Guangzhou

This is the only photo I took in Guangzhou. I was there for about five days, including a full weekend, but sadly, this glimpse from my hotel room was all I caught on film. Blame it on the food poisoning that caught up with me after a sketchy Thai dinner. Still, shame on me during a visit to the third largest city in China.

We did head to a famous mall at one point during the weekend. It was basically made up of specialty shops selling whatever mass-produced item they designated. I saw a lot of pillows made of Angry Birds, tons of keychains, and more clip-on hair extensions than I ever though possible. I did end up grabbing a couple nice gifts (a vase for us and one for my mother-in-law, some textiles) but since I wasn't in the market for the famous Guangzhou pearls...that was about it.

The food in Guangzhou (when our colleagues took us out) was uniformly excellent. We had some amazing Sichuan food and some of the best Vietnamese I've ever had. Plus, I had a lovely stroll through the gorgeous Shamian island while on my way to a meeting and admired the French/British architecture.