Snack Street

Tim's Snack spot, we had something to drink and Tim had a hamburger.

Bev went here for a snack and a drink

We were in a touristy area of Chengdu where we found snack street. Although our travel companions all ate a variety of foods on snack street Bev and I did not. Many of them looked awesome. Most of them were very spicy. I ate at the bar had a hamburger, Bev ate something from the Starbucks.

Shanghai Weekend

Looking across the river to the Pudong side from the Bund at night.

One of only a couple reclining Buddah's made from a single piece of Jade.

Mao statues for sale

This is hand embroidery, very beautiful.
We bought some much smaller pieces as they
take months to make and were fairly expensive.

This guy had a knife and other tools and was working on this ladies foot.
I believe his sign says he has some kind of knowledge of hands and feet?

This is how you eat cheap, a complete lunch here cost less than a quarter.

Live Crickets for Sale

These are some pictures from our Shanghai weekend. Bev and I both fell in love with Shanghai. It is a wonderful city. We traveled with another couple that are from Napa, Idaho. We decided to do a one day city tour to get a feel for the city and maximize our time. We visited the Bund and the French Concession district, Shanghai Museum of Ancient Chinese Art which contains over 120,000 pieces of rare and precious art. The Qing Dynasty, Yuyuan Gardens, Jade Buddha Temple called Xin Tian Di, had a tea ceremony, visited a pearl factory. In addition we had visited the Bund on our own in the evening and were treated to a wonderful fireworks show. The opposite side of the Huangpu River is being developed at a very fast rate. It was completely inaccessible just 20 years ago. It is called the Pudong, a district in Shanghai, which has emerged as China\'s financial and commercial hub. Before we left we were able to take a river cruise and visit an antique village area near our hotel where we bought some souvenirs.

Quite a busy three days when you add in travel to Hong Kong and back for our flights. Our passports are getting filled with many stamps as we get four every time we go to Hong Kong, or Macau.

This is a mix of pictures, most of street vendors, which I find quite interesting. We ended up walking a few blocks on Sunday morning and went through an area that has a Sunday morning 2nd hand sales by individuals. Stuff was laid out on blankets. Some amazing things. Everyting can be sold, rocks, crickets, turtles and lots of stuff. Bev picked up some pot holders and was handed additional items, a cell phone I think, and then started to draw a crowd as she looked the items over, she decided she didn't want to make a purchase that was difficult.

If you touch anything or show any interest with your eyes or pointing at something you will have a hard time getting away from the vendor without being rude, which is many times the only thing you can do! Once you agree to a price with ok or yes. It is yours. That is the final word on the sale. There is no I changed my mind. As soon as you pay. You totally own it and a return just 30 seconds later or exchange is going to cost you, or is not possible. You have to be ready for final purchase when you say "ok".

Street Food

There is more food sold on the China Streets than anywhere I have ever been. You can buy anything you want and you might be surprised what is available on the streets. There is an abundance of vendors, especially with food. It doesn't take much to set-up shop. Sometimes as little as a cloth to put on the ground to place your product on. Better than that, some use a basket or two and a stick with strings to carry up to two different items. Even better yet is a bike with a flat board mounted on the back to hold your fruit or live items like chickens for the evening meal. Some bikes are outfitted with propane tanks and cooking pans. Sometimes they just get a 50 gallon barrel and use it as a cooker. These seem to be used primarily to cook large batches of sweet potatoes. Our friends tell us they are delicious and We are going to try them soon. Previously, before I left the states, I said, I would never buy any food from the street vendors, but I have relented and purchased quite a few things. Bev has bought a number of fruits and some vegetables, some of which we later eat. Generally, our purchases have been items that have a skin of some sort of peeling to get to the fruit or item to eat. These are some pics of some of the varieties that you can find everywhere. BTW Most of the fruit is excellent. Tree ripened! Bananas from the street vendors are less than 1 yuan each or about $.12. If you don't know the expected price for something they will charge you more. And almost always things cost less away from Shekou, Seaworld, where we live.

I have not seen anyone with there own chopsticks. Most of the street food does not require them but if it does the standard wood chopsticks in a paper sleeve are more common than straws and just as cheap to handout. We have been given them to use in restaurants that have the metal chopsticks as they are easier to use than the thin metal ones.