Yes….that was my evening wrapping up day 2. One of the experiences I enjoyed from the first was “hot pot”. No this is not what you might think it is, it has nothing to do with brownies or an illegal substance.
Hot Pot is a style of meal preparation. In the diner you are seated at a table equiped with a burner and a pot. You arder the ingredients from the menu that you would like to place in a pot of boiling water. Any part of animal or plant you can imagine is open for negotiation between the people dining.
Belinda and I met up after work for what had to be the wildest taxi ride yet. I was certain at any moment I would hear the sound of us crunching into a bus or the thud and sight of flying human parts as we hit someone in the crosswalk. By Chinese standards this had to be the most wreckless driver In the country. Suicide bombers drive with more care.
We clung to our seats as we arrived at the “book centre” which includes a small shopping mall and a very large park. After fending off the flirting waiters we settled into our order. Something I am gettingnused to is the time and care a waiter will take to consult you on your selections. In our hot pot we selected among other (many other) things various mushrooms, sprouts, fish, prawn, qual eggs, tofu, and pig brains. The porkus crainius was a selection by our waiter. I think it was an attempt to see of the round eye would squirm. I actually found it pretty good.
After a really nice dinner and conversation we went for coffee and a walk. In the park we found tai-chi practice, bad minton, American line dancing (Kenny Wayne Shepperd), Chinese ballet, fan dancing, and many musicians playing both Asian and Western instruments.
I pulled out the GPS and found we were only 800 meters from a micro cache. I had been trying to explain to Belinda geocaching, only to feel like the highschool science nerd explaining the physics of Star Trek to the prom queen. Belinda is smart, incredibly smart…. I could tell she wasn’t understanding and had that special look a girl gives a guy who has just told her what her name means in Elven and why Lord of the Rings has a deeper plot in life.
We began our search in a murky dark area of the park, with Belinda saying several times “is this dangerous?” keep in mind we are in Communist China at dark lurking around communication lines and generators with a GPS and a flashlight….
After taking her up stairways, cooridors, and the backside of the park….after searching around airducts and power boxes we found the micro.
Not sure how impressed she was, but she did admit it was fun
Feeling like Indiana Jones, I decided not to push our luck, and instaed of looking for another cache that was close by, I guided us to a taxi and returned in another crazy cab ride back to the hotel.
So wraps up day 2, in the morning it is off to teach my workshop.
Adventure IQ 