Another Dining Experience

Saturday, June 14, 2008--Datong (Continued)

I had another dining experience tonight. On my way back to the hotel from the cyber cafe, I was looking for a place to eat. I intended to eat the local specialty of pork dumplings marinated in vinegar. But I didn't find a place with them. I entered a place without realizing that it specialized only in mutton hotpot. The owner was enthusiastic, so I stayed. I ended up with enough food for 4 people, but it was a good experience.

They bring out a pot with a soup mixture in a middle portion and a meat mixture in an outer ring. They place it in a hole in the middle of the table and turn on the gas under it so that it begins to boil. In addition, they brought marinated mutton chunks, mushrooms, a green vegetable dish, noodles, rice, etc. The owner helped me. He put some chopped green onions into a bowl and dipped the soup into it. In the meantime, he put the noodles and mushrooms into the ring with the meat mixture. The mutton in the ring was mutton ribs. They were very tasty and very tender. There were also chunks of carrots in the mixture. I ate mutton, noodles, greens, rice, etc. I used both chopsticks and plastic gloves which they provided for pulling the meat from the ribs and the membranes from the meat. At the end of the meal, they brought a plate of watermellon. When I was finished, there still was enough food for 3-4 other people. Everyone else in the resaurant was in a big group. I should have been, too.

In China, they do not use hundredths when giving prices. They use only tenths. Therefore, something may cost 5.2 yuan--5 yuan and 2/10s of another yuan. They they have coins and bills for those 10ths that just have the numbers 1 and 5 on them. When they brought my bill for the dinner, I was afraid it was 710 yuan--about $100! But it was 71.0 yuan. That made it much better!!!

Sunday, June 15, 2008--Datong to Taiyuan

I was up early to go see the cave carvings outside Datong. This was the end of the Silk Road route, and the pilgrims and caravans came here. Many of them worshipped Buddha. Well, over 1500 years ago, they began carving huge Buddha statues in a mountain outside of town. These are giant carvings of Buddha's whole body. There are over 30 different big carvings, with about 8 of those being really HUGE. The biggest ones are much like the Buddha carvings that the Taliban destroyed in Afghanistan. Some have great detail. Some have elaborate paintings. The place is called Yungang Caves.

I returned to town by bus, picked up my luggage from the hotel, and headed to the main bus station. I immediately caught a bus to Taiyuan, my next stop. It took about 3 1/2 hours to get here over a very nice 4-lane highway. The ride was so smooth that I kept falling asleep.

I made a decision to stay in a simpler hotel here. I wanted to see the difference in it and where I have been staying. The only difference is that this one is a bit more worn. The others have all been remodeled and cost about $40 per night. This one costs about $20 and has all the features of the others--a/c, telephone, cable tv, nice sheets and comforter, etc. But the carpeting is not as new, the walls are scratched or stained in places, the bath does not have new fixtures, etc.

I will repeat my procedure from Datong. Tomorrow morning, I will see the main tourist site here, then I will travel to my next town. Will write about it when I am back on the computer again.