Lunch

This was lunch today:

Now I don't usually eat fish here because of the Chinese butchering technique: "Find a cleaver of sufficient size, start chopping at one end make bite size chunks until done."  But these showed up boneless and very very tasty!

Utilities on the Island

With the exception of some of the more modern developments (fortunately including my apartment complex) electricity is the only utility anywhere near a modern standard.  In many places the water supply comes to mutual sinks, often outdoors.  This, I finally figured out, is a communal water heater:

And if you use gas to cook, electricity is the choice for most, though some still use wood.  It arrives on this, being driven by a smiling man in a blue cover all:

If you got caught riding that in the US you would be arrested as some kind of terrorist.  Personal safety does not seem to be a big issue for him.

Repairs in China

Having something fixed in China is an interesting experience.  The flush valve on my toilet has been broken for awhile.  It still worked, but you had to push down a little button.  With my wife coming to visit I pushed to have it fixed.

So the repairman showed up to fix it last night.  With no tools, just the part.  And it didn't fit.  So he had to borrow my Leatherman (as I really don't have any other tools) to fix it.  And this was actually a good experience as these things do.  It only took one visit.  Repairmen often show up with no tools.  The next visit show up with tools, but no parts.  Third visit tools and parts, the wrong parts.  It took one of the guys here 3 months to get his kitchen sink fixed.  This is the only place I know of where things go like this, uniquely Chinese.