Feb 27 - Chongqing

Nice outfit!

Those are for stacking, not throwing, Estee!

Looking for that tickle spot...

Found it!

I can stand up! (She can crawl too, we unexpectedly found out today!)

Estee's friend Hyper Piper

Chongqing, city on the River

Now thats a party boat!

Older homes built into the steep hills

Getting to down town

Small streets for such a large city



These shots (3) were taken from the hotel terrace on the 10th floor, looking across the street




This was also taken from the terrace, aimed the other way



"Times Square" of Chongquing, across the street from our hotel!

We didn’t have anything specific planned for us today, just family bonding. This was really the first time this whole trip we weren’t doing something non-stop. So after breakfast, we went out into the square to do some shopping. We ended up at a kids store, to get some necessities, like a stroller, a bottle with a larger hole to accommodate the rice they put in the formula, and of course some cute shoes that were a good deal. Last night I had gone to a book store to get some Chinese children’s music, because Estee’s nanny said she loved music. I bought 4 CD’s that looked promising… they were all kid stories, no music! Good thing they were only about $1.50 each. Shopping is very different here, every store has like one attendant per square foot! (okay, I’m exaggerating a little bit, but a short grocery store isle has at least two) the kids store we were in had 2-3 attendants per “area” which was broken down by brands. You picked out what you wanted, then the filled out this detailed form (in Chinese characters- people actually write this way, its pretty cool to watch), then you leave your stuff, and go pay the cashier, then she gives you the receipt, to go back to the section you picked the stuff out from, and they give you your stuff. This doesn’t seem to bad, accept for every area is a different section, so I ended up with a stack of forms to pay for just like 5 things. Weird…
Okay, I think I figured out that I have a coffee addiction. I have also figured out that the Chinese people don’t. They don’t have a place in any of the hotels you can go to and just get coffee in the morning. You have to go into the restaurant and sit down for breakfast. Then you have to keep bugging them to re-fill your cup. I wonder what they think of the Americans who turn pale and shake between cups? I thought about just asking them to leave the pot, but I don’t think they would have a clue as to what I was asking… My salvation is found, however, I discovered a Starbucks within walking distance of the hotel!! I will be camped out at their door when they open tomorrow morning… The only problem is that I don’t know when they open, I hope it is by 5:00am!
Chongqing is a very diverse city. The mall that is connected to our hotel has every designer store you can imagine (with the prices to match), but only a block away there are crumbling buildings, with very poor little shops selling duck entrails, and the ducks too. It reminds me of San Francisco, since it is on the water (rivers) and is extremely hilly, with tight curvy streets. At night parts of it is like Las Vegas, with the colorful lights on every building, and the square across the street from the hotel is surrounded by shops and department stores, with billboards everywhere that make Times Square seem tame. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this is different.
I sure wish I spoke Chinese. It is such a different language, I can’t recognize a SINGLE word or phrase, it is all so foreign. When people are trying to talk to me I can barely help trying to talk with them in Spanish, like that would help, but I want to communicate so bad. At the buffet, I want to ask the chef what the spices are, or what animal part is in the bowl in front of me, but they just don’t get it.
Earlier our whole group went out shopping, and of course we brought all the babies with us, you wouldn’t believe the crowd we drew! About 30-40 people would gather around to stare at us (now I know how foreigners feel!), luckily we have a card written in Chinese that we are here because we love the Chinese people and culture, and to adopt an orphan to love her, yada yada… When you show them this there expression changes and they smile real big, nod their heads and start talking to you real fast ( like they think you can understand). I guess they are wondering what a white person is doing with a Chinese baby… Sounds logical. Stacey calls it her license to carry a Chinese baby, cause we have gotten some pretty intense stares, and a few people have walked right up to us, or started to follow us, like they think we kidnapped her! We don’t leave the hotel without it. There are also these older ladies, called the clothing police, and they will accost you if your baby isn’t wearing enough clothes. I don’t get the way these people can were winter clothes when the outside temp is like 65-70 degrees? I’m in a short sleeve shirt, sweating, and the clothing police are coming down on us because Estee isn’t wearing a ski cap! Well at least they aren’t the fashion police, I only brought a few t-shirts… and people really get dressed up around here. Although, I’m told that it is only the wealthiest 2% of Chinese that are in this areas shopping in these stores (probably why the prices aren’t that great)
We have made friends with another couple from Texas. They have two kids (4 and 6 I think) back home, and their little girl, Piper is cute and has earned the name Hyper Piper from our kids, cause she is always screeching, blowing raspberries, or bouncing up and down when we see her. It’s been nice to have someone to eat meals with and do forays into the local back alley flea markets with. Today, Scott and I and the boys ventured out to try and find $5 Rolex’s. We must have walked around about 10 blocks, but only found ONE watch! We did find the Starbucks, so the trip wasn’t a total bust, and we found some flowers for our wives (points!)
Its getting late, and I’m tired from swimming with the kids, then coming back only to do laps around the halls with Estee in the stroller (she got woken up early, accidentally,, and wouldn’t go back to sleep).

Good night.

Brett