The wakeup call on day two, Saturday, came at 7:00 a.m. and both Julie and still felt punch drunk tired. Now in the process of preparing for my trip to China I did extensive research on electrical converters, and duel power converters, allowing you to use your 110 volt appliance in a 220 volt outlet. Well my research was a little lacking because Julie plugged in her hair straighten and in a matter of about 10 minutes it blew out the duel power converter and was creating smoke in the room, along with the smell of burning electronics. Now I know from personal experience (don’t ask) that small smoke can equal a big problem. It does not take much to set off a smoke detector, resulting in an evacuation of the whole hotel. (Did I mention we were still punch drunk tired?) So we are trying to limit the smoke and damage and limit our exposure to an international incident. We had to get the duel voltage converter to stop smoking so the best thing I could think to do was put it in the sink and turn the water on. Well the thing was hot, so of course it created more smoke, via steam. Julie opened the door, and here we are two crazy American women trying to dissipate the smoke and smell in our room…Good news we were able to control the damage without a fire alarm or building evacuation, but it was close….
The converter Julie and I blew out...
After the breakfast buffet at the hotel, of which I found acceptable food in the form of ham, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and pound cake. Again, Cheerios?????? It was off to the Great Wall, headache still in tacked of course. Big mistake sat in the back of the bus. Two words, motion sickness….. But hey if you are in China, you have to see the Great Wall. We came, we saw, we hiked, we smell all sorts of smells, we people watched, and people watched us.
Julie and I at the Great Wall.
Next stop the Jade factory. I am now fully educated on Jade and the importance to the Chinese people. I did purchase a lovely Jade necklace and pendant. After all a girl can never have too much jewelry.
My fun new jade jewlery.
The bus, oh I mean the "private motor carriage."And where were we headed, more shopping of course, at the same market that Julie and I were brutally attacked in the night before. I could not fathom it again. My body and my mind could not take the brutal assault of the sale people. I was just too tired. Kashi bar to the rescue. I packed it for a necessary food emergency and this was indeed a necessary food emergency. It was the first thing I ate in two days that sounded good and tasted good, and it gave me energy to boot. I still had the pesky headache of course. On a side note I thought the pesky headache was due to a lack of caffeine, but having supplied my body with sufficient caffeine I determined that was not the cause. I have decided the cause is the air in China. The air in China is so thick is unbelievable. I have yet to see the sun. Everyday it’s like the city is cloud covered, but in fact is it is just the pollution. Every time I went outside I found my sinuses congested, sneezing and my headache worsened, due in large part to the pressure on my sinuses. I packed Claritin but that did not do the trick, however the Afrin I packed, did. It’s the only thing that has allowed me to breath in China. I have decided the perhaps I need to re-think my stance on environment law, I now believe it’s a good thing.
By the time we reached the market the protein bar kicked in and I felt much better and was ready to do battle. What did I want to battle for, the pink Marc Jacobs purse I had seen the night before. I fell in love, and decided that I could not leave China without THAT purse. My battle gear was on. Julie and I played bad cop, good cop, and I got MY purse. Still, a little more than I wanted to pay, but for the quality a very good deal. We sealed our deal with a trip to Cold Stone Ice Cream. Suddenly China was looking better….
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