Beer for breakfast and rusty children's "paradise"

Up at 8 for a change and had breakfast on the roof of the hotel with the leftovers from last night’s meal…I think there was enough for a week of breakfasts. I even accepted a can of beer as I’ve not really had beer for breakfast before and I think it’s good to be decadent once in a while. Then the hotel owner and her husband, Tan’s sister and her husband (who arrived last night), Tan and baby and I drove to a dam a few miles outside Baise. It was actually quite pretty – but most of the scenery in Guangxi province is quite beautiful anyway. There was a children’s area called Children’s Paradise full of very rusty apparatus, which would get a thumbs down, by Health and Safety if China had such a thing.

Horrid rusty "Children's Paradise".

I don't think they employed a professional translator.

We bumped into Tan's brother's wife's brother and his wife and son. Family everywhere!

Had a nice meal by the lake that the dammed river runs into. One thing I have become partial to in Baise is fried bee cocoons. I’m not sure if that’s what they are, but they are the things baby bees are in before they hatch – and the best ones are the ones that were in the process of hatching when cooked (nice and crunchy). Apparently they are very good for your health too!

Beelicious!

Leilei enjoying sweetcorn soup from a straw - sometimes it's the only way to get him to eat.

Got back and had a poo and went to sleep for a bit with Leilei before being whisked away again for a lovely meal in another private room in another restaurant. I chose some locally brewed beer and the blokes who wouldn’t normally have gone for this (cheapish) choice both really enjoyed it and said it was refreshing. I said I chose it because I like to help the local economy, though I’m not sure that got me any brownie points. Leilei was very awake and quite annoying when Qi qi was eating so I took him out for a walk and to dazzle the copious young ladies waiting on us. He had just learned to say xie xie (thank you) and was busy showing off. He can now say “thank you daddy/mummy/brother” in Mandarin much to the pleasure of his proud parents. But his party trick is saying “bye bye” (the same in both languages) and blowing kisses to the pretty girls, which kills them.

After the meal we went shopping and got some nice shoes for Leilei that light up when you walk, while he did some more lady killing. Almost without exception every woman he passes turns around and says something like hao ke ai de (how lovely) and many take pictures of him with their camera phones. He steals all of the attention from me!

Leilei chatting up a pretty girl.