August 19th

On Tuesday I spent the majority of the day wandering through the immensity that is the Silk Market. It is floors of stalls with everything you could think of - tailors, clothing, scarves, bed sets, clothing, socks, jewelry, nick-knacks and did I mention clothes?

Luckily for me JAK speaks Chinese so not only do we haggle with prices (by "we" I mean "she"), they are usually already lower because she gets a local discount (or something along those lines)...she got a leather coat for about $60 US!

It was fun to wander around and see all the different stalls. There were also a ton of athletes there too - they had their colors and credentials and it was fun to see them even if I wasn't quite sure what sport they were here for (we saw athletes from Spain, Senegal, Haiti and several others I cannot remember)

After walking through the market for hours, we met up with some other folks to get Hot Pot, which I can best describe as Korean BBQ meets fondue. We got the kind with the two different broths (half spicy and half just broth for spice wimps like me) but no eyeballs or feet or anything [apparently these are usually in the broth for flavoring]. To eat we got some basics like chicken and beef but none of the delicacies like "Fresh 3rd Cow Stomach" or "Pig Brains"...maybe next time.





your plate and cup comes sealed up




you get whatever meats and veggies you want to cook, dipping sauces (we got garlic oil and peanut) chopsticks and a damp cloth to wipe your hands






The red half is the spicy half






Everything comes out on dishes or baskets so you can add it how you want. In the middle is Lotus Root which I think looks really pretty and tastes very good too. It is almost like a potato in texture but I think it tastes better






clear noodles just like Hawaii!





Following dinner we went and hung out at the Heineken House - a big set up by the Dutch that is open to the public and has Dutch food, beer and a huge dance hall for bands and djs. They also have about 5 ping-pong tables, a place to play Wii Sport and test your various athletic attributes, tons of Team Holland clothing and athletes and fans from all over. My favorite part is that I feel short there :)


Without the flash - although you still cannot see the spotlights in the front that well


With the flash is more clear but less impressive. In 'real life' this is the Chinese Agricultural Center


classic self-portrait


Just in case you weren't sure where you were they had little detailed reminders around...this is on the side of one of the bars (if you look closely you can see the feet of the servers)