China 2010, Part 2

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS TEXT!

The second week of my trip to China. Not as many jokes here; this week consisted of eating at restaurants and going to the beach (and wanting to go to the beach when it was rainy.)

August 19th - Forgot the picture of duck tongues.

August 20th - Ate quail and frog today at dinner.

There were also beautifully made apple-rabbits. It was very hard to make the choice between eating them and letting them breed to make more apple-bunnies. 

August 21st - Went to another restaurant. Yummy!

August 22nd - More beach-going, more sand, more water.

Spotted this bit of incomprehensible text as well.

Whatisthisidonteven-

August 23rd - I learned today that Qingdao is known for two things: its clams, and its beer. A popular saying in Qingdao is "喝啤酒，吃蛤蜊" which means, "Drink beer, eat clams."

Qingdao was also occupied by the Germans for a duration of time. Is it any wonder their beer is well-known?

Qingdao has an annual beer festival which lasts two weeks. I went there today, and to my surprise, it was quite kid-friendly, though there were quite a few cops around, and even a fire truck. The music was pretty loud, but not too bad. At least for me; accompanying parental units found it to be too much. Buzzkill.

So I left the festival with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth (Okay, no more puns), would like to go back (Perhaps in a few years...what's the legal drinking age in China?).

August 24th - Went to a well-known dumpling place before retreating to the apartment. Why does it have to rain now?

August 25th - Rained most of the day. Braved the rain to go to the MYKAL mall for various treats. These will be brought for distribution at lunch.

The MYKAL was pretty much like any other mall in the US, except there was Chinese instead of English, and a secret supermarket in the basement. Said secret supermarket could not spell cooking correctly.

Mmm....cocked coocked food...

August 26th - Went to a different mall today, this one consisting of many small shops and vendors. Lots of shells, lots of jewelry. Apparently there was even more on higher levels.

Spotted this sign when I was walking on the coast. Not quite as mangled as some others, but still...

Please, don't be closer. No! No be closer!

Also, more dumplings, more good food.

August 27th - We went to Qingdao's old alley today. It's one of the oldest parts of the city, a cramped alleyway filled with small restaurants and vendor stalls. One stall was selling various bugs to be fried, so I got some scorpions. Tasted like french fries, if only a bit chewier. Yum.

Final post coming tomorrow, before the blog returns to its normal programming.