Laura’s versions of heaven and hell all in the same day

So did I mention it's really stinking hot here. Geese …. I was not meant to be running around in this kind of heat.

So let's start with heaven…. Our tour bus turns the corner onto a street that's as wide as broad street and as far as the eye can see there are shops full of porcelain. Urns the size of the store fronts. At first I though holy moly how will I see it all. Grace (our guide) quickly pointed out that we would be going to one reputable shop. Part of me was relieved the other was very sad. But the moment the doors of the air conditioned bus opened I remembered oh good only one store. The one store was partially air conditioned so it wasn't too bad maybe 90 degrees inside. Let me tell you …. This stuff was amazing. A plain white vase until you turned on the light over it and when you did there was etch work inside. I could go on for hours about the amazing tea sets, dish sets, the artistry was something else. My purchase is a set was a set of China. Grace was translating for me and told the price was about a third less than shop keeper was trying to charge me …. Turns out Grace's math isn't so good, so I promptly said no thank you to shop keeper and apologized. He then thought I was hard core negotiating. And at the end of it all I paid close to what Grace had told me to begin with. Shop keepers are extremely appreciative when you make almost any purchase. They immediately give you things for free. He gave me a small porcelain Ox for Zoe (her Chinese Zodiac sign) Sweet right? I thought so.

So moving on to hell….. I am sure Harvey has told you all about Chinese WalMart but let me reiterate my sincere dislike for WalMart X 10 in China. It's multiple floors and the floor where they most things people need there is a woman's voice ranting in Chinese non stop on the intercom, WAY too many people, crap everyone, escalators to different floors, people with serious BO issues, Holy moly you're at WalMart … pick up some deodorant while you're here and they have I guess you would call it a Chinese deli which seriously emits some strange smells of it's own. GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!

This is our last night in Nanchang which means we got some paper work back from the notary today and if all goes as planned we will get Zoe's passport tomorrow and then head to Guangzhou. A change of scenery sounds really good to me right now but that also means I will be hopping on plane with Zoe tomorrow evening we will see how that goes. Hopefully it will be a good thing I of course will keep you posted.

One more thing… Zoe had a rough night last not sure if it was teething, too much steamed egg at dinner but she did not sleep well. We will see how things go tonight.