"Old Style Suzhou"

Nee How, dongs!

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty uneventful days. I even forgot my camera for both lunchs because we were so busy at the plant. Wednesday I was at work until 8:15 PM, and when I made it back to the hotel, all I felt like doing was sleeping. And so sleep I did!



Yesterday, the 13th was pretty sweet. There were items we needed to buy at work to get some the ball rolling on a couple of issues and so our project group got together and went out to the "manufacturing street market". This place was really interesting. Most of the time, if you want to buy equipment in the states for manufacturing purposes, you have to buy through a supplier. It's rare to be able to get a lot of equipment directly at a store. But in Suzhou? Very common. They had everything. Surface Mount electronics reels of resistors, soldering stations, even CNC machines. 1 foot long tweezers? No problem. ESD safe airpens? Got that in check. IR temperature gauges? It's in stock! Within two hours we had bagged a good quantity of goodies.


Our next stop was to buy a Lizard cage. You'd be interested to know what for, but if I told you... Id have to... well it's just boring. But trying to find the lizard cage brought up to an animal/plant market in Suzhou. Swalling how bad the smell was, there was just about everything anyone would want from a pet store. Fish, insects, reptiles, rabbits, cats, dogs. You name it. I'm not so sure about how they treat the animals after talking with Roger. That's actually still in my head.


After work, Roger took me to the old style section of Suzhou. There was a massive stone gate with a small fort type building on top leading into the "town". From afar I thought the gate was a castle, but he indicated that it was more along the lines of a structure from which to have a vantage point with archers. Nonetheless it was bad-ass and totally epically lit.

Dinner before anything else! Never make decisions on an empty stomach (or so they say). For dinner, we stop at a traditional Chinese restaurant and luckily the menu has pictures so I can take a look at some of the items. We end up ordering:







Vegetables (that look like meat). Supposedly there's a shrine in China where monks can make any single type of meat dish and you would never guess it's made of veggies. The taste, texture, all of it identical. I'll have to look into it, I'd like to try that. Sure beats those Tofu burger things in the States.






A meat dish. Beef, Chicken Liver, Tofu, some type of skin, and underneath is good ol' tripe. I actually stay away from this dish.















Beef an Vegetables. I think this might be the closest thing I've had resembling American Chinese food yet. After all this consumation over the past week, I've seen just how irrelated American style and Chinese style Chinese cooking is. This sauce was slightly close to brown sauce in the states, but was still tastier and lighter. I feel like they cook with maple syrup in the states.





Fresh local fish. Suzhou has a great lake next to it and as such is famous for it's fresh fish. This one (not sure of the name), was very delightful and had small sections of bacon placed between the slices to add flavor. With a bit of tongue twisting to remove the bones (which were plentiful near the tail), the fish was consumed quickly.





After dinner, we headed to the old town streets. The old town was really a nice experience. I felt like everything really slowed down for once during my stay in Suzhou. The bustling network of plants and shops connected by scooters and suicide taxi drivers seemed to melt away and a much more comfortable relaxed feeling overtook me. The lighting was spectacular. We even passed by a pavillion with a live band playing traditional music. We stopped for a bit to listen.
















The shops along the street had many traditional crafts. A type of glass blowing where they deposit metal inside really took my eye. There was some serious sandalwood carving in one area. I found a carving going for 280,000 RMB (over $20K). The detail, wood, and setting were wonderful. Preying Mantis stalking another insect.




Before we knew it, it was around 9:45 PM. Roger and I decided to call it an earlier night with how much walking we had done during the day. Plus, Roger was not playing his long awaited Expansion pack for World of Warcraft. And I could tell he wanted to.

Was in bed by 10:30 and snoozing in no time.


A bientot!

Zug Zug, back to work

Family, friends! I bring news from "l'empire du milieu" (empire of the middle). I didn't hurl! But man, did I have a good time in the shopping district with my co-worker Roger.

It was Monday, back to work. The madness inside the plant was the usual, tons of workers and not enough space. An interesting detail I've learned about the Chinese so far is that they have a different understanding of interruption in conversation and they dont frown upon touching or pushing people to go their way. Basically, they walk around areas and pass people almost identically to how they drive. And they sometimes drive by playing chicken with a tractor trailer. And you have to drive that way. Andy learned, if you drive US style you will get into either an accident or never make it to your destination. By Monday morning, I'm completely anesthetized to the fear of a head on collision.

Monday's workday passes quick, but not before we have a splendid lunch! The menu is as follows:

Jellyfish! (yeah, it's cooked). The taste was deffinitely "preserved". Pickled a bit, very salty. A great quick cold dish that many people adore in China. The consisentcy was... interesting. Sometimes, semi-hard like cartilige; sometimes soft and gooey like jello. Funny to think that I was eating the same kind of wierd marine animal that I used to hate getting stung by on the beaches of Ammagansett, Long Island as a kid. I used to poke them with a stick when they washed up. I always thought to myself how no one would ever eat such a thing.

