Harbin: Part V

Today I'm going to skip over my usual first paragraph about the unholy cold in Harbin. Suffice it to say that I've never been colder in my life...

I don't have all that much to say today because it was a pretty slow day. Things started off with a successful trip to a 7-tiered Buddist Pagoda and a Confucian temple. It was temple day! The temples were so-so (after traveling through Thailand I think I've become accustomed to large, ostentatious, brilliantly golden temples and the Chinese ones don't make the cut.) The most interesting part of the temple was probably it's neighbor: a 100-foot ferris wheel. This juxtaposition made for some quality photos...

Over the past 4 days in Harbin I've gotten better and better and making my way around town via public transit. At the beginning, I was a pretty hopeless case and I spent a fair amount of time wandering around looking for my destinations (or buses). Now I've combined upgraded map skills, less shyness about asking for directions in Chinese, and a better sense for the city and I'm getting results. Today I shuttled directly to each of my destinations without any trouble. (Side note: my Chinese character studying has really started to pay off in the map reading department).

I've been eating a lot of hot pot in Harbin recently. Hot pot is one style of Chinese cuisine that is particularly popular in the North (and in cold weather in general). Basically, hot pot consists of a boiling pot of spiced oil-based broth that is shared by the whole table. Then you order all sorts of raw dishes (meats, tofu, veggies) and you drop them in the pot and eat whenever they're cooked. It's simple and amazingly delicious :) I've had it for dinner each of the last 3 nights. Yum! I'll probably always associate Harbin with hot pot because of it...

Here is a joke from my Joke of the Day that made me laugh:

Three leaders of the big beer companies meet for a drink. The president of Budweiser orders a Bud. Miller's president orders a Millers and the president of Coors orders a Coors. When it is Guinness turn to order he orders a soda. Why didn't you order a Guinness everyone asks? Nah Guinness replies. If you guys aren't having a beer neither will I.

- Jon