We started our Las Vegas celebration on Wednesday 01/29/2014 because that is Chinese New Year eve in China. Since China is 16 hours ahead of Las Vegas time. Traditionally New Year eve is with the immediate family only. We started the day with the traditional dumplings, see photo. We made them fresh the day before and they take a lot of time to make and what makes a great dumpling is the dough or wrap. We purchase the wraps from a local supplier who supplies all of Chinatown and the high end restaurants in Vegas. It is much like a great sandwich, it all starts with the bread and it does not matter in the meals are excellent the bread is the key. Just like a dumpling if the wrap is poor quality then the dumpling will not have the right taste and texture. We spent all day preparing a meal to eat with the in-laws via Skype from this home in a small village near Nanjing China.
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The article below reviews the world’s biggest snack shop in China which is so fitting. Every time we go to China everyone including my wife, family and friends in China are always eating snacks at all times. My wife will eat snacks before and after meals it is incredible how she can consume snacks before or after major meals. I must admit I eat too many snacks in China because we always have them with us. For example, after dinner we go to a KTV to sing and dance with alcohol and snacks which include fruit platter, seeds, duck heads, and popcorn. Then after KTV we go to the late night street food BBQ places to finish the night and we are eating again. During our last trip to Beijing at the Great Wall the family loaded up with bags of snacks to bring with us and after the visit to the Great Wall we went for a big lunch. Then after a grand lunch with Peking Duck we went to the street market for more snacks of tripe and BBQ meats. Then on our Bamboo Forest trip all of our friends stopped at a store to load up on snacks before entering the forest. At the top of the mountain we ate the snacks then ordered more snacks from the vendors available, I was so amazed how much food we consumed. When traveling in China you will observe at bus stations, trains, airports or any other transportation that instance noodles are everywhere which is a snack for everyone. When you visit China you will see many people eating snacks all the time. http://english.people.com.cn/102774/8507578.html There is always a mad rush to get back home for Chinese New Year and all modes of transportation is packed and I mean packed, check out the link below. The photos tell a story of crowded travel in China during this time and it is not recommended for travelers. Talk about personal space or lack thereof. We go back to see my wife’s family every several years but not every year because it is cold and travel is difficult. One time it took us 5 hours to drive what would normally take 45 minutes because there was so much traffic. But once we are there it is great seeing my wife with her family. In the villages and small towns there are fireworks going off from 5am in the morning until 2am the following morning we a small 3 hour break. It was like clockwork during our last visit right at 5am the fireworks started to go off. It is all about family and going back to your home to visit your relatives to eat, drinks, give gifts, and gamble. We posted photos on our website for our 2013 Chinese New Year visit. http://english.people.com.cn/102774/8518008.html We are excited with our latest product which is the most innovative luggage strap called E-Strap. This new design makes it the easiest luggage strap to attach to your suitcase with our elastic band design within the luggage strap. From our personal experience and feedback from customers the most difficult function of the luggage straps is getting the correct length. The length is difficult to get correct, at times it is too long or too short or too tight or slides up or as the items shift the strap loosens up. Well, we solved this problem with E-Strap and the elastic band in the design. It is the easiest to attach, does not come loose, and has constant pressure as your items shift. As always luggage straps are great to securing, identification, and thief. As an experience traveler I go crazy and identify my luggage as much as possible with 2 tags, 2 straps. I am always amazed in baggage claims that travelers just grab bags not knowing what their bags look like and now with all the reports with airport personnel stealing items and thieves just walking in baggage claim taking bags. We just launched this new product on ebay and our website at fangmartin.com/products. We have been working on this new design for the past year prototyping and testing which we are selling a small production run so quantities are limited. Most airlines charge baggage fees and should learn from Amazon. The airlines should refund the baggage fees and offer free baggage on the next flight as well. The attach link reviews the late or lost luggage with the airlines due to the weather issues. The airlines will say it is the weather and they cannot control it but Amazon did not deliver the packages late it was the carriers and they did the correct response and offer refunds like any great customer service company. Oops I am talking about great customer service companies, does that include airlines? http://news.yahoo.com/video/luggage-limbo-rdu-230852815.html The link below reviews some of the All Time Worst Travel Scenarios and I will highlight 2 and add one of my personal scenarios. I would definitely agree with the lost valuables in a taxi and lost wallet scenarios. I have a new favorite trick to help with taxis for any situation which is taking a photo of the driver’s license number and taxi cab number on the outside. The photo of the driver’s license number shows the photo and number of the current driver which there may be several drivers per car. The outside of the taxi shows the type of car, the phone number of the company and license or plate number in most cases. It is so easy with smartphones today that I always take photos after the experience in Beijing China with taxis. The second scenario is losing your wallet with cash, credit card, and passport. This is one of the worst because it takes a lot of your time to recover from this situation. You need to cancel your cards immediately then get access to cash and finally you need to get new documentation to get back into your country. I can tell you from experience reentering the US with an US passport is NOT easy in itself they make you feel like an intruder. So always use a money belt to protect your valuables and enjoy your holiday to the fullest. I would add one situation to this list and it would be to know the culture differences. Most travelers forget that most countries are a lot different from their own with customs of all sorts. From eating to drinking to hygiene to personal space to smoking to entertainment to almost anything. It is always best to research the culture differences for the country you are visiting and respect their culture and accept and learn. http://www.budgettravel.com/feature/8-worst-case-travel-scenarios,7937/?page=4 There are many hotel options in Nanjing and if you venture outside Nanjing and go to the hot springs resort city of Tangshan you will be in for a great surprise. The city of Tangshan has natural hot springs and many fun options for visitors but mainly caters to locals because foreigners go to the main cities and sights. Another great area to visit near Nanjing is Liyang Tianmu Lake Resort which has lake resort activities and a Bamboo forest. During our last visit we selected the Bamboo Forest in Liyang Tianmu and it turned out to be an unexpected delight. To my surprise it had a small panda exhibit and we got to see Pandas. It is 2 mountain peaks with all Bamboo trees and cable cars and trains up the mountain to see different picturesque areas. We highly recommended this visit to the Bamboo forest. I love China and it never gets bored because there is always another great surprise by exploring China with different cities, towns, villages, food, people, and culture. Get off the beaten path and explore. http://travel.cnn.com/beyond-bed-and-bath-nanjings-best-hotels-008141?hpt=travel_hp_row5left Nanjing is a beautiful city in China and I love going there as much as possible. The attached link reviews some of the awesome sites in Nanjing. It is a major city in China and the old capitol but is so much different from Shanghai or Beijing. It has many tree lined streets and you get all the modern conveniences of a major city but it still feels like a city for the Chinese without feeling too touristy (Beijing) or all business (Shanghai). The hotels are affordable and the food is outstanding with incredible low prices. It is actually less to eat in Nanjing than in Lishui (small city near the Nanjing Airport). During our last trip we spent 2 nights in Nanjing but the next time in China we will spent at least 4-5 days. The city is so warm and welcoming to visitors with many sites and great food. It may not be on the major tours but if you get a chance to visit Nanjing I would highly recommend it. Enjoy and Travel Safe. http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/26/travel/gallery/beautiful-nanjing/index.html?hpt=travel_hp_blogroll |
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