At 8am, Sunday, 29th July 2007, we just got back to our President's Suite at the Fogua Hotel, Pulandian,after breakfast,when Ling ling was whisked away by her mother to get her make-up done. I was looking forward to a nice 2-hour rest before we had to go out
Within 2 minutes of her leaving, our room was invaded by hordes of relatives who had descended on our space from all over China, led by Ling ling's dad .
So much for the single child Chinese policy, her dad has 10 brothers & sisters & together with their spouses, children, their spouses & their children, you couldn't find a resting place, even in one of the 3 bathrooms!!! & that was before the mothers family arrived!!!!
After 2 hours of mayhem, Ling ling arrived back with a dresser, make-up girl, photographer & video photographer in tow.........
Then they made us dress up in ridiculous traditional chinese costumes, including headress, in front of the entire family. Nobody is shy here & when your stripped to your knickers, they will just stand & watch....
After the photoshoot, we had to stay dressed up like spare pr..ks, walk through the whole hotel & out into a waiting mercedes, in which we were paraded around the town......
On arrival at the restaurant, we discovered that 20 additional guests had showed up in addition to the 300 invited ones. there was no one room big enough to accomodate everyone, so we were paraded like circus freaks around the entire 5-storey building, as they were all spread out.
Large groups sat around huge round tables in each room, diving into the piles of fresh fish, meat, poultry, fruit & vegitables. Each table also had loose cigarettes & sweets strewn liberally about. It was incredibly difficult to see not alone breath as we went about & despite being extremely hungry, I felt veritably sick after being subjected to the smokey atmosphere & not in any mood to eat.
By 12.30 in the afternoon, the guests started heading off to their various parts of China, laden down with doggy bags of the 80% or so of the food that was left over............
I thought thats it, were free now, hehe ..... no such luck, back into the car & 2 hours later with the camera crew in tow in a minibus, we were discharged in the searing heat by a stoney beach for another photoshoot...
This one only lasted 3 hours & by the time it was over I was ready to pass out, but now we had to go to another restaurant in Dalian.
This was a huge place, decorated throughout in teak & marble, the largest fish restaurant in town. The food was superb, fresh lobster, suchi style, sea cucumbers, prawns, octopus, etc., etc.
However as soon as we arrived the smokers won the day, lighting up on our arrival, vommit
Halfway through the meal, we were dispatched again for more photos, this time, Dalian by night, great place with lots of people in the squares, playing badminton, cards, majong, line-dancing, etc. by the time we eventually got back to our hotel, we were all shattered & the whole bloody day was recorded.......

Ok, lets face it, after 12 days in a small North-Eastern Chinese town, Poulandian, pop. 800,000, just an hour north of Dalian, I have reached a few conclusions:-
1)The People are sooo friendly & being one of the few whities in town, I've been treated like royalty....
2) The ladies are beautiful & the girls are simply stunning (they even ride side-saddle on motorcycles)
3)The food is unusual, cheap, plentyful & delicious. This week I've eaten Jellyfish, Sea Urchins, Fish fresh from a river to my plate, yummiee
4) Trucks dont need to use lights at night, even on the motorway..........
5) Donkeys are still in everyday use drawing carts around the town
6) 3 Up on a motorcycle is normal, hehe. Helmuts are not required, however gloves are optional, as they can stop your hands turning brown in the searing heat....
7) Non use of Safety belts & the liberal use of the horn in your car are normal
They cant make coffee, no matter how hard they try... Nescafe comes in little sachets including Coffeemate & sweetener, ugh, tastes worse than the coffee we had to put up with in the 1980's

Whats your Name?
2. Are we close?
3. What do you think of me?
4. Do you hav a crush on me?
5. Would u kiss me?
7. Describe me in 3 words?
8. If u Had Me for 30 Mins wat would you do?
9. What was ur first impression of me?
10.Do u still think the same?
11.What reminds u of me?
12.If you could give me anything what would it be?
13.How well do u know me?
14.What do u like best about me?
15.Ever wanted 2 tell me something u could'nt?
16.Could you ever love me?
17.Give me a nickname and explain why?
18.R u gona put this on ur blog and c wat i say bout u?
19.Anything 2 say b4 u go?