We made it back safely.

After a little sickness and some mechanical problems with the airplanes, we made it back safely. More updates soon...

Huang Shan beauty

Cable cars into the clouds

Don't let the ride fool you. We hiked over ten miles in one day around
Huang Shan. So what if we were lost. ;)

Got a problem?

Go to the complaining service center

Drying peppers by the river

Bike with umbrella

In Tuxin, there were bikes with umbrellas. The only thing missing is
RP with a dress.

I'm young, I'm coffee

Pretty much the best motto I've seen.

Chinese Budweiser

After all the hiking, this was a tasty beverage.

Thank you!

I'll try to write more again later. It's a little difficult to find internet with a western keyboard and/or a wi-fi connection to post from my iPhone. Also, we're trying to experience as much as possible... and posting on the blog takes some time with the computer setups here.

I have so much gratitude for everyone who helped make our trip possible. Thank you everyone!

We're spoiled

We're spoiled in Portland with Stumptown Coffee. It's that simple. It's hard to find coffee in China, unless you're at a fancy hotel. We're also fat, but I'll leave that subject for another post. This morning, Megan took me to a *gasp* Starbucks. It was the best darn coffee I've had in quite some time. It is surreal to listen to Ella Fitzgerald and Jimmy Smith playing keyboards in China. I also heard a muzack version of "Stairway to Heaven" in a hotel lobby.

After the coffee, Megan and I met up with a few of her colleagues to have lunch, do a little shopping, go to dinner, and have a couple drinks. Megan's colleagues are great. Their hospitality was incredible. They couldn't have been more welcoming and friendly.

For lunch, they took us to a Sichuan restaurant. Hot spices are representative of Sichuan style food. The "meat curtain" picture I posted earlier was from this lunch. I ate the chicken feet, the meat curtain, and a variety of other noodles, veggies, and spicey goodness. At first, I was a little frightened of the heat as it has a reputation for being hot, hot, hot. However, everything was well within my range of pallatable goodness. In fact, I was able to taste the spices as it wasn't too hot. The flavor was out-of-this-world.... well, at least out of the USA.

After lunch, we took a subway to the Lu Sho (sp?) district on the border with Hong Kong to shop and hang out with with Hatty and Ryan. The "mall" where we went was about 8-10 stories tall with an open air court in the center. Most shops were the size of a small bedroom in the US. I would guess the stores were about 8' X 10'. The shops sold everything from traditional Chinese clothes to knockoff Dolce Gabana gear to paintings. There were stone/stamp carvingmanicure stations, food stalls, and more. There are no set prices here in this area, and the art of the bargain was at play. We spent a couple hours there and headed to another, more westen mall. The second mall was truly upscale with no discernible differences of high end malls in the US. We sat for about an hour at an ice rink and relaxed until we met up with the others for dinner.

More Saturday action

This morning, we woke up and walked around Shenzen. We ate a couple pastries from a street vendor. Megan went with a veggie one, and mine was filled with meat. They were about the size of a flat baseball and the crust was flaky. There are several baskets filled with different varieties. As we don't read Chinese, it's a guess at what you'll get on the inside.

Shenzen is at the heart of China's SEZ -- Special Economic Zone. It's located just on the other side of Hong Kong in Mainland China. I believe the idea of an SEZ is to limit taxes and regulations that will, in turn, spur economic growth. Shenzen has grown from a tiny fishing village to a major metropolis of 12 million people in only 20 years. Shenzen seems westernized for mainland China, and it's gown so much since I was here 10 years ago.

What day is it?

I'm a little tired and trying to adjust to the time difference. I think it's Saturday, the 13th.

I flew from Portland to Tokyo to Hong Kong. Then, Megan sent a car for me to the Hong Kong airport from Shenzen. It was so great to see her last night. When I opened the door to the hotel and saw Megan, she was more beautiful then ever. Sometimes it's difficult to comprehend how lucky I am to be with her.

At the Tokyo airport, I found an oxygen bar. I've heard of these, but I've never seen one before. I took a couple pictures of the sign and a few people getting oxygenated, too.

During my first morning, Saturday, Megan and I walked around Shenzen. I've already seen many things I wish freinds and family could have experienced with me. I saw a gigantic Chinese Warcraft sign, and I thought of Matt, Greg, and the Voodoo Posse from CMD. I've seen some really cool bicycles that are only held together by ingenuity and more welds than steel. These made me think of Kenny and Ryan. This morning, I also saw tiny little gadgets I think were phones, .mp3 players, and/or cameras that reminded me of my brother. Speaking of Andrew, I wish I had some hand sanitizer right about now. More than once, I've seen the love of a mother for her child that reminds me of my sister.

Happy Birthday Jennifer!!!

How did they do that?

We're about 6000 feet above sea level here, and I can't imagine how
people brought these rocks to this location.

Hey gorgeous!

Bridge on path

The craftsmanship on this trail is incredible. This is one of several
bridges we ran across during our journey in Huangshan. You can also
see one of many tables and chairs built from the granite.

Man made lake in Huangshan

Huangshan mountains. Anhui, China

The beauty of the land is striking here.

Beautiful granite peaks in the distance

Huangshan mountain climb

This picture is taken on the way up Huangshan mountain. The whispy
clouds, granite peaks, and pine trees are all representative of this
area in the Anhui province of central-eastern China.

View from Shenzen apartment

This pic is from the balcony of one of Megan's colleagues apartment.
This is Shenzen, China.

Hot Pot

Another fabulous meal! This was called Hot Pot.

More of the Sichuan Chinese food

Mmmmm... Tasty!

Oxygen Bar at Tokyo airport

Good Food! The meat curtain

It's a little difficult to find a wi-fi connection. So this might be
it for awhile. We are having a great time!

Hong Kong The Cooler Bar

Here is the cooler where you can pick out your vodka.

Toast

Lots of toasts. Ryan's expression here makes me laugh. Good times.

Ryan

Ryan got off the plane and met us at the bar. We were all impressed with his drinking skills this night.

Kevin

Jeff

Jeff and Patrick getting ready to go into the cooler to choose our vodka.

Hong Kong The Cooler Bar

Here is our first round of vodka. The night progressed with more...

Beautiful seaside in Shenzhen

Coworkers walking down to seaside. We waded around in the water for a bit.

Beautiful seaside in Shenzhen

Lunch at seaside

We picked out our lunch while it was still living.

Shenzhen seaside bike path

Biking to Shenzhen seaside

YMCA

Taking a bite of chicken feet

I can now say I've tried chicken feet, in addition to frog, squid, and some sort of shellfish/snale thing.

Your standard chicken feet

dinner before singing

karaoke night

karaoke night

Anomaly at the park

We're having fun at the park this morning.

We miss you.

Anomaly and I miss you, Megan! One week from today, I'll be on my way.

Beautiful ladies

Here are the three people I work with on the Home Depot account. Maya, Colieno, and Hatty. They all took me out to a very nice dinner. I even tried the shrimp, which still had it's legs and shell in tack. You eat all of that...I picked one out without the head on it. :) Despite that, their food here really is delicious.

Hotel Room in Shenzhen

Here is the hotel room I am living in for 2 weeks. The bathroom shower looks into the bedroom. Very cool, different.

Shenzhen Hotel Window

Here is another view from the other window.

Shenzhen Hotel Window

Here is the view from one of the hotel windows. It's been overcast and hot every day. I am in the downtown area, which is expensive from what I hear. Lots of people, lots of shops, lots of sights, sounds and smells.