Chengdu re-visited

[Arnold]

That Lady in the VW Beetle was lucky I guess .. she didn't have a Bum or she would have been Bum'd to the side of the Road . hahaha

Love it ! Great Story David , indeed .. life is hard .. but not without excitement .

[ttwjr32]

Well i hope she has a terrific birthday. And win lots at Mahjong 

[Jan]

This is Imposible?

Is the driving something like that =P?

[David E]

Irish
 
How right you are......I found, like you, that you need to suspend your own reality for a while when you are in China and
just force yourself to accept this completely new reality...however weird it may seem.......then you can smile at it all and enjoy yourself.

If all the time you are making comparisons and judgements based on "home" you tend to go slightly crazy as many of the differences
dont compute in your head !!!

It took me a while to do this, but once I mastered it, things became much easier   

[David E]

Hi All

Here is the story of the English Restaraunt in Chengdu.......

Ming was very keen to go to an English restaraunt for her birthday dinner, she wanted to try the whole knife and fork thing.
She tries knife and fork at breakfast in the Hotel, but its not so sucessful with cornflakes !!!!

The PR Lady at the Hotel told us about this place called "Grannies Kitchen" which is said to be very authentic. It was started by a British
ex-pat and his Chinese wife some 10 years ago.....so off we went.

Surprise, surprise, the place was decked out much like an English Pub and looked the part.
Of the English Proprieter there was no sign, apparently he moved on a long time ago !!!....and of course, nobody there spoke any   English....
but I suppose you cant have everything     

I always get a hankering for decent fish when I am here. I am very spoiled in Perth in that I can buy or catch some of the finest eating fish out of the Ocean.
The freshwater fish here does not compare and the bones always are a pain.............and they always steam it !!! So a bit of grilled Ocean fish would
be very nice.

On the menus was a picture of what looked like English fish and chips.....but the English description was the "Road Martered Cob wit Chibs" that I told you
about!!! ( I suspected it was something to do with a small horse that they found dead at the side of the road 

After much intense discusion with Me, Ming and about 6 waitresses, we finally concluded that it was "Roast, battered Cod with chips "
So I decided to try it, asssuming that Roast meant grilled
.
We struggled a bit with a decision about the first course........I fancied "Garpic Snapes", but Ming decided to have "Burning Saming Beef" !!!!
For the main course we decided to have "Sheep Cuttles wit English Regebles"

What we ended up with was Garlic snails, Smoked Salmon Steak, and Lamb cutlets with English vegetables.

And would you believe that all the food was absolutely delicious, perfectly cooked and truly authentic !!!!!

........................Only in China 

David


 

[Kiwi303]

Sounds like you could get a job as a proofreader for that restaurants menu did you pull out a pen and correct the menu card they gave you?

How do you roast or grill a battered cod? Batter is meant to be fried in oil, I'd only grill either a plain or a crumbed fish, not a battered one.


One of my favourite fish dishes is whole Kahawai (You aussies would know it as sea salmon, australian salmon or southern salmon, not related to the true salmon found in the North America area) Scaled and clean but head and skin left on. Mash some Tansy, Parsley, Sage, Oregano, and Thyme into a pulpy mass and blend with warm soft (but not melted/liquid) butter to form a paste. Brush the herb pasted all over the outside and inside of the fish and wrap in tinfoil.

Bake at 180 degrees C in an oven until done, this will differ depending on the size of your catch. Generally between 1/2 hour to 1 1/2 hour. Experience counts here So the more you catch and cook, the better you will get



There should be a fish market down by the railway area of most towns if what I've been reading on travel blogs is right, you should be able to get some fairly fresh ocean fish that was railed up from the ports at those markets.

Why not ask around and source some nice fish at a market to cook for Ming.

[Scottish_Rob]

great stories mate...

I saw the same driving style when I was there, and a few times was scared to death...

[David E]

Hi All

In amongst all the various bits of chit-chat about Astronomy and cricket, maybe you would like to know how things are with Ming and myself !!!

My last visit in October seems like a lifetime away now, how I wish I was back there at this time.

We have completed all the mountain of paperwork for Ming's visa and now must wait for the machinery to grind into action.

Our plan was to also get a tourist visa for her to come here for Xmas and see life in Perth at first-hand, but the Immigration Dept advises that because they are very busy at this time, all tourist visas submitted after 4th November will not be processed until January 2011 !!!!....do we want tourists or not 

Maybe all tourists planning to visit Aus in the next few months will take their money somewhere else...I ask you, what a shambles, but there is nothing I can do to change this, just got to be patient and get her here sometime in January. She can stay 3 months on a tourist visa, so this will eat up a lot of the time while we wait for her spouse visa to be processed.