"Super hot fat beef". Kid you not. That was the name (OUGH). This thing ROCKED. By far my favorite. Reminded me a lot of "Yukejon" (Korean dish, spelling way off). The thing was spicey beyond belief. Typical Szechuan style soup. No-one drinks the broth, so I dared the impossible and gulped some down. First gulp I think I hit all oils, not spicey at all. So I tempt a second one. Ate my whole bowl of rice in seconds...

Last but not least was this egg and pork soup. Well, not exactly soup. They put this type of powder in the broth to thicken it up. The stuff was fairly bland, but edible. The consistency did get to me after not too long. I didn't enjoy the dish all too much.

Following an epic lunch, we head back to the plant and finished off the work day around 6:30 after Roger helped me crack my laptop's security, and install world of warcraft. I'm supposed to show him an American server sometime this week. Between consuming food and drink, shopping working and sleeping, I don't have too much free time!

Roger takes me to the "walking street" again to get some shopping done. I've got my eyes peeled for some sweeeeeet noise canceling headphones. But it doesn't take long to find out that electronics, because of their taxing system come out as expensive if not more then in the U.S. Looks like I'll be ordering mine off Newegg.com when I get back to the states. We're in this underground shopping area with all these cool stores for figurines and funky womens clothing when lunch decides to rebel. My lower intestine pulses. Not good. Ooooo not good. I signal Roger and we begin an epic quest to find a potty. First stop is in the underground shopping area.

Chinese still use the stand up potty. You know, the squat one where you eject into a trough and flush. I'm sorry but I can't use them. I've always used the sitters. Come one, who doesn't love a 20 minute rest and relaxation with a mag in hand, only getting up to finish off when you realize your legs are numb? Why the hurry? Is it like they're dieing to shave off a couple pounds and get back to work a.s.a.p? I don't get it, and don't want to use it. Plus, there's no freaking toilet paper. Wooooonderful.

We quest on while I play mind over body with my sphincter. We find a Cinema, toilets on the third floor. Go go go. I make it in, only to realize it's the same deal, squatters. But not just any squatters. No paper, and the smell is out of control. I take one peer in, and it's OVER. BOUNCED.

We hit a huge department store and find a toilets... on the fourth freaking floor. I pop open the door. Squatter. What the F, Golf clap for Communism. So I say screw it. I'm about to explode. I rush to take off my belt and realize... no paper. I put the pants back on and find Roger who delivers with a set of napkins from the lunch restaurant. I rush back in, and go like I've never gone before. I don't want to detail it too much, but imagine aiming a small hole in a highly compressed can of beans, and trying to get the spray to stay inside a pan. Fun times! I even found a wet towelet from the restaurant at lunch in my pocket. GRAND SLAM. Life saver.

Oh shiii it's 8:05 AM here and I got to hit breakfast so I have some food in me. Driver's coming by at 8:30 for the pickup, at which point I'll take a bump.

Yo deh, take a bump deggg.

Ningbo Express, Chicken feet birthday

So it's been quite a while since I've updated (or so I've heard from some informants). Finding a solid block of time to sit down on this virus infected labtop my company gave me and uploading photos through the hotels slow-ass internet connection is pretty tough, but considering my stomach is unsettled and I think I'll be hurling up a mix of jellyfix crab and some light local beer I'll stick with it and get some words down.

Lets begin with last Friday, the 7th. I managed to get a ticket to go down to Ningbo to visit Steve and Angie. Steve's a good buddy from 2362 E. Norris St, Philadelphia and he moved from our place to Ningbo for his job at Penn Reels, and met his wonderful girlfriend Angie who is Chinese. He invited me over, and since It was my birthday weekend I got my company to help me get a driver to the train station and a ticket. The only ticket I could get was a "soft sleeper" which is basically a bed. These trains have 12+ hour trips (since China is GIGANTIC) and so these types of cars are very common. Getting on the train and sitting down on the bed... my eyes started to burn from fatigue. The guy sitting next to me had a huge smile every time he looked at me and I gave him a big smile back. I kept dozing off here and there during the train ride, trying to understand where I was.

On one of my wake ups, the guy sitting next to me handed me a paper. It had his name, his age, what he does and all manner of information on it written in pretty good english. Below all this were questions of the same for me! His spoken english wasnt spectacular but we made due by filling his notebook with sentence after sentence. His name was (excuse me for the bad translation) Shau Fan. He was 26 and worked in the milk business. He was headed down to HungZhu to visit a friend who had hurt himself and was in the hospital. I really liked Shau Fan. His smile was endearing and his outlook so bon vivant. So much so that when he left the train at his stop I suddenly felt very alone again. He graced me by allowing me to photograph him before he left.

