Asian Trip, Part Deux

Well, after we finally got settled in our hotel around 2 am, J suggested that we go and get foot massages at a place she knew that was open all night.  Although a bit nervous, I was in!  I must say that it was the best massage EVER!  For one hour, we sat and had our feet and legs massaged.  First they brought out huge wooden tubs of steaming water with assorted herbs and flowers for us to soak our feet.  While they soaked, they massaged our back and neck.  Then all sorts of fabulous things happened to our feet, which refreshed us greatly.  Below is one of the many photos they asked us to take of them.

However, our peaceful respite was suddenly disturbed by first girls, then men, then police running by the room (there were large windows to see out.)  Our girls ran out into the hall to see what was up.  Apparently, one of the local mafia (their words, not mine-who knows?) decided he wanted a, shall we say, more inventive massage and the masseuse refused.  A struggle ensued, and her arm was injured.  Let's just say that the water I was drinking suddenly became a little less potent than I desired at that point!  Heck, I was almost ready to suck the remaining Maker's Mark out of my clothes, but I worried about glass shards...

We safely left, after paying about $7 USD for both of our massages (talk about a deal!)

Then to what became our favorite hangout after working all day:  the alley!  There were these little restaurants, all open to the alleyway.  As you walked up they pulled out random wooden or plastic tables and chairs for you to sit in.  First on the menu:  Pearl River Beer!  Actually I learned to love it while I was there.  AND it only cost about $0.125 each after the bottle refund for a litre.

The next event was quite strange to me.  Porcelain bowls, glasses, wooden chopsticks and a teapot full of steaming herbed water were placed on our table.  J showed me the deal:  you apparently had to disinfect your own eating and drinking apparatus.  We poured the herbed water into the glasses and swirled it around the entire glass several times.  We then poured it from the glasses into the bowls.  Next step:  submerge the drinking side of the glass into said water to get that part well, then swirl around the eating end of the chopsticks.  When that process is done, you simply dump it on the ground.

Several dishes were ordered by J, but I stuck to my sustenance during most of the trip:  a wonderful "hot and sour" potato dish.  They were julienned and stir fried with some scallions and a few red peppers, along with some seasoning I don't have any idea about.  I loved this because my idea of meat is quite different than the local fare of a little bit of mystery meat on a bone, which J would pop in her mouth and literally suck the meat off of before spitting the bone on the ground.  Needless to say, I dropped about 10 pounds during the few weeks that I was there!

We enjoyed all of this as we watched the rats run on the power lines above us and dogs run around (of which I was leery as they apparently don't get many rabies shots there, or so I was told.)

Around 4:30 am we stumbled, er... walked, back to the hotel for some rest.

Here's a pic of our chef and staff (note the rubber wading boots...) and J.  You can see the lady in the pink shirt leaning on our chair, directly behind her is the kitchen, and to the right is another restaurant.  I wonder what their rating is?

Asian Trip, Part 1

 The view from my hotel room in China.



Well, I am asked to tell stories from my Asian trip constantly, so I thought I'd blog some of them.  Now, I travel a lot, but this is a very long trip!  And we were heading out into rural areas, so I was a little nervous.  I went and got all of my shots (feeling rather sympathetic towards my dogs, er, fuzzy babies, at the vets.)  My fantastic doctor asked if I was OK flying, and I admitted that although I was married to a pilot it wasn't my favorite thing.  He prescribed Ambien, stating it worked wonders for his wife.

Well, I left early one day and flew to Minneapolis to meet my guide (we'll call her "J".)  Of course, after getting to the local airport a couple of hours early, then flying a few more, I had several hours to *enjoy* the Minneapolis airport.  I was already exhausted by the time we boarded our flight to Narita International Airport in Japan.

We didn't get to sit together, but were a few rows apart.  Of course, we were in the cattle section, gazing longingly at the upstairs first class area.  J suggested cocktails, but I was afraid that I'd wake up dead after taking the Ambien and passed.  Oh, how I regret that...as I never slept for one minute the entire 12-13 (or 98 bazillion it felt like) hour flight!  I believe that the airline was attempting to freeze dry us as we passed over the North Pole, as I've never been so cold in my entire life.  Meanwhile, J began coughing up a lung, or so it seemed.

By the time we landed in Tokyo, J was grey and could hardly breathe.  Lovely.  Please keep in mind that I do not speak a work of Japanese or Chinese at this point, but she was fluent in several dialects so I felt safe.  Huh.  She decided that we should spend our time in the crowded smoking room, while she did her best to inhale between coughs and gags.  After a lovely layover we boarded again for another 5 hour flight to China.

And did I mention that J developed a fear of flying during this trip????

After landing and getting our luggage, I noticed a strong smell.  Hmmm...smells like Bourbon.  Maker's Mark, perhaps?  Luckily my suitcase was dry, so my emergency stash was just fine.  As we walked among the stares and wrinkled noses to customs, J then had to argue with them, stating that she just had allergies.  They finally let us in the country.

Well, it was the middle of the night (imagine that.)  There were not very many cabs, and J insisted on arguing with all of them about the rate to get us to our hotel.  We finally got to the hotel, and as the cabbie opened the trunk for our luggage, he started screaming in Chinese.  Somehow his trunk was full of a 5th of bourbon!  We had to pay him about $50 USD value to get him to stop screaming at us.  Now, where to find a cleaners in the middle of the night, as all my clothes were soaked and glass shard coated????

For the next blog I'll address the run in with the Chinese Mafia at the massage parlor later that night...

Pearl Farming

What is Pearl Farming?

Pearl Farms are natural bodies of water used to raise mollusks or oysters for the purpose of culturing pearls.  The mollusks are placed in protective cages and suspended in water by balloons or netting.  The pearl farmers keep the water free of pollutants, regulate the nutrients in the water, and watch over the health of the mollusks.  Pictured above is Cheryl King at one of the local pearl farms. 

Time

Pearls may be nucleated for a period spanning 2 to 6 years.  The longer left underwater, the larger the pearl becomes.

But if larger pearls are more valuable, why not wait 6 years for all crops?  Factors such as climate, weather, environment, mollusk health, and market demands all play a role in deciding the right time to harvest.

The longer the mollusk is kept underwater, the higher the chance something could go wrong, and the lower the chance that the resulting pearl, after countless coatings of nacre, is round.  Indeed, sometimes smaller pearls, if all other quality indicators are present, are more rare and valuable than oddly shaped larger ones.