Day 5 - A Visit to the Pedestrian Mall

Tonight we went down to the pedestrian mall to look for something to eat. We stopped at this restaurant called the Greenery Cafe. We had eaten there before and it was good, but tonight the meal wasn't that good. So the Greenery Cafe has been removed from our restaurant rotation. When we cam to the center of the mall I snapped a few pictures.


Neon signs everywhere. Some flash and blink, anything to get your attention.

Paul has also become somewhat famous with the Chinese population. In the picture below you will notice the girl standing in front of us (Paul) and taking the picture. You can see the camera flash. I don't know why they would want Paul's picture, when they could have a picture of Chuck and I. I think next week Paul will be on the Plaza selling autographed pictures for 5 Yuan each.


After dinner we decided to walk off some of the food we had just eaten, so we went down an ally off the pedestrian mall. Little did we know that we had entered a food alley.


You can get just about anything on a stick here in Guangzhou. They offer such delicacies as chicken on a stick, pork on a stick, octopus tentacles on a stick, and ....


YES FOLKS SCORPIONS on a stick.


Not something you'll find this American eating while in China!

Day 4 - The Many Wonders of China

This afternoon we stepped out of the office to get a breath of fresh air (HA HA), and to our amazement we say the famous "Mad Max". Not sure why this vehicle is called that, but they are very popular in the area and are used to move everything from dirt to boxes. Its basically a garden tiller with the back end of a truck attached.


Each day we test here at work we seem to find no reasoning why thing are done the way they are done. Below is a picture of a 220 Volt outlet above a water faucet. Can you say dangerous?


Below is a picture of the Sun setting on Guangzhou. You can see from the smog in the air that the sun is almost completely blocked out. Air quality here is very poor. Some days are better than others.


Tonight we walked down yet another street going to dinner. We were looking for an Italian Restaurant that some of our co-workers had told us about. On the way we passed by one of those little shops, there everywhere, and saw snakes in bottles. Curiosity killed us, so we went inside to see what was up with all those snakes. Can you say Cobra Wine! Bet you want find that in the store in Bartlett, Tennessee.


And if you can't afford the bottle, then you can just buy a glass of wine. Below is a picture of the snakes in a vat and the wind comes out the bottom. (Sickening) Needless to say we left this shop quickly and did not look back.


We walked just a little further and came upon the fresh fish market. This was extremely fresh, still alive. They had crabs, turtles, fish and eels. A fresh crab will cost you about 50 cents in US money.


Right before we arrive at the restaurant we came across the first Church I've seen since I've been in China. It was an extremely small Catholic church, but its a start in the right direction.

More to come. Oh and Happy Birthday Bro. Michael.

Day 2 - The Trip to Work!

Well today I thought I would give you good look at my trip to work each day. I just sat in the back of the van and shot these pictures. The first few pictures were taken from the hotel.


This picture was taken looking out my hotel room window at 6:00 am. I'm on the 8th floor.
Looking down from the hotel window.


OK, now for the start of the trip to work. First we all got in the van and drove down the street where we actually stopped for traffic. This is unusual because stopping doesn't seem to be normal. Oh, red lights, they just exist to flash red for the Chinese Communist Party, no one watches what red lights do. But we just happened to stop in front of a bank.


With in just a few seconds, a van pulled up behind us and several men with automatic weapons jumped out and surrounded the van. Looked like the bank was receiving some money. What we found funny was that "no one" would walk close to these guys, and everyone stayed the distance.


In just the a minute, we were speeding down the street again. Like I said no one waits for traffic lights or traffic for very long. This is a picture of one of the many shops on the sides of the streets. It seems these shops are everywhere.

This picture is one of the many apartment building in Guangzhou China. This apartment complex is so big, we decided that everyone in Jackson, TN could live on the 1st and 2nd floors and that the 3rd floor is for Humbolt, TN and Paris, TN.


Below are some pictures of the shops along the road to work.

Quick picture down an market alley.


The pictures below are of some of the housing near work. Many buildings do not have windows. I think this is ok because it doesn't get very cold here.


Well finally we can see work.

