How to get a Chinese haircut

Going to the barber can be difficult, if not stressful, if the two of you don’t speak a common language.  And “just a little off the sides” is not in my Chinese vocabulary.

How to do it?  First I went to Google and looked up “haircuts men over 50”.  Then I found the closest thing to what I wanted.  It happened to be George Clooney.  I put the picture on my tablet and showed it to the barber as I sat down in his chair.  He laughed.

I got one of the best cuts I ever had.  And a consistent cut every time since.  China is famous for knockoff products, and I guess I’m the Chinese version of George Clooney.  Just ask my wife.

Other sites in Beijing

We loved Beijing.  Admittedly, we saw it and it was the clearest it had been in ages; our guide pointed out that she had never actually seen the mountains before from the city center.  We wanted to point out some of the other sites and things to do here.

How I spent my Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival is a summer holiday observed across China.  It is celebrated by eating zongzi and racing long heavily decorated dragon boats, accompanied by drummers who beat the rhythm for the rowers and firecrackers because — well, why not have firecrackers if you are going to have a holiday?

Living like an Emperor in the Summer Palace

The Summer Palace was an imperial garden built in 1750 to provide a place for the emperor and his family to relax.  Despite the heat of the day, the shade and breeze make this a great place to relax during the summer.

The Great Great Wall of China

We love the Great Wall of China.  It’s probably the most amazing thing we’ve seen in the year we’ve been here.  That means it trumps things like the Terra Cotta Army, riding camels in the desert, Buddhist temples, and the rest.  We want to share some of what we saw and experienced in our five hours on the wall.

Eating out in Beijing

Scorpions, seahorses and starfish fresh off the grill for your eating enjoyment at the Beijing snack street.

One last item remained on our Chinese bucket list — to see Beijing.  And after hours of airport delays and cancellations, we made it!  There’s so much to see and do in Beijing that it just can’t fit in one blog post.

Beijing has so many delicacies that can’t be found elsewhere in China — Beijing noodles and hot and sour soup being just two examples.  So, hopefully, it’s not dinnertime where you’re viewing this.  Read on.

Kaiping Fortress Homes and Towers

Kaiping is a land of towers.  Towers that are a cross between Chinese and Western architecture.  This came about because the landowners went abroad to work and brought their fortunes home with them.  They used their money to build unique tower buildings that reminded them both of where they had been and of their Chinese heritage.  Towers were built to protect them against bandits and floods.

A Morning in a Chongqing Garden

Remember Chun King chow mein? It’s the canned “Chinese food” we grew up thinking was a wonderful treat. Well, that’s all I knew about Chongqing, the 28-million person Chinese city…until we went there. Here’s our experience in that beautiful city.

Playing Landlord with some girls at KFC

We flew from Guangzhou to Chongqing and got there first. The guides that met us (and let me just say how nice it is to see your name on a paper in a new city) and sat us down to wait at the KFC restaurant to wait for the teachers arriving from other cities. I saw some girls playing cards. I love games and asked to join them.

They let me play in even though they were betting money on the outcome.

They were kind enough to teach me the tricks. Turns out it’s a very popular game throughout China.

The other teachers showed up and we went to our hotel. There were six of us going to dinner, so we took two cabs and gave both the same written directions. Only they let us off on different streets above and below the restaurant. Finding each other was a laughable (later) nightmare.

Them: “What do you see where you are? We see a Starbucks and a Dairy Queen.”

Us: “Well, yes, there’s a Starbucks six flights up, but there must be a dozen around here. We’re  by the river and under the bridge.” (Only to look around and discover about five more bridges within view.

Them: “Do you see the pirate ship and hear the music?”  (No and no.) “We’re pointing a laser at a building? Do you see it?”

Us: “There are lots of buildings. No.” (See 28 million population, above.)

Some 45 minutes later we find them. They’re by the Starbucks one floor up past the pirate ship and the music. We celebrate by eating Tex Mex. We’re the only ones in the restaurant. It’s great.

The next morning we’re off to a beautiful Chongqing garden.

Morning dancers.

Someone’s pet bird gets to sing with the wild birds.

Men play cards in the morning. And in the afternoon and evening. Some things are universal.

The gentlemen had a good laugh when I played in for one of them.

This couple was ballroom dancing.

We bumped into this couple all over the park. They ended up in lots of our group photos.

There’s always someone new to meet!

And something new to experience.

Dragons are everywhere, and I love them and the phoenixes they usually show up with. Very much a husband/wife symbol.

Exploring the colorful shops before lunch.

Lunch possibilities. He’s making noodles. Purple sweet potato noodles, I suppose.

After lunch – a candy treat. Professionals making pounded sesame candy.

Non-professionals helping.

Here’s how.

Pound like this!

The candy was delicious. The day was great. The company was the best. Chongqing, China!

Where to stay when you visit Guilin

This is our recommendation for where to stay in Guilin.  It’s not original with us; all our friends who have been there rave wildly about this place.  It’s called the Tea Cozy in Yangshou and cozy is the right word to describe it.

Xiatang Village – Guilin

One more stop in the Guilin area.  We did a walking tour of a village call Xiatang near where we were staying.  Some of the buildings date back to Qing Dynasty.