tram back and went to Kowloon. Hong Kong is made up of many different pieces of land in China and islands. Right now, our hotel is on Hong Kong Island. We took a ferry to Kowloon which is land connected to china. It is about two minutes across the water by ferry. In Kowloon, we went to a fun little market and walked around there. We had more fun shopping here than in Guilin because it was much more relaxed. We wanted to find the Bird Market, the Goldfish Market, and the Flower Market. We luckily just walked into the Flower Market. It was amazing; they had so many different kinds and colors of flowers. Some I had never seen before. The most popular were the orchids. The stores had shelves and shelves of them in different colors, shapes, and pots. The next market we went to was the Goldfish Market. Again, it was like the Flower Market with things displayed. This time, it was all kinds of fish in tanks. I felt like I was in a mini aquarium. Most of the fish were goldfish, but there were also coy, parrot fish, and other fish with patterns and colors. The last market was the Bird Market. In stacks of about 10 cages high, were birds. There were so many different types of birds, including macaws, parakeets, and many others I don’t know the name of. It was just amazing how many birds, fish, and flowers were packed into a few blocks.

Lianne