Sep 26: The Filling of Back Home

(It would be far too easy to mock Chinese signs written in English, and not so sporting since their bad English is still better than my Chinese, but I did laugh hard at an ad for my hotel in Hangzhou that touted it as having "the filling of back home." I truly couldn't figure out what they were trying to say until I said the words out loud . . . )

I suggested that one should arrive in Hong Kong at night -- but one should definitely leave China in the morning. At 5:30 AM as I left my hotel in Shanghai, the streets were empty of cars, but people were starting to stir. It was blissfully quiet as I trudged down the street with my suitcase.

A taxi driver who had just parked his car and was rummaging through his trunk, called out to me with a smile, "Pudong Airport?" I said yes. His question had the tone of just making conversation, but still I motioned with my hands to ask if he wanted to take me. He motioned back that he was off for the night, and then walked with me across the street to a sidewalk dumpling. . . well, what do you call a family who sets up a wok of hot oil in front of their house and serves breakfast? -- a cafe? an eatery? a shop? a stand?

I bought some food for breakfast and the taxi driver again said "Pudong?" I said Pudong back, and then made a hop with my hands to indicate my next stop after that and said "And then, America." "America," he said, just to roll it around on his tongue. He was still repeating the word as I waved goodbye and caught a cab.

My memories of my last trip to China five years ago include so many interactions like this -- very helpful and friendly people, and an ability to make yourself understood and to understand without too much trouble. There were plenty of experiences like that this time too, but there were a few more of the exasperation-with-foreigners-who-don't-speak-the-language and let's-see-how-much-we-can-charge-the-tourist occasions than last time.

Anytime I saw early morning, however, China was beautiful and stereotypically serene -- pristine, cool air, with just a few people around and none of the clogged streets that show up soon enough.

Now I am home. Slammed by the time change, but happily home with all the wonderful things that implies: my own shower, my own kitchen, my own language, my family, my friends . . . and my perfect last image of China.

Wrapping Up: The Advice We Were Given

Advice people gave us before we left (and whether it was useful):

--If you can't read the menu, don't order the cheapest thing assuming it will be rice. It could be fish heads.

I was startled at how prevalant fish heads were in cooking -- as well as chicken and duck heads. A thing to watch for if you're squeamish. Putting a little napkin over a staring eye works well in a pinch.

--Boil any water you drink.

Never had any water issues. . . bought bottled water, but happily drank the water they gave me in restaurants and all was fine.

--Don't bring the anatomy coloring book along with the 72 pack of colored pencils, because c'mon, you're really not going to use it.

I have to admit, I kinda wished I had it a few times. On the other hand, I didn't REALLY need it. But I could have, say, brought this, and not 5 travel guide books.

--As much as you like sushi, you might want to stick to cooked foods.

The closest we got to raw food was the whole pick-which-live-animal-you-want-us-to-kill thing in Guilin, and the crawling shrimp at the Sichuan cooking class. Raw food just wasn't an issue.

--The best way to handle non-Western style toilets is to always wear skirts.

Um, there is no way to handle public bathrooms in a foreign country. It's pretty much always awful. Skirts are the least of it. Always, always carry toilet paper with you. Always hold your breath. Always monitor your water intake on days when you know you're going to be out all day. A little vicks under your nose before you enter does wonders. Train station bathrooms are the worst worst worst -- avoid them at all costs.

--Just because they invented paper doesn't mean they're going to be generous with it. Carry your own toilet paper.

See above. We even had hotels that didn't stock TP.

--Be prepared for locals to stop you and ask to take their picture with you.

This barely happened at all. It did the last time I was in China, but it seems to be a trend that is changing. What happened far more often was people who wanted to practice their English, or wanted to exchange e-mails or phone numbers with you -- this even when you shared no language in common, forcing one to wonder what would possibly happen if one of them DID call you.

--When in a big city, just suck it up and get a nice, pretty 5-star hotel.

Amen, sister!


--Don't eat street food.

Everyone always tells you to be so careful with street food, but I read a great piece of advice before going to India last year: trust the locals -- if they're eating there, you can too. Besides, usually they cook the food right in front of you in burning hot oil. What pathogen is going to survive that? And in China, street food is so ubiquitous, so cheap, so yummy, it would be a shame not to eat it. Our favorites: 1) a shop in Guilin that flash-cooked skewers of everything from octopus to mushrooms (we ate wontons and bok choy) and then rolled them up in hot sauce before serving it and 2) a wonderful scallion and spinach pie in Beijing.


--Bring some cute clothes with you because there will always be pretty French girls traveling who always look immaculate and hip and you will be so jealous if all you have are shorts and tank tops.

Absolutely true. We needed cute outfits on our very first night for the battleship. And after a week of traveling and looking all hippy-like, there's just a moment when you desperately want to do something to make yourself look good again. Of course, there's always buying something cute to wear. . .

Wrapping Up: Videos

I couldn't get these uploaded while I was traveling. . . but they're all available now. They're fairly big-- sorry -- but they're worth it. Lots of really cute pandas.

Pandas stealing bamboo
10-month old pandas attacking Mom
Panda somersault
Panda trying to climb
Panda trying to climb again
Panda climbing!

Irish Dancers on the Great Wall (randomly)

Wrapping Up: The Dragon Collage

Eleni and I took more photos of dragons than of anything else. . . here's the best of the lot.

Wrapping Up: The Hippo Collage

Of course, I took the hippo along with me again. . . and this whole series will seem a lot less pathetic if you think of the hippo as one of those gnomes people take and send around the world so they can take photos of it in foreign locales, as opposed to thinking of it as a grown woman's need to bring a stuffed animal with her along on vacation.

Besides, Neerad was MADE in China. It would have been mean not to bring him along on a trip to his home.