Days 3 and 4 in Dalian, China have been fairly relaxing - our family spent some more time at home or just doing a little shopping, and less time eating huge meals. Recently, I had dropped in weight back down to about 145 - but after a few days in China, my weight has jumped back to about 150!
On Sunday, my Dad's secretary Toni and her husband took us out to have a "hot pot" lunch where you cook your own meats in a large boiling pot of water. Half was non-spicy and the other half was fairly spicy. I think because of the tameness of the spicy foods here, I'm actually beginning to appreciate spicy meals!
One of the specialties of this hot pot restaurant was the... fish head, which I will say I have never had before. They literally cut fish heads in half, and placed it into the boiling pot. The servers would then fish them out and serve them to you. I definitely avoided the eyes and I guess the brain, but did eat the rest of the head (which is supposed to be the most tender part of a fish by the way). This was definitely a meal I would not find often in the United States - nor would I try to I think. Otherwise, we had lots of lamb and other meats, and the meal overall was extremely good! =)
Next, we went to a local place for some shopping. I'll have pictures eventually on facebook of the shopping experiences, but I can just say the shops and thew ay they were oriented really reminded me of Chinatown in how they were packed in. As always, there are TONS of fake items as expected. For example in the photos above, you can find some Converse All-Stars, fake enough that you can tell they literally seemed to stick the logo on the shoes. Then there are Dolce & Gabanna shoes.
Even as left the shopping area and took a taxi, I looked below my feet to find... you got it... LOUIS VUITTON FLOOR MATS! Amazing, right?
We ended the evening with a nice bowl of Laksa (Singaporean style with coconut) noodles that my dad cooked (from prepackaged powder) at home.
On Monday in Dalian, we actually ate at home. My dad had made some stewed Ox Tail with a pressure cooker (amazing how quickly it cooks things) and the cook had helped with a few veggie items. Basically the whole company (only 3 others anyhow) came over and ate lunch before we headed out.
We got a small tour of my dad's office - which is located in central Downtown Dalian, in a new building in town that was still practically empty. What's interesting is that the zone is basically both residential and commercial, so while for my dad is his company this was their office, next door someone was using their space as a home.
On the bottom floor of the office are shops for Louis Vuitton, Armani, etc. Amazing because I wonder how people sell the real purses when it seems like fake ones supposedly float around town underground all the time!
Hmm... who's drinking on the job? (Coronas on the door shelf)
My dad and Andy, the driver/computer tech/etc.
My desk doesn't look anything like this back at home. =P
Afterwards, we spent some time touring around Dalian and visiting the beach. My dad noted that this area we went to is basically a "Camp David" of China - a spot for the President and Prime Minister to visit in off times. There were some great views of the shoreline and things all around. We also got a chance a windy road with some nice views, and stopped to check out some individuals doing some fishing off the cliff. Amazing that they can fish from so far up!
My mom went searching for rocks and brought 3 back with her.
This is a famous quote by Mao Zedong - I have no idea what it says though!
Talk about a traditional looking phone booth!
Some nice views that I picked up just here and there on our route.
Here is where they were fishing from way up high. As you can see, it's a long way down! From the last photo, you can't see the fish, but it's actually IN his left hand. They certainly weren't catching for food as much as they must've been catching for fun, at least considering the tiny size of the fish he had caught. We watched him put this one into a bag with at least a dozen others!
Finally, we ended the day by going back into town and doing a little more shopping. My mom found a few souvenirs for friends while I found this hat. Russian style... or Chinese style... either way my Dad said it would look more realistic if there was a big red star on the front of it.
Well, Day 5 has been uneventful and we're heading off for lunch and then Beijing soon! For now I'm all caught up and I guess you'll hear from me later!
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