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Sunday, July 10, 2005 After watching a little ping pong on tv, I headed out to our meetings at "the China branch of the company that I work for". ) Not surprisingly, it looks quite similar to every other branch of the company (Cairo, Charlotte, Beijing - they're all pretty much the same). ) But what is definitely not the same is the bathroom situation. Cairo had attendants - I could deal with that. But this was my first encounter with a "squat toilet". I was beginning to think that they were an urban myth - or perhaps only in the more local sections of town. At first I thought it was an option, and if I searched the other stalls I'd find a more Western-accessible one. But no - all stall revealed the same sad floor-level basin. ) My second encounter was at dinner. ) Dinner was at the Bai Family Courtyward Restaurant - a very upscale restaurant set in a Qing Dynasty garden. ) The elegant yellow place settings featured the five-clawed dragon - symbols reserved for the emperor. ) Our large table could have sat 15 people and the entire center was a rotating platter on which the food was served (ok - it's a lazy susan). This shot is one of the painted details. ) The place setting included chop sticks, a chop stick rest, and a golden spoon. We were told that a silver spoon would be used for royalty because if ths food was poisoned, the silver would tarnish. ) The meal included many many dishes - too many to mention. Favorites were shrimp with asparagus, mushroom chicken, and a green vegetable called something with the word Dragon in it. Dessert was a platter of fresh fruit, including leechee and a fruit with the word dragon in it (the slices had white fruit with black seeds and a purple rind). There were also pastries shaped like small birds. ) And I can't describe this meal without mentioning the Moutai alcohol - I passed, and was glad that I did because there many eyes were watering! ) Taken with a Nokia 3650 Cameraphone - View all cameraphone pictures
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