Pingyao

 By unexpected room layout that forced us to shuffle around, I ended up in the super nice single room that was originally meant for Vincent (teacher). Too bad we only got to stay one night!

Our courtyard was beautiful, as it should be since we were staying at the place of Vincent's architecture restoration friend Han.

Pingyao was a most enjoyable little walled town, and I could live there if it didn't smell like a latrine every 50 feet. Walking the main road was a nice break: more relaxed, open, friendly, and cheap. Plenty of cute courtyards to spy through open doors! Here is where I really felt like I was in China.

We also rescued a puppy that had been abandoned on the road. Han gave him to one of her friends.

There were some antique stores around, and though I found one or two things I liked, the prices were comparable to any "antique" store. Prices everywhere else seemed low, which made us all feel bad about any prior purchases.

We had a glorious lunch, one of my top favs from the trip. Egg white-fried chicken and green beans...and a local drink, a yellow rice wine, which had the potency of whiskey, but sweet and always served hot. (Everything in China is served hot. They do not understand the concept of cold food on a hot day. They also don't understand traffic, but that's another rant.)

Ok here's the other rant. People in China just make up their own road rules. Want to drive down the middle of two lanes? That's totally ok. Pedestrians in the street? Motorcycles on the sidwalks? Totally ignoring stop lights or signs or don't walk signals? All acceptable. It's a do-whatever-the-hell-you-want kind of world. Put your baby on the motorcycle seat in front of you, don't worry about holding him or anything. And who needs helmets anyway? As Stanley put it, the Chinese have perfected the art of the near-miss. Bravery is required when crossing the street. And don't forget to use your horn for everything.