getting away from it all

Well jess and i got back into Yantai yesterday after almost a week of just travelling around northern china. i had so much fun. we basically just hopped on bus after bus and moved from town to town we saw alot of great stuff and met some pretty cool people along the way. it also was a really good chnce for me to practice the little chinese i've learned and pick up a couple more things.

when i was about 13 my family and i went to a civil war reanactment camp thing and my sister and i had our heads "read" by some lady who did Phrenology. and of course she went on about how marian's lumpy head said that she would be very creative but crap at math and other such things. I'll never forget it because when the lady starting poking at my head she told me that she thought i would be trouble because i would be a wanderer and have trouble feeling settled and ever really "at home". and although i don't really believe that lady could really tell me much about myself just based on my mishaped head, for some reason i think she got really lucky that day and made a guess that just so happen to hit the nail right on the head. what a shame she made it sound like this would be a bad thing for me.

i've always felt like a restless person, so this kind of wander from town to town and worry about where you will stay once you get travelling suited me quite well. it felt good to be on the move. it felt exactly like how life should be.

Yesterday was the actual mid-autmn festival and everyone was out and about. all week long there have been fireworks but last night was the actual night to go out and celebrate. my celebrating included lots of BBQ squid on a stick, beer, and more moon cakes then i would like to admit to eating. fun fun fun. i went to the market today to pick up some groceries and it felt like the day after halloween or valentines day. all the moon cake displays were being taken down and packed up.

of course i have tons of pictures from the trip...and like last time i'm probably going put them up in multiple posts. so let me start with some pictures from the first place we visited : Dalian.
I LOVED Dalian. it's a big city but really laid back. we started and ended there and both times got good deals on places to stay that were actually nice. we also ate one of the best meals i've had since i've been in china.

this was the ferry we took from Yantai to get to Dalian
Dalian
giant inflatable animals will make me want to eat in your restaurant.
Spiffiest pizza hut EVER. no i didn't venture in. it looked far to fancy for the likes of me.
i mean come on...look at that...proper over head lighting and everything
The Church Of KFC where everyday hundreds of chinese people come and worship the gods of processed chicken product.
YUUUMM stuffing our faces on tasty tasty bread.
The Bus Station
Something about a bright pink claw machine filled with cigaretters entertains me greatly.

next up we headed to Dandong which is right on the border of North Korea. We didn't stay too long here. Basically we did the whole check out north korea thing and then moved on...so we spent the night and then shuffled on.

The closest to North Korea we will ever get
Check out North Korea looking all shady
So China and North Korea built a bridge between the two places called the friendship bridge. then north korea got cranky and disassembled part of it so it couldn't be crossed. since them they have built a new bridge, so there are actually two bridges side by side...one complete and one that only goes part of the way.
The day we went to the river there were girls in costumes everywhere. they were very colorful and alot of fun.
Every city in china is full of street vendors selling balloons. i love them!! i love how colorful and bright they are. so yeah i'm lame and took a picture of balloons....but i really dig them. one of these days i may have to buy one.

Alright so that's round one of pictures. don't worry i have plenty more...including some of the great wall.