Funny Website

I know most everyone knows about the website www.someecards.com, but I tell you - whenever I'm bored or need to laugh, I just go and look at some of the sarcastic e-cards....like this one.

Butt Pants

This picture is not a joke.

John and I had heard of this phenomenon prior to our trip to Beijing from my sister who's friend was studying there. She said, "Katie, the kids have pants with the crotch part open and they just squat where ever they are". AND IT'S TRUE!

These pants are worn on most kids in the 2-3 age range around mainland China. And it is completely normal to see a kid with these pants on being carried on some one's shoulders.

What I don't get is how there are not a ton of "accidents". Presumably, if the child is wearing these pants, they're not yet old enough to tell you that they need to go to the bathroom, then why would you place them on your shoulders? These people are nuts.

Regardless of the teaching methods used with these pants, it provided me with hours of immature entertainment. It was almost like playing that driving game where you hit the person next to you when you see a yellow beetle -- Every time I saw a kid I was looking to see if they had these butt pants on and if they did, I was all excited for some reason.

34 degrees never feels good - regardless of how you measure it

I'm telling you, it's hot.

I know it's hot in NYC too. Below are the weather reports for both cities -- NYC feels like it's 34 C -- roughly 93 F. Hong Kong feels like it's 44 C, roughly 111 F.
New York, NY

Wednesday, Jul 23
High: 28 °C RealFeel®: 34 °C
Intervals of clouds and sunshine with a shower or thunderstorm; humid

Hong Kong, Hong Kong (*)
Forecast Details
Wednesday Day
Partly sunny
High 33°C 91°F
RealFeel®: 44°C 111°F

If you haven't had the misfortune of experienceing 111 degree heat with 95% humidity, think about what you feel like after you work out really hard and then you have to go to work in those same clothes.




Think about what you'd like to eat when it feels like 111 degrees outside?
Stuff that looks like this.... (I couldn't make the seahorses picture move down, but they were gross)






John and I got back from NYC last week and this is the first week that we're actually staying awake past 9:00 pm and sleeping past 6:00 am. We had an absolute blast in New York and miss it more than I thought both of us expected

"Real" China

John & I always describe Hong Kong as "China Light" - it's China, but really you don't feel like you're in China. A few weeks ago, we went to the real deal -- No more signs in English, unrecognizable food, and streets that had more lanes than the 405.

One of the best parts of travel is that you get to see regular people and unique things about each place. I think this applies to any place - be it near or far from your home.

One of the days we were in Beijing, we hired a driver to take us to the Great Wall. It was important for both John and I to see a less crowded part of the Wall and really the only way to do that is if you hire a private driver. It was probably the best 1,000 yuan we've ever spent. Not only did we get some amazing pictures of the Wall, we also managed to capture two priceless experiences on video. The Wall had the added bonus of a toboggan ride back down to the parking area. I went first and then John followed. Originally, he was just filming the ride itself -- it is wild to think that you're on a toboggon shooting down a hill off from the Great Wall of China, but then....well if you watch the full video, you see what happens.

Here are some pictures of the Wall - it really is a wonderment.

After a couple of hours on the Wall, our driver took us to a place for lunch. The entertainment here was that there was a giant cement pond and they pulled fish out of it and cooked it up right there. Now, if anyone is wondering what the final moments of the fish's life is like, well -- we have that on video too....enjoy