A Night With Ly and Wang

Trip Start Dec 26, 2003

Trip End Mar 28, 2005

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Flag of China Urumqi, Xinjiang, China
Wednesday, July 7, 2004

I sit myself at a sidewalk kebab eaterie out on the street & order myself a beer. A couple of Chinese guys show undue interest in me & call me over to their table. Ly and Wang are manual labourers & like saying cheers and drinking beer. Communication is primarily through my Lonely Planet Mandarine phrasebook.

"We are friends," they yell, "Cheers! Hoshi! Drink!"

The communication is the great part, so much can be said without words.

Ly starts to spit on the floor, then makes a vomiting type sound, rubs his thumb and first
finger together in the international money symbol and then says, "Yingguo." (England). I had to guess what he might mean. I was stumped. What could he mean? Are people so rich in England that they vomit money? Something wealth related? Then it clicked, "Do they have a spitting fine in England?" was what he was asking me. The government is trying to get people to stop the widespread Chinese habit of spitting anywhere & everywhere.
Now imagine Michael Aspel on Give Us A Clue handing that on a card to Lionel Blair and saying, "Go on Lionel mime that one......."

They feed me on something that looked like a black pudding (blood sausage) kebab on a skewer, but it being China could as easily have been pig's rectum. Yum.