We manage to speak on QQ most days, and I always look forward to this, we have a pleasant and easy conversation, her English improves daily and I am so impressed as to how she has applied herself to this task. We can hold quite meaningful conversations now and share a lot of laughter and enjoyment in our time on QQ

Every day, I give her some addresses to look at in Perth with Google Earth and she does a lot of "walking" about looking at what is here. I sent her to look at Swanbourne Beach the other day, which caused a bit of a stir...this is our legal Nudist beach !!! Luckily she didnt see me there or I would be in deep trouble 

I persuaded her to give up working 100 hours a week so she could concentrate on her English and she does not look so tired and exhausted now, it is good to see how much difference this has made to her.

We both try hard not to think of the months ahead before we can begin our "real" life as a married couple, my family and friends are as impatient as I am to see this happen !!

The more I get to know this lovely Lady, the more I realise how lucky I am to have found her, so good to have someone who is genuine, committed and who will do all in her power to make us both happy. For all of us who have found such a Princess...you know what I mean. If you are still looking, be assured that when you find her, life will never be the same.

She always laughs about the Chinese people she sees on the streets of Perth on Google, she asks why they all have umbrellas when it is not raining....I tell her that they dont like to get brown in the Sun, because for most Chinese ladies, getting brown is the mark of a Peasant who works the fields...I tell her that being brown here signifies something different, so she sort of understands...but I bet she also uses an umbrella in the sun when she gets here !!!

She is terrified that I will make her wear a bikini on the beach, because everytime she "walks" to the beach, she sees all the girls in bikinis...we will see 

Other than that, we wait....and wait

David

[Arnold]

Nice update David , thanks .
You know , Qing actually wears a Bikini going into a Pool here in Calif. and Spa at night . She is very aware of the Sun and doesn't want to be "TOO" brown , going back her brother would be the first one laughing at her and calling her Farm-Girl . But I think .. it's because I like to go Swimming , she'll plays along . I really don't care what the Chinese think if my LaoPo was brown . I don't like too much of a Tan , where one looks like Leather .

[Bee964]

She is terrified that I will make her wear a bikini on the beach, because everytime she "walks" to the beach, she sees all the girls in bikinis...we will see 

Other than that, we wait....and wait

David

David E,

Seems I just had this conversation with my lady. She asked me if I like to swim. (She does like going swimming) In the conversation I too mentioned about a bikini. She said "No, no, no!" Then the conversation got into topless beaches as well as nude beaches. I know we will not be going to any of these. I don't think I will ever convince her to wear a bikini.

Dave C

[Bee964]

Ooooohhhhh mmmmyyyyy! I can see this trip to China is going to be interesting to say the least!!

Mike, it will be interesting to hear of her first impression of the beaches (or the public pools) around the Toronto area. Talk about culture shock.

Dave C

[mustfocus]

If it's any help, I think there's only one nude beach in Toronto (I forget the name at the moment).  But I'm not sure if I would really want to jump into the waters of Lake Ontario...   Especially anywhere near the end of the Don river.

We need some infrastructure upgrades first...

[David E]

Hahaha !!! Yes, I know what you mean

Ming used to go to the Hotel Swimming pool now and again and I was expecting to see the usual bathers or maybe even a bikini !!!

WRONG...when she appeared "dressed" for swimming, I thought she was going to a Mosque for evening prayers !!!!

These Chinese Ladies have an extraordinary modesty in any Public area. Ming has a great figure and I know most women in Aus would envy her.....some of the whales that we see here in bikinis make you want to throw up...but they could care less !!!

I told her that she could swim in a bikini in our Pool at home...and even skinny dip if she felt so inclined 

But I think pigs might fly before this happened...oh well, there goes another of my fantasies !!!!!

[Arnold]

Guy's don't give up just yet .
Qing loves Brand names ( of course she does .. she's from SH ) and one of them is " Victoria Secret " . To tell you the truth , we must of been there at least half a dozen times already . Anyway , we looked through somewhat near 50+ Bikinis . Yeahhhh .. we finally found one that I also liked very much , as this was most important to my LaoPo . She loves to wear it ( honestly ) and I of course love it too !

All you need to do is get her into on of those Store's ( they all love Brand names ) and watch her go to work . So introduce her to one that you like and tell her how wonderful she would look in that .. for you . She'll come around .

One thing she will not do .. is Topless/Nude Beaches ( we have them too ) . As we were talking about that , I brought up how open we are here about Sex and related things .. like making Love in a Car/Park/Beach/Plane . She's still laughing I think ... hahaha  ... No No Never !

[Rhonald]

Well Arnold - as I remember - You can always start off at Love on the tennis court