I'm getting good at eating with chop sticks. I made a decision before I came that I would like to try and do things the way that the locals do it. So I haven't used a knife or fork for about 14 days - heck I've been here two weeks!

I'm pleased to say I'm not doing to badly. I can't eat as fast as the locals but I can pick up anything and manipulate food as much as I need. I also haven't spilt food on myself either which is impressive because I do that all the time with a knife and fork hahaha.

The other thing that I'm sure a few will be shocked at is that I'm starting to like herbal tea like green, rice, and jasmine tea. The Chinese have herbal tea all the time. There is always a never ending supply of it. They don't have water at the dinner table so much. They do have herbal tea so I'm been drinking that a lot and getting used to it. In fact I even hunted out some green tea yesterday. I was shocked once I realised I had done it hahaha. I guess the extreme cost of coffee (a cheap cup is $30 RMB which is $10 NZD) and the easy access to herbal tea means I'm drinking it a lot.

Finding toilets isn't always easy when you are out and about. I'm discovering an alarming fact that the more touristy the place, the more I have to pay to use the toilet and they are shockingly dirty hahaha. So far we've used the bathroom and paid for it at the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army, and in a couple of markets. You have to pay about $1 RMB (30c NZD) and the bathrooms are a serious OSH hazard hahaha. I won't go into any more details.

I'm also learning that China is a cleaver place. They sell you water then make you pay to get rid of it. They are making money at both ends of the deal! annoying but a good deal for them I guess. Yay for people who take advantage of an opportunity.