Chinese Proverbs

Every once in a while our co-workers with Chinese passports will impart some words of wisdom from old Chinese proverbs. Here is one that was priceless and got a giggle from the office (not sure it was actually an old Chinese proverb, but it was good anyway.

I seem to be having a perpetual cold in Beijing. I actually will have 3 week stretches with no cold and then catch another. I am currently recovering from one, but had one sneezing fit today. Here is where the words of wisdom from an old Chinese proverb comes in:

"One sneeze means someone is missing you; two sneezes means someone is cursing you"

I asked what about the multiple sneezing fit that I just had, what does that mean? The wise response was "you have a cold."

US Road Trip

BF and AF left me in Beijing to fend for myself. They are on a spring break college road trip. The entire family (with exception of me) is driving through Maine, RI, NY and OH to look at potential new schools for EF. Perhaps this will help AF to make a decision on her college.

It sounds like they are having an adventure with lots of cold, snowy NE weather. The car did not like starting in -26 wind chill. They are taking turns driving and catching up on some sleep when they can.

Queuing Day

The municipal government has dedicated the 11th of each month as queuing day. It is an attempt to improve etiquette in before the Olympics in 2008. Below is an article from the China Daily with more information.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/2008/2007-02/12/content_807209.htm

Needless to say most don't pay attention to it ..........................

Bangkok

We stayed in Bangkok for two nights downtown on the Chao Praya River. We stayed at the Royal Orchid Sheraton. It was really a very nice hotel with a great spa and restaurants that you could eat inside or outside next to the River. The hotel was even nice enough to upgrade us to a small suite.

Definitely a different feel than Phuket. Bangkok is a busy bustling city with tuk-tuks, (little open air, roofed, 3-wheel motorcycles with a bench for 3 passengers); river boats of all sizes; taxis; tour buses, etc. We took regular old taxis everywhere as it was a humid 95 degrees. Can't imagine what summer might be like.............BF had heard from other expats that stainless steel dinnerware was a great deal in Thailand. We decided to go to two large markets to look at this and any other unique items. We visited one market in the evening (Patpong night market). The market was next to a Muy Thai boxing ring (you could hear the noise coming from the tent). There were all sorts of eating establishments, shops, a large ferris wheel, a live performance stage, etc. All the Beijing shopping was good preparation for us (including knowing when to get out of a taxi when you are about to get ripped off).

On Saturday morning we went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. The market is 35 acres and has over 15,000 stores (stalls). We found a really nice cutlery store after a couple of hours of wandering. We thought the Dirt Market in Beijing was large. This was even bigger and it was overwhelming at times.

Sunburn

Thailand has really been great. The first two days were sunny in the morning and then without fail it would rain in the early afternoon. Fortunately, we were eating at a quaint Thai restaurant on the beach near the hotel each time. Then it would clear up for us to go on the beach again. We are sitting on a beach right in front of a little make shift bar which serves topical drinks and we can play games like Jenga. Even though we have an umbrella on the beach, without fail the sun is finding skin which we either missed with the SPF 55 or the water has washed away. I hate having the tops of my feet burned but that is what has happened (makes for tough walking with shoes). The sun has found exposed spots on AF and BF like on the face or shoulders. One place that I have a hard time with is on top of my bald head. So AF bought me a "rag" for my head. Hopefully today we will do a better job of screening the sun.

The beach has been so relaxing that we have not felt like taking any excursions like snorkeling to Monkey Island, or shopping in Patong. There are lots of interesting people watching and of course Anna the hotel baby elephant is great to watch on the beach or in the Andamen Sea.