Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Some Randomness...

It's a pretty typical fall day here in Seattle...gloomy and rainy.  Nothing special to report in this little corner of the planet, so today's post is a little random.  I'm wearing a repeat today...my beloved acting out skirt with the field game cardigan.  I call this my power outfit!  I feel so authoritative in it.  :)

Last August, Chris, my parents and took a trip to China for three weeks.  It was my dad's first time back since 1989 and it was Chris' first time in my home country.  I thought I'd share some of that experience with you all:

This is a very busy shopping district in my home town, Shenyang.

Apparently we went to the wrong part of the Great Wall.  The area we went was FULL of tourists and I was told that there is a better area just down a bit where there's hardly anyone! 

Olympic Bird's Nest!  A total tourist trap now.

This is my cousin that I was the closest to when I was a kid.  My parents used to dress us alike and people thought we were twins.  She was so kind and hospitable when we were there.  I miss her so much.

Ahh...of course we had to stop at Starbucks.  The blended drinks are so much better there because they use a different chocolate and milk mixture.  A typical drink like this is quite steep for the regular Chinese person.  If you work as a waitress or any blue collar job, a cup of frap will cost you a day's pay. 

Peking duck!!!  Did you know there are only two places in Beijing that serves authentic Peking Duck?  The rest are just copy cats.  We, of course, hunted down the real thing near the Forbidden City.

Big Mac's in China tasted less fattening to me.  But like Starbucks coffee, not everyone can afford something like this.  Going to McDonalds for most people probably means a special occasion. 

Ahh...amazing terra cotta soldiers. 

Being from the Northwest, we see moutains, trees, and totem poles all the time.  But in China, it's rare to see something as beautiful if you've lived in your city your whole life.  Thus, when you have scenery like this, it costs an arm and a leg to get in.  We had to pay several day's worth of pay of a normal person to actually go into this park to look at scenery we see for free in the US.

There are a bunch of Chinese herbal "pharmacies" around town...and these drugs don't require a prescription.  I love the English translation of different sections within the drug store.  I have no idea what these sections were...but they are sure hilarious. 

Use to Stick a Cream Outside.  I'm a little scared of this one.

The Facial Feature is Internal Use...hmmm...I thought facial features were external?

The Gynecology is Internal Use.  I wonder if there is an External Use section.

The Day Turns Thing...hmmmm.  Maybe if you don't use it, it turns you into a pumpkin at night?

And a trip to China wouldn't be complete without a trip to Walmart.  The dollar signs look the same but you'll find all sorts of goodies here.  I found Peking Duck flavored Lay's Potato Chips.  Yum!

12 comments:

  1. Did you go to the peking duck house at "front gate"? Did you claim your duck by writing down your name on the duck body? I couldn't wait for it so I order a ready made one last time. I cannot believe you went for MacDonald when you are in China with all the other good and cheaper food around :-)

    The signs are hilarious. My friend send me a picture the other day says "Carefully fall into the water" :-) ?

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  2. Inkmark - Haha Chris wasn't to try the burgers in China and I started to get really sick from all the oil in the foods there. It got really bad in Xian and Kunming...the whole trip I actually LOST weight. Not a good picture! But yes, the food there is really good. I miss it still.

    Haha no we didn't get our name on our duck. That would be hilarious!

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  3. Oh great pictures Cindi!! I'm dying to go to China! :-) Did you have any interesting street foods while you were there?

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  4. I love seeing your travel pictures Cindi! It would be so cool to see the Great Wall someday. :-)

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  5. I teach about ancient china and I'm always so jealous of people who have actually been there- what a fabulous experience, especially to share it with your family and husband!

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  6. Wow. Those pictures are so amazing. I've seen those terracotta soldiers on the amazing race and was mesmerized. I would love to get there someday.

    it makes me sad, yet thankful for what i have, when I hear that a coffee drink or hamburger would be a luxury for blue collar workers.

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  7. Great pictures Cindi. I just love exploring new countries, especially checking out how different their culture and product packaging is to the western world. Peking duck flavoured chips sound interesting!
    Those pharmacy signs are hilarious! Gotta love Asian interpretation of english phrases! There is a book called "ENGRISH" that i stumbled upon in the book store a while back. it was so funny to read. Since i am asian, i am allowed to laugh :-) hahahaha

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  8. GinaBean - We had some really good bbq skewers and also these sandwiches that's from Xian. It has lamb inside. It's a popular snack there. I loved it!

    Debbie - The Great Wall is a great place to visit. Just make sure to go to the secret sight. Haha.

    Spiffy - I wouldn't even know where to begin teaching about ancient China. There's just so much history there.

    Pamela - I know right? When I went there, my cousin's monthly salary was $2000. But her Oil of Olay face cream cost $200 there. Can you imagine spending 1/10 of your monthly income on just oil of olay face cream? It's ridiculous.

    Jen - I think I've seen a portion of that book. Haha...I was laughing out loud at some of the things they have there. Oh man! So funny.

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  9. LOTFLMAO! OMG Cindi! The pharmacy part of the post has me cracking up! Even though I'm Chinese, I have never travelled throughout China. Only to Shenzen by way of Hong Kong. Everyone's been on the tours and no one really wants to go on one again. I'd love to see the Terra Cotta soldiers and the Great Wall. I feel kinda like an impostor to be Chinese and still not have been (but my parents hailed from Taiwan so..) I loved seeing all your pictures!

    xx Vivian @ http://diamondsandtulle.blogspot.com

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  10. I love these pictures! How cool! I love seeing MacDonald's in other countries.

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  11. ha ha, these signs are awesome.. go get some if you dare!

    I would so love to visit China one day!

    xox

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  12. hooray for travel pics! I thought the terra cotta warriors were some of the coolest things I saw in China. So crazy that they're still excavating them, and they're so colorful when they're first uncovered!

    I haven't been back to China in a while. My mom and her siblings and my grandma and her siblings all went back the past couple years and found the original village where they were all from, and they visited the graves of our ancestors.

    I admit, like Inkmark, I was also surprised you stopped by MickeyD's. I love love loved the food in China. Sorry to hear you got a little sick!

    Lorispeak

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