Trippin'

Gosh, the China trip will be my first and last package tour of my life! It was horrible. It was not all bad, we did have fun along the way, but something was sorely missing.

It is great to have everything packaged for you. The hotels, meals, the transport. But arranging all that is part of travel for me. Perhaps I am a control freak, I like to know where I am going to stay, what I will be eating, and where I am going. I was like a sheep, being herded wherever I went. I hated it. We went from factories to factories, eating the same old thing again and again. Everything was packaged, but package tours forget the most essential part of travel. The essence of the place. I hardly get to even lightly brush the surface of the places I went. Such a pity. especially when it is China, with such a rich history, all I get out of the trip was buying expensive paintings, expensive feng shui accessories and all. What history??? Just nuggets of information here and there. I think Song Ching Ling is rolling in her grave since Shanghai has turned her memorial place into a opportunity to sell expensive feng shui accessories under her charity foundation.

The highlight of the trip was a meal at this local store selling the most amazing spicy sze chuan style fish ever! For ten dollars, you get a huge serving of the fish, an equally generous portion of fried dried chilli chicken and 2 big bottles of beers Beat that! That was one of the most memorable meals ever. The lady was friendly, the little store has a that little local charm to it. I was having some kind of Bourdain moment!