Greetings from China

Greetings from the capital of China. I spent 2 days in Beijing, where it was a bit chilly compared to Singapore and the Philippines. Beijing used to be known as Peking - so if they offer you Beijing Duck, don't ask what the difference is between that meal and Peking Duck or they'll think you don't know your General Mao from your Colonel Sanders.

Here is a photo of the front of the restaurant where we ate on the first day:

In China, most meals are served "family style" (sans serving spoons) and there is a ton of food. The tables are typically round with a giant "lazy susan" in the middle so you can spin it around to get your favorite delicacy. At most restaurants, there were 8+ of us so we had a private room where the tea flowed nonstop.

Some of the delicacies I ate thus far include:

• Liver (animal unknown)
• Duck Tongue
• Yellow and pink chicken
• Pork - when I asked what part, they told me it was "bone"

At one restaurant, instead of menus they just had fish tanks lined up against the walls so you could point to what you wanted to eat. My hosts were always very gracious and made sure I had plenty to eat and I thank them for their hospitality.

Here is a photo of the bathroom at the restaurant:

No, your eyes are not fooling you. There is no toilet seat or basin. In totally unrelated news, I now own 4% of Pepto Bismol stock.