Baining Spring Taizhou

... and metal.

Reversible -- one color on one side and a different color on the other with a buckle that twists.

Sam Browne -- named for a British army general, who having lost his left arm couldn’t support his sword without this special belt. It’s a broad leather belt with a light strap that hangs over the right shoulder.

Sash -- any belt of soft material that loops over and ties in a knot or bow rather than buckling.

Self -- a belt ...

... meals, did our laundry and navigated us through the hospital maze. My mom and I got $2 “hair washes” which included 50 minutes of scalp, neck, shoulder and arms/hands massage as well as a quick blowdry. Paul got a haircut, which included everything in the “hair wash” and a cut and blowdry for $5. We ended up really liking my grandparents’ hometown for our short visit, and it felt like home to us too.

China has had the one child policy in force since 1980. So people have not seen families with more than one child in almost 30 years. Now that all those only children are old enough to procreate, the latest policy is, that if both husband and wife are only children, they're allowed to have 2 children, to represent each side of the family. There have been so many comments, stares, surprised ...

A family visit would not be complete without a visit to our ancestors' graves. We visited 4 gravesites on the hillside above my great grandfather's house. Here’s a picture of my great grandfather’s tomb. To scare the "evil spirits" away, my mom’s cousin set off fireworks at each gravesite. That was quite a thrill for the kids.

Paul bought a few Roman candles, small firecrackers and little cone shaped ...

My mom's relatives (first cousins and their families) were so 'keqi’, generous and kind. They invited us over for lunch and dinner, cooking fabulous 17 course meals! We got to see my greatgrandfather’s house (where my grandfather grew up, and my mom came to visit when she was a child). The house is outside of Qingtian city about 10-15 minutes ...

We took the train from Hangzhou to Qingtian today. Here's the train station waiting room. The train ride was 7 hours. There were students in the aisles standing room only who paid a ½ fare (for students). We thought that was a pretty long time to stand the whole way. Good thing we booked ahead! They were going home for the long holiday: the 60th Anniversary of Communism (Oct 1) and the Moon Festival ...

Situated right next to what has to be the smelliest strip of water of all time is a beautiful little piece of land called Jiangxinyu. It`s a little island that has 500 year old temples ... and an amusement park ...

We saw a Buddhist ceremony and a roller coaster. Tim won me a little prize at the baseball booth. At first I grabbed a little ...

... jBirthday. I was treated to a Dinner at Hooters in Hangzhou and later tonight some beer pong and a night at the clubs. Here are a few pics... The birthday one are on another camera so those will have to wait. Miss you all and cant wait to see you in a few weeks! Zack

... happily stay for a lot longer.

We went out for an early dinner after we checked-in and when we came back around an hour later, we had chocolate, a small toy and a pillow menu waiting on our bed. I didn't request a specialty pillow but my boss did and she said it worked a dream! (I think she got the anti-stress one) you can actually purchase the same pillows if you ask reception to take home ...

... strange country, thinking that my ride had gone (as there was a one hour delay in Singapore). However, after wandering around for half an hour of so, i found a guy with a "Peter ... friend of Trevor" sign ... tapped him on the shoulder ... and as the saying goes, "Bob's your Uncle!". He bundled me up with all my baggage into the car, and we headed off to Yiwu. Let me just add a couple of things here (which probably don't need saying ... but ...