Dear Friends-

I came back.

In China, they like to state the obvious so they will just come out and say “I came back” or “You came back” even though you are both well aware of what just happened. The only thing is that in China everything has some hidden meaning that I can never figure out. So when they tell you “I came back” they are probably telling you that they have just lost all of their money and their father is in jail but you would never know. That’s probably why everybody is always smiling at me. They know I have no idea what is going on because I am missing 4,000 years of cultural training. Smiling sure is better than giving people the bird in heavy traffic though.

Anyway, I came back. No hidden meaning. Just stating the obvious.

Some people told they were “learning” stuff by reading my internet website. I recommend that you don’t brag about your new brainpower if you think you are getting smarter by reading my half-baked ideas. Most likely, the Asian people you talk to will want to come over and beat me up for my lack of understanding of pretty much everything.

Some people also said that when they read my blog website that they thought I hated China. Actually, I really like it there. By “really like”, I mean “experience of a lifetime”. The food, the people and the action are entirely engaging at all times.

Anyway, I thought I would update this website to let my friends know that I got out alive. I seem to have come into contact with the right motorcycle taxis, questionable street food, rogue communist cops and rookie drivers passing on blind corners. Except for when I didn’t.

I got some more stuff to write about when I get some time and a bunch of photos. Plus, I am going back there for business trips. So if I see some wierd things happening (inevitable), I will try to add the action to the blog website. So I came back, but I am also going back (no hidden meaning).

Enjoy a few photos and check back later.

Strange Idol Worship

Tea Fields

Hot Pot---A Brilliant Way to Eat

Tibetan Orphans at Dickey Orphanage in Lhasa. These kids have no connections in China or Tibet (which is also China) so they are basically hosed. Really cute though and if you stop by they sing for you and show you their stuff (which is like nothing).

Tibetan Beer---Avoid

They use bamboo for food, hats, boats, chopsticks, doormats, dinnerware and in this case, scaffolding. Bamboo tastes good.

The Cormorants go fishing for the local guys. They tie a rope around their neck so they can't swallow the fish though. Nice.

EXTREMELY questionable street food. REALLY good though.

Some temple/place for farmers to nap in the south of China

Fairly typical meal. The plastic tablecloth makes it easy to spit the bones on the table. Gross? Maybe. Really tasty? Absolutely.




Sunset over the seawall near my house in The Republic of China (Taiwan). See previous posts about Chinese missiles pointed at Taiwan if you are confused.