Market and a wild time

Our consulate appointment was Tuesday at the American consulate. However, we didn't need to be there, so Kelly took care of everything that needed to be done. We have to go to the consulate Wednesday afternoon to get Jake's visa. Not sure what all is involved, but we will find out. Kelly is meeting us at 2:45 p.m. and said we would be there until about 5 p.m.

After our consulate appointment, Kelly took us to a traditional Chinese market. Wow. It was crowded, narrow, hot and you could buy just about anything. The wildest part was the herbal medicine area. You name it, it was there in dried form - various bugs, mushrooms and who knows what else. It was pretty wild.

Enjoy the pics.

First off, this was really Monday night. Jake getting a bath. We gave him some toys and he actually took to the water OK. But, when it came time to actually do the cleaning he cried again. It seems now he is OK with water as long as he's not being bathed.



This guy is spreading out some kind of bug - either a cockroach or beetle of some sort I'm guessing. Not sure what it would cure when eaten other than my appetite. LOL



Dried snake skin or dried fish? We aren't sure.



Mmmmmmmmmm. Live scorpions.



Jake wasn't too sure of what to make of these squirming puppies. He reached out tentatively and touched one briefly then pulled back quickly. He was laughing, though, so who knows what he was thinking.



Kelly said this guy was advertising some chicken place. Kevin thinks he was serving community service for some crime he committed.



This is our hotel, the White Swan, lit up at night. We are on the 17th floor. There are 28 floors.



In case you were wondering, the wild time referred to in the title of this entry happened when Kevin was out taking the picture of the White Swan at night, along with some other lights, while Violet was giving Jake a bath. This woman came up to him and handed him a card, which is not unusual, since a lot of the little businesses around here hand out cards. Well, this woman was not selling souvenirs or offering to do laundry. That's right, Kevin got propositioned. LOL. He said no of course and skedaddled to take his photos. Unfortunately, Kevin also had to pick up some laundry Violet had dropped off, and who should be standing out near the laundry service? Yep, Miss Zhu Li (or so her card says. (Kevin kept it, and we both think it's funny!) Come to find out, Violet's laundry wasn't done yet so Kevin had to come back later, and Miss Zhu Li was still out there, this time with a friend. Yikes! Kevin's not going out alone again.

As we were working on this blog, Violet laid down on the bed beside the crib, and Jake, wanting to play, reached out his hand, but Violet wanted him to sleep, so she held on, and instead of pulling away, he held on and he went to sleep holding Ma Ma's hand. We are so blessed.

Kevin and Violet