the little things

Lots and lots of times I've written about the little things that count so much. Here's a portion of my list from China so far:

• seeing desserts on a buffet in a Chinese restaurant and having them taste like real desserts, not the crap on Chinese buffets at home, really makes my tummy happy :)
• finding out that Ming love pepper steak, finally some foods I have a shot in hell of making!
• the string from the hotel rooms laundry bags makes a great belt for a certain skinny minnie who is far too "long" for size 12 months but far too lean in the waist for 9 months...
• coke lite is my nectar of the gods... when I can find it.
• seeing a real smile from Ming, between she and I, not just the clown circus she puts on at meals for everyone
• the kindness of a families traveling with CCAI and their instant pulling me into their group any time paths cross.
• a good strong internet connection is worth almost as much as coke lite. And a VPN is a godsend.
• looking at weather.com and pulling up the 10 day forecast made me realize, holy cow, I'm looking at the weather from home and I'll be there to enjoy it
• air conditioning.... wish I had it. It's 78F in the hotel room and they still have it set for winter heating... apparently the sauna outside is not yet warm enough to trigger ac! Oh well. Me and MIng are sweating our collective arses off.
• My girl loves chocolate chip cookies.

Today I leave for Guangzhou. I know lots of people say it's like Disney Land and not real China. But right now that's ok. When you travel completely alone, no group, no partner, it's much tougher to get out and about. Add to it that Nanchang is not a place tourists go, it's been challenging to simply walk around and get out of the hotel. So as much as Shamian Island is not considered 'real China' and as much as I've considered it a luxury to experience all I have in her province, I am looking forward to being able to walk around and relax more.

More from Guangzhou.