Well thats it for day 2. We'll see what exciting adventures come up on Day 3.

Day 1 - The First Dinner

Tonight was my first introduction to actually eating the food in China. Paul, Chuck, and myself decided we would give the local cuisine a try. So once we arrived at the Holiday Inn in Shifu Guangzhou we ventured into the streets to try and find someplace nice to eat. We ended up at a place called The Greenery Cafe. The menu at this place was at least 50 pages long. So there was plenty to choose from. Chuck ordered first, then myself, and then Paul. While I was ordering, I asked the server what Chuck had ordered. (My logic was, if Chuck dies or get sick, then I want be alone.) But I didn't order what ordered, instead he changed his order to what I ordered. Now picture this, first we could barely talk with the girl taking our order. Then Chuck goes and changes his order after placing his order making things more confusing. Even a good McDonalds clerk would have messed up the order. So needless to say they did not get my order. (THANKS CHUCK!) When the food started arriving, I just sat there and watched everyone get food except me. A nice welcome to China from your co-workers. After about 10 minutes, we determined what had happend and we got the server to understand also. They were very apologetic and quickly rushed out what I had ordered. Below is a picture of the first real Chinese meal in China.


It was steak in some brown suace with a fried egg on top. Didn't see the fried egg on top on the menu, so I guess it was a plus. I must say it was an excellent dinner. The only draw back was having to sit next to Paul as he consumed something that once lived in the south China seas. Below are the pictures.
That's a baby squid in his mouth I think.


Yes that is a tentacle off of something.
Honestly this boy will eat anything and that could be dangerous here.
Not comes for the good part. We chose this restaurant because they would accept American credit cards. Paul was going to buy for everyone tonight. When the bill came, they could not accept Paul's credit card. So Chuck and I had to put up the 398 Yuan to pay for dinner. (398 Yuan = $56.90 USD). Nice, first dinner with my co-workers in China and they stick me with the bill. Oh well. Where else could 3 people eat 2 steak dinners and some sea food (loosly spoken) for $57.00 dollars.

Tomorrow will be the 2nd day and I'll try to post more pictures.

Day 1 In China

I arrived in China at 11:30 pm there time. Had to walk across the street from the airport to my hotel for that night. Below is a picture of the room.



Yes folks that's a glass wall between the bed room and the bath room. Your looking through the window at the tub. I didn't get to see much out side so when I woke up the next morning at 6:30 am and looked out the window, this is what I saw.





Across the garden on the top of the parking garage is the air port. The airport is the center of the city. The major roads run right through the center of the airport.


Some of you will think the haze in the air is my camera. NO! The air here is just that dirty.

Later I will try to post some pictures when Chuck and Paul took me to dinner.
(PS. Chuck ate my dinner. No one would eat Paul's).

Flight To China

One of the longest plane flights I've ever been on. Left Memphis at 8:30 am CST
and flew to Detroit. Left Detroit at 3:30 EST and was in the air for the next 13 hours just trying to get to Japan. Below is a picture of the plane before we left.


I chose to sit on the upper deck of the air craft. There are only 24 seats on the upper deck. Below is a picture of the upper deck.


Also had one of the finest breakfast meals ever. (More pictures.)
The before picture.


The after picture.


You will eat like a King when flying over.

Later will come pictures of the local amusements.

T-Minus 1 day

Oops. I forgot to do day two.

Tomorrow morning I will be leaving for Guangzhou China.
First leg of my trip takes me to Detroit, then to Narita Japan, finally to Guangzhou (Canton) China.

To my fellow co-workers - Chuck blog spot (chuckinchina08.blogspot.com) I've got the stuff you wanted me to bring to you. Hey a couple of these shirts fit really well, so I think I will just keep them. Also you wife did not send the coffee you asked for, but I've got a really big jar of instant coffee that I found in my bag. See you guys on Monday in Guangzhou.

Leaving for Guangzhou Chin Oct. 25th

T-minus 3 days till I depart for Guangzhou China.
Still collecting items for my co-workers who are already there.
They need coffee (instant), and more work cloths.