Coking Coal-a

Recently eaten: rice congee
Recent annoyance: the mosquitoes have returned to haunt me

I just returned from an 8 day excursion to China and I'm just happy to be near sanitary plumbing again. We flew into Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province. It was cold, and smokey as soon as we got off the plane. We were going to be traveling around the coal capital of China. Let the respiratory problems begin.

Our tour guide assured us that the "fog" is perfectly normal in the winter. Although I am pretty sure it might have something to do with all the coal plants spewing black smoke into the air. It was only about 6:30 and it was darker than midnight. That was something I didn't quite understand either: no timezones in China. The entire country is on one timezone. Strange.

One last note on day one of the China trip: more hard prison beds. I must be a soft twinkie, because every bed I sleep in here feels like a board they pulled off the Mayflower and threw some sheets on. Maybe this will realign my spine.