I arrived safe and sound in Ningbo, Steve was easy to pick out at the train station. Tall white guy who looks like he's forever stoned.

Steve and Angie whisked me away to "Angies", a bar Angie actually used to own. It was cute, laid back. I met a buddy of Steve's by the name of Andy (who if anyone can remind me when I get back to the states, I ought to look up and thank). One hell of a guy. Drives good Chinese too. At some point that night, I crashed on a bed if you wish to call it that. The matress was a piece of wood with the middle chopped out, and a netting of straw very rigidly attached along the sides. Woke up the next morning a bit... tough.

Steve, Angie and I started the day with some spicey noodles. Good wakeup call. Followin that, Angie went out to do some shopping and Steve and I went for a walk to a mountain side nearby. Near the mountainside was a little village we walked through for about an hour admiring different oddities. As we walked through this very heavily dirtied village with a lamentable water supply (no one, even locals, drink tap water), we found the most interesting things. First off, China is in economic boom and it's manufacturing industry has and is exploding. But a plastic injection molding spot right around the corner, tucket away in this small town village? I would have never of guessed. The other sight that blew me away was the "Orcish battle wagon" or so I like to call it. The thing is BAD-ASS and if I could I would ride that thing in STYLE to work in the morning. I'd leave an hour and a half earlier just so I could pimp out my ride. Xhibit ain't got shiat on this piece of mechanical almost-steampunk motivation.

A bit later on, Steve Angie and I met up at a local coffee house chain and enjoyed some refreshments. We ended up meeting up with Andy and two of Angie's friends and drove up to a mountain to barbeque and drink some good ol' local brewed "KK" Beer. Shit is like Chinese Colt 45. About 20 cents for a liter, and garaunteeeeeeeeeed to give you a hangover. The barbequeing was fantastic, and so begins the evening of me getting absolutely obliterated for my 24th. We first started at Angies Pub after the barbeque and I'm inhaling Lemon Drops couteousy: Andy. In between, this hilariously hairstyled Chinese kid (who can't be over 16 but we give shots to anyways) keeps trying to get me to teach him how to dance. Kid had way more skills than me. He tore it UP. After more shots and vodka tonics, and a pizza (oh sweet taste from home) we hit the pub row. I meet this German guy named Detlef who shows me how to make the "Lynchburg Lemonade". 3 shots of something... something and then Jack Daniels, followd up by 1 sprite (you know, to sweeten the deal). We go through about 4 or 5 pitchers of this stuff and the nite goes on. At some point, there's a little kid in the picture running about. Last but not least I do remember one thing before blacking out. The good old Chinese Birthday cake. Supposedly, it's customary to all pitch in for someone's b-day and get them a cake and instead of eating it to pound it in their face. Hence a PHENOMINAL food fight. My words cannot do justice, but I believe there are some wonderful pictures on Steve's flikr website. My camera died early that morning: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mixedbeans

The next day was spent trying to become human again. I got the BEST morning surprise present, which I won't get into but let it be known that the parties involved in obtaining that are thanked from the bottom of my heart (and for a special someone by the lump in my pants... OKBAI). A bit later on, I hit the train back from Ningbo to Suzhou. I quickly say goodbye to Steve, Angie, and Andy. Taxi to Ningbo, 45 mins. The ticket Angie had bought me had as destination "Wuxi" which was a town after Suzhou. Normally, the ticket agents would take your card and redeem it to you when it was your stop. But not knowing Chinese, and especially without a working cellphone (the server kept giving me busy and the network was incorrect), trying to explain to the ticket clerk that I had to get off early and needed my ticket to give when exiting the train station was going to be tough. Angie wrote me a little letter to give to the clerk when I saw him. I'm not too sure what it said, but needless the say half the train got interested in my plight and before I knew it I was in the spotlight of laughter. There was a old man in front of me. Straight out of Kung-Fu movies. Rubbery tanned skin with gigantic veins pumping blood all over his aged body. Drawn in cheeks and wispery eyebrows and a set of fast moving eyes. A totally sweet white goatee. He drank tea from this jar full of leaves and insects and shit. He laughed with a full set of beat up teeth and pointed constantly at me (or perhaps... behind me?) while argueing with just about everyone around him. If I could speak Chinese, I would have loved to chat with this guy. Fuckin' Shaolin masta. Anyways, I figure where I am by counting the train stops and knowing roughly when my train ought to be in. 11:20 AM. Once we reach Suzhou after 5 and a half hours in a noisy ass train with a network incompetant cellphone and an old man HOUNDING Chicken feet, I breath a bit easier. Now, to get a taxi. With my wits, I pull out my Luggage Check for the hotel with the address on it in Chinese and hand it to this guy who's got a serious stray eye. He agrees. 50 RMB. Less than $10 and still a rip off. But considering what I've been through and my lack of sleep and lingering hangover, I'm just happy to lay back and ride. Make it to the hotel, crash. 12:45AM. The train ride was such an experience that I had to shoot the train's medalion.

