Missing Xi'an

I LOVED Xi'an. It was the Tang dynasty capital, and has beautiful cultural attractions, but what I liked most was its charm. OK, and the mall, I admit it. I've never seen an entire floor devoted to polo shirts (and not just the boring ones). I didn't have much time in the mall, but I could feel its brilliance.... :D

One thing you notice right away about both Beijing, Xi'an and now Nanjing (besides the ever-present smog) is that it's clean. There're no litter. Anywhere.

In other respects, it's not so clean. Little kids wear pants with slits between the legs, and squat to do thier business anytime, anywhere. Talk about a culture shock. I wanted to smack his mother - letting her kid run around with his stuff hanging out with millions of people watching. of course, I only said "ooohh, how cute!" to Stinky taitai. Sooner or later, I'll catch one of these little buggers in the act and snap a pic.

Anyway, I also loved the food. The "Chinese" food we eat in NY is pretty salty sometimes - but I've had few dishes here that were salty. I actually wanted to add salt to some dishes. And boy, is it interesting.

I love eating stuff I can't identify, so I'm in hog heaven. And if I recognize something, I don't want it. The chef above is hand-drawing noodles while-you-wait.