Shangri La Hotel Dalian

Ok, I did it, I ate some western food. I still haven't eaten at McDonalds or KFC yet. KFC is everywhere. I wonder if they were the first American chain to come to China. McDonalds are prolific as well. No, my roommate and his friends wanted to go out for a western meal and we headed down to a place called "The Real Eddies" Not sure of the story behind the name. But here goes - Eddie was trained as a cook/chef in the ...

I have decided that I am going to roast once I get back to south Texas. Hot in Dalian, China is 90 degrees and that is long gone here. I hope I am still acclimated to real hot weather because I haven't felt hot here. Sure I get a little sweaty walking home but not like in Harlingen. Also, fall must be coming because the mornings and evenings have been cool. I almost thought about pulling out my long sleeve shirt the other day but knew it would warm up. Plus, my roommate would strangle me ...

... unprovoked daily phone call from a massuer (prostitute) offering her services. Every Caucasian I saw in the city seemed to be from Russia, perhaps unsurprisingly given its proximity. I have to say that most of the Russian men almost looked like caricatures of masculinity. Evidently I don't look like this: one taxi driver immediately identified me as a Briton (which is itself unusual, as I'm usually assumed to be American). <br><br ...

... for a while. I decided I ought to call the hotel I had booked online for my stay in Dalian to explain the situation and ask if they would be able to keep my reservation. They are only supposed to keep rooms until 18:00 and I was worried the plane had been delayed for long enough that I would not make it in time. The woman I talked to was a stupid cow. I don&#8217;t usually call complete strangers stupid cows, but she really was. Instead of a polite refusal, she told ...

... I was caught off guard. All he said was "relax, you must relax." I almost laughed, but did manage to relax.<br><br>Without a doubt, it was one of the most amazing massages I have ever had, head to toe.<br><br>Unbeknownst to me, Kirsty had called ahead and specifically requested one of the fellows who is particularly well skilled at targeting troubled areas, and is also blind. I felt guilty after when she told me, and ...

... ripped off like foreigners always are... bargain hard.<br><br>Finding the &#8216;mall&#8217; itself wasn&#8217;t too ************ce we went through the doors&#8212;it was like entering a giant, six storey flea market. We wandered, and wandered, and finally came across some stalls that offered clothing, but none had plain t-shirts. After what felt like hours, but was probably closer to one, we found a place that had a few options... We explained we wanted 15 black ...

... br>Before we arrived in China, the one thing we were told was that it was really hard to get the students actively involved in the class&#8212;that they remained stoic, sombre, and serious. That was NOT our experience. With very little prompting, students were up, out of their seats and rapidly trading, wheeling and dealing. <br><br>One student I watched kept making deals right before whatever stock he sold went up by hundreds of dollars, groaning at his misfortune ...

... a greasy sidewalk. But there's no refuge. Italians are barely ahead of the French when it comes to self importance. Many think they are destined to be Caesar, or his Marc Antony. 50% of workers in Rome are employed by a government, 20% nationwide. It has made Italy the least productive country in the European Union, working the fewest hours. A ...

15 September 2007 The Chinese are serious about fireworks. Apparently, an occasion is not special without them. The Beer Festival included fireworks. The Spring Garden festival had them. Large weddings have them, and they are not lightweight. There were two 15 mintue displays on my block this week. The locals said they were for weddings. For such an event, the bigger ...