It's 12:04 and I'm beat. More to come soon, including my stomach's plight tonight, my adventure to find a working condition pooper with teepee to match; and whether I hurled or not! Stay tuned for more of... bFRENCHHOUND adventures in CHINA...China....China....China (echo)

Chinese people go to school, early in the morning.

(k)Nee how(?), mofos. A view from my window!

Today was my very first day at the plant in Suzhou. The Sheraton hotel I am posted at was designed to blend in with the surrounding area, namely a 1500 year old pagoda, "The Pagoda of Auspicious Light". You can also see it from my window. During the trip to the plant, I noticed a man on the street fully surrounded by bicycles and mopeds litterally "horsedrawing" a cart. The social system and working class here are so different than ours... it's interesting.

At lunch time, we induldged in the following epic food:

(Scallops and Shrimp in champagne sauce)

(Steamed Frog and Rice in bamboo shoot)

(below, close up of the frog leg!)

(Eggplant and veggies in a liver sauce)

The food was awesome! None of it was typical regional food. Since our dining party included a guest which wanted some staple food options (he didn't want to test his intestinal fortitude), the place we went to had "set" options of different cultures. Japanese, Western, European... the food reflecting the region. I personally went for the Shrimp and Scallops in Champagne sauce which was delicious. Creamy and very citrus. The eggplant and veggies in liver sauce was delightful also. The frog tasted just like i'd thought, just like chicken but was much more difficult to eat because of the small bones. Like small chicken wings.

After lunch and some more time at the plant, our hotel group went to the "walking street" shopping district. I saw a lot of neat things for sale but nothing piqued my interest to the point of purchase. I did however catch a shot of a grrrrreeeeaaat store in the area. I know a lot of low budget "actresses" that shop at the spot if you get my drift!

Tonight, I plan on catching a train down to Ningbo to see Steve. More to come!

Recently arrived

The trip from Fishtown big Philly stylez to Suzhou China began on a note of pure awesome. My labor day Monday was spent on bike from the town of Fish to East falls and back. The arrival at East Falls was consumated by the glowing sight of Johnny Menanas (pronounced Johnny May-nya-nya-s). Two pointers for the joint;

1) The place has amazingly delicious and extremely cheap sides of vegetables ($1.50). Order three, and your screaming stomach be thoroughly appeased.

2) The taco soup is slightly inferior in deliciousness, however it's real downfall is it price. $4.75 is not what it's worth in the slightest.

After a good rest stop and some tangy margheritas, Steph and I were pleasantly buzzed and returned to the town of Fish with a new objective. Cheapest Margheritas in Philly needed to be found, and needed to be promtly consumed. Objective completed, @ $10 a pitcher the deal was perfect, Mexican Post. Within a couple of hours we were back in the town of Fish with some orange juice and coke to mix with the Grand Marnier and Whiskey left behind from previous 2362 debauchery.

4:20 AM, and I didn't get a blink of shut-eye. Worse off, my ride to the airport was still under the influence. The only option I had was a taxi, which luckily was found and was promptly picking me up before 5:00. A quick goodbye to bunny, and my sleep deprived self was wisked away to Philly International.

The connecting flight was nothing extraordinary. However, Chicaga O'Hare I must admit is one pretty airport. It was clean, spacious, well lit and had wonderful stores. I destroyed my 2 hour layover in no time.

The flight to Pudong international was as expected... as uncomfortable as a 14 and a half hour flight in economy class can possibly be.

The China country side near Shanghai is interesting. On the drive from the airport to Suzhou, I saw countless high rise buildings, uninhabited. I believe they're being built in anticipation for an expansion of population into these areas. Whatever the reason, it was a wierd and eeirie sight. Almost like the end of "Devil's Advocate" where the streets of NYC are completely empty.

And the wildest thing I've noticed so far is the driving (if you wish to call it that). I thought we were going to crash over a dozen times. Tonight, I eat Vientnamese Pork and Curry with cocunut milk and Pork and Mushroom dumplings. Mmmm, room service food.

After a night of nearly no sleep, a long as hell flight with no decent room to relax; I'm off to bed.

They have buckwheat hull filled pillows here (?!!!? wtf). Sweet!

Big Philly Stylz

After a vigorous Friday at my bustling job tracking all items needed for a business excursion to Suzhou, China; I found myself coming to the realization that a three day weekend was on the horizon. Labor Day weekend baby. No celebration of bullshit wars concerning ideologies or proclamations of sexual orientation. This is a mutherfucking working mans holiday. I lay concrete and I get today off BITCH.

Saturday night, El Azteca, superb inebriation with friends, family, and worms (don't ever buy Mescal).

More to come!