We went to China last week with my wife and Nathan.  First we went to Shanghai for a couple of days, then we flew to Chengdu for another few days.  Our stay in Shanghai was not as pleasant.  I felt like we were in the car for half of the day due to the terrible traffic conditions there.  It's as if I was back in LA again, but at least we had a driver to take us around.  Nathan was a really good sport, he didn't get sick at all during the entire trip.  He slept when he's tired and played with his toys when he's bored.  He's becoming a really good traveling companion!

Chengdu's weather was quite chilly, but not as dry as Shanghai, 因為是盆地的關係.  You may not know, but I'm half 四川人, from my mom's side of the family.  It's quite nice to be in a foreign city but still have relatives to count on.  I grew up listening to my mom's side of the family talk 四川話 all the time.  But here in Chengdu, even the little kids and teenagers have the same accent, quite a funny sight since I'm not used hearing it except from old folkies. 

We even went to see 川劇的變臉.  Nathan loved it, he kept clapping his hands and immitating the performers after the show.  He'd cover his face and we'll say, happy face, sad face, 生氣face, etc. and he'd perform his version of 變臉 for us for just a gummy bear.  I've got to recommend 串串香, it's sort of like 麻辣火鍋, but all the meat and vegetables are on skewers.  We pay for a 鍋底, plus how many skewers we get, we just toss the skewers sticks in a bucket under the table.  There's an area where there's literally thousands of skewers to choose from.  You take whatever you'd like and the waiter will count how many you've eaten at the end, one skewer is 10 cents RMB.  Usually the drink money will be more then the food cause it's so spicy.  We thought we ate a ton and our total bill was only RMB100, 57 for drinks, 20 for the pot, the rest was skewers.   No wonder people can live so lavishly there without putting a dent in their savings.  I will seriously consider Chengdu as an retirement location option. 

We even heard from a Starbucks waitress that we can even ski in the Chengdu mountains and take hot spring baths there.  I will definitely try that out and let you know the details!