Tracy, myself and her assistant worked until well after midnight on creating a new workshop; my fourth creation for them.

Today, after some additional craziness with the hotel, I finally checked into three hours later to my luxury suite complete with sliding door between the bedroom and the large living room.

Food was another adventure today. I’m discovering so many variations of food and I’ve learned not to ask what I’m eating before I try it. I did want to try the Scorpion Soup but they didn’t have it available. I really enjoyed the rice noodles with beef I had at dinner and the rice puffs that are almost like croissants.

Here are some more tidbits and cultural differences:

• The Chinese do not drink liquids with their meals. They wait till after it’s done. Thus, I always have to ask for water—shui. They do provide you with tea at the beginning of the meal yet most people use this “hot water” to wash their cup, their chopsticks, and their bowl. They want to ensure it’s clean.

• Breakfast is not a specific meal for them and so breakfast buffets actually have soups, and dinner items. Eggs are typically boiled or by request. I always find it funny that if I ask for an amulet with three eggs, the cook will make me three amulets on three separate plates with one egg each.

• Today I tried pigeon eggs for breakfast. It’s basically the same taste as regular eggs. They’re just the size of grapes.

• It’s not uncommon for someone to be eating a soup with bones in it and spit the bones out on the side of their bowl. It’s a bit gross according to our standards, but it’s perfectly acceptable according to there since, you have to get rid of the bones somehow.

• Hotels do not put on the air conditioning in the entire hotel, therefore the hotel lobby and hallways are hot as hell. When you walk into your room, your car activates the lights and the air conditioning in your room; thus, your room is also hot whenever you enter. You must order two room keys so you can leave one in the slot (and let the room think you’re still inside) and this way the air conditioner will continue to function and when you return your room is nice. However, the hotel frowns upon issuing you two keys if there’s only one person in the room.

• People get around however they can with the vehicle they have. That includes having their entire family on a scooter if necessary. Yesterday, I saw a family of four, with the daughter of approximately four years old, standing in front of her dad while she held on to the handle bars. Behind him on the scooter was his wife holding their approximately year old son on the side of her lap. She’s feeding the baby a bottle as they’re driving down the road. Wow…astonishing.

Ok, that’s it for today’s tidbits. I’m exhausted at 9:30 pm (which is 9:30 am in the US and I’ve been up for 18 hours.). More tomorrow when we continue the Chronicles of China.

I feel like the old Batman movies…tune in tomorrow at the same “Bat channel”.

Live with passion,

Doctor Charley…