Adventures in Guangzhou!

Monday night- arrival, semi-sketchy unlicensed taxi back to the city from the airport, home-made fried rice & dumplings, and local beer. We chatted late into the night and I gave them the basics of being a tourist in a country like China.

Tuesday- Teaching, Qingping Market, gawking at scorpions and monkey skulls on sale, drinks by the river on Shamian Island, Sichuan hotpot with the Yalies, and more lounging. Todd and Nancy slept in but got up just in time to join me for lunch out on the town. After some tasty Uigher noodles, we walked around shipai, my district in Tianhe, and took in the sights of the city. They were good enough to come to class with me after lunch and actually did some teaching about American law! They detailed the famous case of Queen v. Dudley and asked the students if they thought the people there commited murder. It went so well that I decided to use their lesson the rest of the week! After that I took them through the obligatory wild section of Qingping market where you can buy snake skins, tiger claws, and other ridiculous and disgusting things. We ended over in the peaceful section of Shamian though and chatted at a little cafe. Kelly and Diana met us for hotpot and we singed our tastebuds with some yummy meats and vegetables in spicy broth.

Wednesday-Thursday- Off to Hong Kong. I woke up at the crack of dawn to teach (that's 7:30am to you folks in the real world) and saw Todd and Nancy already up. It seems the jetlag gods had frowned upon them the previous night and they were unable to sleep. So, instead of wasting the day away, they decided to head to Hong Kong for a few days while I taught in GZ. I wish I had gotten to show them around HK for as much as I know about it, but alas it was not to be. I dropped them off at the train station, waved goodbye, and hoped that they could figure out how to make it back to my apartment in a couple of days. As per my recommendation, they stayed at a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui on Kowloon and saw the city from there. I think they got to see most of the big tourist sights and markets in those few days, which is pretty amazing given how big Hong Kong spans out.

Friday- Hunan Food, train stations, St. Patrick's Day celebrations, and sleeper cars. My guests made their way back after an inadvertant tour of the area and David joined us for a huge meal of Hunan food before our train to Wuhan. David is an excellent host and joined in on the bubbling conversation as we recounted funny travel stories. Our stomachs full and our bags packed, we headed to the train station where we met up with Kelly and the masses of people leaving the city on a Friday night. Let me just say that the main train station here in GZ has gotten a MAJOR face lift! There are signs! Rooms are lit up! It's no longer a guess as to where you need to go! They haven't gone so far as to have air conditioning in the waiting rooms, but the place looks eons better than it did the last time I was there. So we settled into our section on the hard sleeper car and drank a few bottles of Guinness in honor of Kelly's ethnic holiday. Oops--I meant to wear green.

Saturday- Tasty food, unfathomable enigmas of nature, Chinese metal bands, the Only Bar, and good company. We arrived in Wuchang bright and early and Tyler met us at the gate, excited to have visitors. We each got a bowl of "reganmian," or "hot & dry noodles," a Wuhan specialty. Yum. I could eat that stuff all day. Anyhow, we made our way back to his apartment where Rena, Tyler's girlfriend, was visiting from the states. We chatted for a while and then Kelly and I napped while everyone else went out to explore. Eventually we had a feast for lunch (where I ate myself silly) and headed off to the East Lake Park. Last time in Wuhan I saw a sign for an unfathomable enigma of nature and was intent on finding it this time around. Well it was there alright, and I must say I am puzzled. Lets just say that it involves UFO's, mountains, plants, and unanswered questions. After that we managed to walk a path through the park that led us astray for about an hour, but eventually we made our way out. After that we went out to grab some food and catch some live music at the Vox bar. The food at dinner was great but that wasn't the real story. About halfway through the meal we see the lady in charge run down the stairs from the 2nd floor and get on the phone to call somebody. We asked Kelly if she could understand what was happening and she said it was either a fire or a fight. Either way, I was somewhat nervous and very much intrigued. We began to hear screams and dishes breaking as well which just added to the confusion. About five minutes later we saw a bunch of guys walking down the stairs covered in blood and unable to walk. It was intense. As the police sirens got closer, they quickly shuffled the guys out the back door and that was the last we saw of it. Weird. The Chinese metal band was... interesting. They weren't too stellar musically and we couldn't hear anything so we headed across the street to the Only Bar, conveniently located next to a bunch of other watering holes. We chatted there and eventually headed back to Tyler's to watch some "Drawn Together."

Sunday- Breakfast buffets, markets, Taoist temples, english lessons, adidas stores, and train rides home. We woke up late and were hungry. I decided to try and help Tyler prepare a big breakfast for everyone so we went out and bought some eggs, peppers, garlic, onions, and pastries and cooked up a big meal. He even had some bacon so it was a straight-up American-style breakfast... except for the fact that we were using chopsticks to eat scrambled eggs. After breakfast we lounged around and packed up, though not before barely averting a minor disaster involving a lack of water pressure in Chinese bathrooms. Lets just say best friends come through in the clutch and I owe Todd bigtime. We toured the Taoist temple in the area and tried to save Kelly from the multiple people there who tried to get some free English lessons from her. I guess that's the risk you run when you are almost fluent in speaking Chinese as a native-English speaker. We made our way to the hectic Wuchang train station and had a nice meal before heading out. I can safely say that Tyler and Mallory are holding down the PiA fort well in Wuhan and that whoever ends up there next year is in for a treat.

Monday- Dimsum, naps, trinkets, food, and scotch. We got back at 6am to Guangzhou and decided that we should take advantage and go get the freshest dim sum available. I must admit, it really does taste better that early! I can't say I'll be setting my alarm for 5:30am on Sundays, but it sure was good! We headed back to my place, showered, napped, and then headed out to buy some souvenirs for friends and family. As per Kelly's recommendation, we headed out to Haizhu Guangchang, an area of the city I had never been to. It was definitely a tourist's dream as you could buy almost anything China-related for dirt cheap. I did my best bargaining for them and eventually we made our way back to Tianhe. On a side note, I finally purchased a new pair of cleats which is very exciting. I can finally retire my one-size-too-small Pumas that I have been using for approximately 9 years. May they rest in peace. We had a quick dinner of noodles and I was off to class. After learning some Chinese I came back and we chatted for a few more hours before heading to bed. We were all pretty exhausted and they needed to be up at 4:45am to catch a cab to the airport.

This morning I woke up with them before sunrise and saw them off, or at least I saw them to the taxi. As I haven't heard from them, I assume they made it there just fine and are currently in the air heading back to the States. I love having visitors, especially those I have known forever, and it was certainly a treat having Todd around. For all the rest of you, come visit! I may even have some pictures up in a few days.