china, the wrap up

our comments and observations of china:

. "hello" is the most common greeting in china. although the vast majority of the population does not speak english, many people are happy to smile and say "hello" to western tourists.
. same as korea - we are giant in size. david is challenged by doorways, short beds, low ceilings, and small-sized house slippers. even though i've lost a few, i still have a good 40 pounds on most women.
. cross-walks are non-existant in china. you may cross the street wherever and whenever you want. order is enforced only with police or patrol presence.
. china has a case of the "staries". of course, we don't blame anyone for staring - we know we're kind of funny looking.
. chinese people are all about selling things - which comes in handy, because you can always find whatever you need pretty easily.
. chinese people don't like to queue. pushing to the front and "cutting" line is the norm and is completely acceptable. luckily, we have size and weight on our side.
. food is cheap in china - especially if you eat in the non-touristy places along with the locals.
. because diapers are very expensive, many chinese babies don't wear them. they wear pants with a slit in the bottom, then do their business by squatting when necessary.
. mcdonald's, kfc, and pizza hut restaurants are all over china. kfc is promoted as, "the food of kentucky"
. we are over the spitting...
. i am over the squat toilets...
. rule #1 in china: never leave home without tp
. rule #2 in china: never leave home without hand sanitizer and wipes
. chinese full-body massage is performed with every stitch of clothing on - even socks. it's quite bizarre, especially after being in korea - the land where everyone is completely comfortable being naked.
. for the most part, chinese people are smiling, nice people
. you can smoke wherever you want in china - even under "no smoking" signs
. clothing for sale in china is mini in size. it took us 2 weeks to find size extra large boxers for david - which he says are barely a u.s.a. size large. the packaging called the boxers "fat older guy boxers". david wasn't humored as much as i was.
. canned pabst blue ribbon beer is readily available in most convenient stores - we presume it's a popular and well-liked beer in china.
. china is considerably cheaper than korea.

what things cost in china:

. a 20 minute cab ride to the city center of beijing at 1am $7.00
. beijing subway ride $0.27
. a bean sprout burrito $0.65
. an apple snack on a stick $0.27
. an order of fried rice $1.10
. spicy noodle soup from a street vendor $0.90
. a nice hotpot dinner for 2 people $10.00
. large bottled water $0.39
. american breakfast at a hostel $2.45
. 20oz. tsingtao beer at a hostel $0.68
. double ensuite room at qian men hostel in beijing $22.00
. fresh brewed coffee at a coffee shop $1.75
. a local telephone call $0.13
. a pair of "thinsulate" gloves from the market $3.37
. postcards $0.08 each
. postage to the u.s.a $0.62 each
. a pair of black pearl earrings from the pearl market in beijing $7.50
. 2 pc fleece lined thermal underwear $8.00
. premium peking duck dinner for 2 people $20.00
. a 10-hour hard sleeper train ticket $26.00
. instant ramen noodle soup $0.45
. a steamed bun from a street vendor $0.12
. a 12oz. can of diet coke $0.32
. admission to the great wall $5.50 per person
. a city bus to the great wall $1.95 per person, each way
. 1/2 kilo high quality jasmine tea $8.50
. admission to the army of terracotta warriors $9.50 per person
. a big-mac value meal $2.35
. 1 hour full body massage treatment $5.00
. admission to sichuan opera with guide and interpretation $15.00 per person
. the china mask $20.00
. a 12 inch stuffed crust pizza from pizza hut $13.00
. a chartered boat for a li river cruise $20.00

what's next?

we're currently in the southern city of nanning, which is our last stop prior to crossing into vietnam. the people are very nice (as are most folks from the southern part of anywhere), and are all about yelling out a "hello!". we need a couple of days to basically do nothing except re-group, re-fresh, and re-charge. rather than staying in a hostel, we decided to secure a room at an actual hotel - which is a comforting change of pace. the room comes complete with a computer with internet, television with an english channel, and the softest bed we've had in china. needless to say, we are enjoying our first bit of television entertainment in over a month.

hanoi, vietnam is about 8 hours away by bus. we'll see you there soon...

ps. happy anniversary madre y padre sizemore! love, su hija

onward!

alina