My Chinese Adventure

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redzed
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My Chinese Adventure

Post by redzed » Wed May 20, 2015 14:25

I just returned from a two week visit to China. It was my second time there and this time we toured the Yunnan province and then cruised the Yangtze from Chongqing to Wuhan. Fascinating place, totally different than what most people imagine it to be. I'm hardly a travel writer and I usually don't force my friends to look at my travel photos, but I thought you guys might enjoy some of these.

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Tasty looking seafood sold on the street

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Red Pagoda built into a gorge along the Yangtze River

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Not quite sure, but it looks like a smoked and dried pork shoulder, for sale by a vendor on a hot day. My Chinese is nil, so I could not ask for the recipe. :lol:

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Pork bellies and ribs drying in the open air. I don't think this meat ever saw the inside of a refrigerator.

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I bought one of those sausages and lived to to tell the story. It was at least 32C (90F) and the sausages and meat sat out in the sun, so when I bit into it the fat squirted out. It was heavily spiced but I could not identify any flavours except garlic and chilies. After another bite I realized that one needs to acquire a taste for that particular sausage. I shared the sausage with four brave souls in our group, the rest lacked the courage to taste it. More than half was left so I offered it to a street dog. He quickly grabbed it with his teeth, carried it in his mouth for a few meters, then spit it out and ran away. Must have been a vegan! :shock:

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Street in old Lijiang

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Buddhist temples in Dali

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Lots of dining options.

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Deep fried shrimp and more.

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Street in Dali

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Some of these looked like they might be worth a try, but I just had lunch.

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Fruit vendors were everywhere.

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One of our lunches. Generally the food was good since I like Chinese. But after eating it three times a day, it will be a while before I order Chinese food.

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Buddhist temple in Dali

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Pagodas in Dali

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Dry cured meats hanging under a roof but essentially outdoors. It was quite warm and no one seemed to care about the flies. Picture taken at a Tibetan roadside restaurant between Lijiang and Shangri-La

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I wonder what this stuff tastes like? :shock:

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Temples in Shangri-La
Janlab
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Post by Janlab » Wed May 20, 2015 15:33

Red, you said you ate chinese three times a day... I garantee you that you had all of what you photographed, hehe, janlab
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redzed
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Post by redzed » Thu May 21, 2015 07:51

Jan, I probably would have sampled a lot more than I did but my wife kept me on a short leash. And I was greatly discouraged when the dog spit out that sausage. It was the first time I witnessed a dog refusing a sausage. Whenever my mother found something not to her liking she'd exclaim " ja bym tego nawet psu nie dała!", (I wouldn't even give that to a dog!)
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Post by Gulyás » Thu May 21, 2015 13:07

Very nice/interesting pictures Red. Thank you for sharing them with us.
Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.
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Post by cat797 » Thu May 21, 2015 16:04

Red,

I was there about 9 times in 2013, between Beijing and Schezuan Provinces, and I can say I tried some pretty awful things. I was there so many times, I can say I have a hard time eating Chinese food out now. I will try anything once, BUT there is no way I'm eating any of that hanging meat.....Way too many risks there! :shock: You can eat anything that has been dropped in their nuclear hot oil though! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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redzed
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Post by redzed » Thu May 21, 2015 18:31

cat797 wrote: You can eat anything that has been dropped in their nuclear hot oil though!
I don't know about that Cat! :lol: You are of course aware of that 10% of the food there is deep fried in "gutter oil". It is a problem in China, and one of our guides even warned us about it. If you have the stomach to watch these videos, you might want to eat that hanging meat instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrv78nG9R04

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KODuglcEdBM
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Bob K
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Post by Bob K » Thu May 21, 2015 19:05

The dog must have watched those videos :lol:

Great pics!
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Post by cat797 » Thu May 21, 2015 19:54

I had not heard of "gutter oil" Red............Now that I watched the videos, I'm pretty certain the scorpions I ate on snack street were cooked in it! :sad: :shock:

Let's just say I'm not going back anytime soon................
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gutter oil

Post by ajwillsnet » Fri May 29, 2015 17:33

Anyone travelling to China should see this video before they buy any food from a street vendor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrv78nG9R04
Yuk !!!
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Post by cat797 » Fri May 29, 2015 17:39

At least I survived it! Lol


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