The Luckiest Puppy

Lijiang, China

At Mama Naxi's friendly guesthouse (I really recommend it!) I just rediscovered a liking for dogs. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not talking about exotic Chinese cuisine. The family are keeping a little puppy. It's tiny, maybe a few months old, gets exciting about everything (including its own tail), chases random things (also including its tail) and always wants to lick or bite things (especially people that stroke it) but has no force in its jaws yet (thankfully, but it's teeth are sharp). It pads around clumsily, jumps and yelps or pokes its little, moist nose at you wanting attention. And everybody loves it. There's not a single person at the guesthouse who will not go "aww" over it or give it some love. Wherever the little thing appears people stroke it, feed it or pamper it in some other way.
I generally like dogs but I was never good at handling them. Nor did I have any wish to cuddle them. But this little puppy melted my heart. I'm sure this was what the word "adorable" was invented for.
It must also at this moment be the luckiest little doggy in all of China.

More than meets the eye ...

Kunming, China

Sometimes there is more than meets the eye. This is not about Transformers but about Joseph. Here's why.
I met him in the Green Lake Park in Kunming. He spoke English and was eager to communicate. He was a teacher, he said, very interested in languages. Since I am too (that's why I'm here, right?) it was easy to talk to him. Still, something made my alarm bells go off. Maybe his eagerness, the fact that he stuck around even when I talked to other people. Maybe he seemed to be waiting. But then again, many Chinese are eager to practice their English and/or talk to foreigners, so I talked to him and ignored my suspicions for the time being. He wanted to make friends, he said, so I wanted to give him a chance. Then he suggested going to a tea house and drink some tea and chat. That again made my spider-sense tingle. Stories of girls that take foreign guys to tea houses and serve them astronomical bills reared their heads. But this was a middle-aged man. Would he? We arrived at his friend's tea shop and he began ordering Pu'er and another expensive tea. I dropped the hint that this stuff might be expensive and he just waved it away. So we drank tea with the owner - it felt a bit odd but hey, I've had stranger encounters.
Then a western girl walked past and Joseph recognised her. Hadn't she walked past before I wondered. She greeted him. My friend, he exclaimed, mentioned something like he was making new friends. She continued smiling saying "... and he's a con-man. He'll end up charging you 100 yuan." Had I heard that right. She was still smiling. How had they met? In the same way as me and him, he had picked her up in a park. She repeated her warning then said: "Come let's have a coffee and get to know each other." She got up to leave. I took the hint, excused myself and left. Interestingly, my new "friend" did nothing to stop his new-found friend from leaving so soon.
After leaving she said that "Joseph" was well-known. He had taken her to the same tea shop, promising free tea, then when it was time to leave had confessed he had no money to pay and asked her to pay 100 yuan so that he would not loose face in front of his friend, the owner. She later heard from a colleague - she was working in Kunming - that the same had happened to her, too. People had written about him in forums. He had been active in Lijiang but become too infamous among foreigners there, so he had moved to Kunming for fresh victims. I was shocked. And grateful, too. Rebecca had indeed walked past once, then called her friend and told her what she had seen. Her friend had then told her to go back and get the "poor guy out of there". If not for her I might also be 100 yuan the poorer.
So, no matter how much kindness you've experienced from locals in China not everyone is honest. Sometimes there's more to people than it seems. And if a friendly guy named Joseph invites you for tea in Kunming it might be better to decline. Thanks a lot for bailing me out, Rebecca.

It's a Small World

Guangzhou, China

You won't believe me this and I have no proof of it. So, just take my word for it.
Remember the English guy I mentioned meeting on my tour of the Terracotta Army near Xi'an? The one that also wanted to see the Tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang? Actually, I barely did until today.
I just walked into him on the bank of the Pearl River. A tall foreigner. But there was something familiar about him. Still, I walked past. It was him who actually came after me. "Haven't we met before?", he asked. Then it came to me, too. Xi'an, tour, etc.
He lived in a nearby town and was doing business in China. I'm sure he had told me that before. I was still too surprised. Consider the odds meeting again even in the same city (as it did happen in Xi'an, actually). Now consider the odds of meeting again within a country as big as China. What a small world!

The Real Kung Fu

Zhuhai, China

Here in Zhuhai I found the most awesome fastfood restaurant ever. I've never seen it anywhere else in China. It's a Chinese chain (at least I assume that) called 真功夫, which translates to "Real Kung Fu". Their logo above these characters is a pop-art-like impression of Bruce Lee in his famous fighting stance wearing the yellow and black training suit he wore in his last movie "Game of Death". I don't really have much else to say - just that it's totally cool! I haven't eaten there yet but I definitely will. I might just not get a chance here because I'm staying with a friend and she wants to cook for me tonight. Maybe there's a shop in Guangzhou, as well.

Update: I found another branch inside the Guangzhou train station. I had dinner there. The food isn't special and probably doesn't do justice to Canonese cooking but I still think the place rocks. The staff wear yellow or black T-shirts with the logo. I actually asked one of the girls at the counter if I could buy one. She said no. I almost begged her. I'd take any old one, no matter if it's used or dirty. I was so sure they must have spares for staff to wear. She was very friendly even though I'm sure she thought I was weird. She politely told me she was sorry, there wasn't one for sale. Oh well, in the end I kept my napkin as a souvenir.