It's so damn hot! Milk was a bad choice.

Today is Labour Day/May 1st Holiday, so I have no more classes (both teaching and learning) this week. It is also bloody warm here: the last few days have been in the low thirties. Of course some of the Chinese still refuse to remove full length underwear (maybe this is an attempt to induce impotence and control the massive population growth) and many of them are still wearing woolen tops. I, on the other hand, am struggling in shorts and t-shirt. Today I went into the city with Tom for a little stroll into the city and on more than one occasion we ventured into shops simply to bathe in the air-conditioned coolness. What really worries me is that it is only the beginning of May, and it can only get hotter.

Last weekend, Tom and I went to Kaifeng for the afternoon. The city is about 40 minutes east of the city by train and along with Luoyang and Zhengzhou, is one of China's ancient capitals (I think you may already know this). The main purpose for our visit was to sample the delights of the night market. This bustling collection of stalls opens after sundown and is the place to buy xiaocai (snacks). The mix of heavy smells and the loud discussions in Chinese (some cordial, some confrontational) undoubtedly add to the dining experience. As with the purchase of food anywhere in China, things are often not as they seem. This is especially true for the 'meat on sticks' family of foodstuffs, Tom's major gastronomic vice. We ordered what we thought was a large piece of fish on a skewer but in fact turned out to be another form of chewy organic matter. I would be lying if I said that I was certain that is originated from an animal. Of course with anything purchased from a street vendor, the risk to your bowels is increased ten fold, however on this occasion, the mild discomfort for the next few days was worth it.

Last night we were taken to 'Club Jaguar' by some Chinese English teachers. This was yet another bizarre experience. The place was, as one can expect, massively overstaffed and eclectically decorated. We were all given I Heart China t-shirts on entry, which for no apparent reason some but not all of the clubbers were required to wear. Unfortunately, neither Tom nor I had our cameras so the many bizarre sights were consigned only to our memories rather than to a micro-chip. The first thing that was photo-worthy was the sign warning punters against fighting, it read:

'Forbid to fight, bustup. Disobey pure appear outside"

Magnificent. The next moment of interest was when four people dressed as the Olympic mascots entered the room, small Chinese flags and flares were handed out and the band struck up a patriotic pop punk number while two scantily dressed girls waved larger Chinese flags on stage. At this point Tom got very angry with me for saying to him earlier, that it would probably not be worth taking cameras out that night. After the worship of the motherland was over there was a small dance on a podium (on this occasion I chose the 'Robot' from my veritable arsenal of 3 dance moves) and a chat with Michael, the Belgian fellow, who happened to arrive later on. We helped Wojciech, who was rather worse for wear, into a taxi and went home at about one.

As we are on holiday, Tom, Wojciech and I are planning to do a few little jaunts about the county. Hopefully we will climb Songshan, although the current temperature is not conducive to physical exertion, and maybe even go for a swim somewhere.