November 20, 2023

Day 13

Today is the day I go back to Dalian!

I bought the ticket that flies at 19:25, so I had both breakfast and lunch open for my brother in law.

My nephew needs to have breakfast at school, so I was the one who drove him to school every morning that I was there. He cried that morning for his father is not letting him send me to the airport. What a great kid.

When we arrived at his school, since I also thought that he won’t be able to make it, I held him up high, hugged him, and bade farewell. He asked me to convince his dad again. He didn’t have any emotions, though, I think he is confident that he will be able to send me to the airport despite what his father said. He asked me to convince his dad. Aww.

I was going to have breakfast with my brother in law that morning. I thought he was going to take me to a local eatery that has Chinese food. No, he got me McDonald’s. Turns out he bought a VIP subscription at McDonald’s and gets most of the food half off. Many times he claims he doesn’t have time to have breakfast at home, he buys it at McDonald’s. Not healthy, but who am I to judge. I don’t eat breakfast at all when I’m living by myself.

He tried to place an order for me on the McDonald’s app using his VIP status, but he couldn’t get the half off for me. Turns out McDonald’s only allows half off on one order every day. I understand why that is from a business perspective, but that is just cheap. Cheap cheap cheap.

We grabbed the to-go order from the window and got to his office. He needs to be at multiple meetings that morning because it’s a Monday, so he left me in his office for the most of the day. I had my laptop with me so I wasn’t bored. He told me that he asked my nephew’s teacher if it’s okay to let him get out of school early today to send me to the airport. His teacher said that it is close to the school olympics and their class must do rehearsals, and said that she will ask him if he wanted to stay at school to do rehearsal or if he wanted to send me to the airport.

I’ve had everything I had the last time I was here, except the 潮汕火锅, or Chaoshan Hotpot. Today, that’s what I am having for lunch. There is one right across the street from the dealership. My brother in law said that the most authentic and the best tasting ones are always at the most dirty ones. This one is clean, so it’s not the best, but passable.

Restaurant name: 八合里牛肉火锅 (罗村店) (bā hé lǐ níu ròu huǒ guō) [Baheli Beef Hotpot]

Address: 佛山市罗村大道南罗村美盛广场A幢A103号铺 (Foshan City Luocun Avenue Nanluocun-Meisheng Square, Building A, #A103)

It is literally right across the street from the dealership, but we still drove. We drove an electric car so no damnation from the environmentally conscious people. The restaurant was also empty, and we were the first people to dine there. At lunch time with this little customers eating, the economy really isn’t good.

They didn’t have a physical menu, so we had to order from a phone. Since it’s still hot pot, we went up and got some sauce.

This dish is called 湿炒牛河. It is called “Wet Pan Fried Vermicelli Noodle with Beef”, or “Wet Fried Cow River”. I did not know this thing existed. I always thought 干炒牛河’s name was peculiar because why did they have to pronounce the part that it was pan fried “dried”. Now I know that it’s to contrast with this one. It is very good. I like it very much.

Now is the main event. The big difference that Chaoshan Hotpot has that’s different from normal hot pot you find anywhere is that Chaoshan Hotpot cuts its beef fresh. They have a giant hunk of beef hanging by the door, and they cut the beef fresh, which is markedly different from other kinds of hotpot where the meat was cut by machine and was frozen until ready to be served. The way they cut the beef is also very different, as they have to cut the meat basing on the contour of the meat itself, making it a very delicate matter.

In essence, their meat is amazingly delicious. It is so good I can’t even fathom why it is so good. Coupled with 沙茶酱, Shacha Sauce, it tastes like heaven. I know I’ve used “taste like heaven” a couple of times here; but the food in this area is just so good compared to where I’m from, and it is the only expression I know. Sue me.

After lunch, my brother in law had another meeting to attend, so he left me in his office. Before he left, he let me know that my nephew chose me over rehearsal. Don’t get it wrong, rehearsal sounds fun, it is time he gets to share with his friends. He chose me over having fun with his friends. I love that little guy so much.

When my brother in law got back from his meeting, he had to go to the new dealership opening he had to do, so I walked him down, and we hugged goodbye.

He asked one of his sales people to pick up my nephew and drive me to the airport. We went on our way to pick up my nephew at 4 o’clock, and after we picked him up, we raced to his home to pick up my stuff. I clearly should’ve packed up everything so I won’t be in such a hurry, but that’s a moral for another day.

We raced to the airport, and I snapped this selfie with my nephew in the backseat. He asked me to come back soon. I agreed. He also asked me not to cry, because according to him, if I cry, he will too. I agreed.

When we finally arrived, on time and everything, I asked the driver to just go to departures instead of parking so they can get out of there faster. I hugged him, and I held my tears in. I am a very emotional person, so I did my best. Once he was far away, tears started to fall out of my eye sockets. It is very embarrassing. But I love that little dude so much.

Getting tickets and checking my luggage was normal. During security check, I admittedly forgot that I had a water bottle in my backpack. Had that removed and was waiting for my flight. Compared with Foshan, Dalian is very cold, so I went to the locker room next to my boarding gate to change into something long sleeved.

I already selected an aisle seat on the day I purchased the ticket, and I was one of the first people to board the plane, so I was kinda nervous about who will be the one sitting next to me. I am hoping for a girl, or at least a guy that is tiny so they won’t get in the way. Turns out, I was sitting in a row all by myself. No one selected the seats next to me. The same thing happened with the guy on my left, who sat alone in his own row. People who knew each other wanted to sit together, and people who flew alone wanted to sit alone. Interesting.

After the plane got in the air, I grabbed my laptop and started to write this travel blog. Like I said earlier, I was halfway done until my MacBook decided to go kaputt and made me lose all progress. When the plane was close to descending, I got out my other pair of pants and put them on top of the ones I was wearing that day. Dalian is crazy cold. Don’t want to risk frozen legs.

We arrived by 10:20 PM. My parents picked me up. We talked about the car that will arrive soon and how much I liked it.

Well, that’s a wrap. This 13 day journey had some life changing things that happened to me that, well, changed my perspective a lot. It’s also the reason why I’ve written more than 23,000 words by this point. I loved every moment of this crazy 13-day journey, well, except the sucky hotel I stayed in Shenzhen that ruined my view of the city; but that’s just one instance.

Seeing my nephew and my brother in law was my main purpose for this trip; yet, I’ve got to see so much stuff that made me want to come to the South once more. This is a memorable trip that will be imprinted into my memory forever.

If there’s actually people reading this other than myself, thank you for reading thus far. If you brought up this 13-day journey in our conversation, I will be extremely impressed and will like you so much better, if I didn’t like you already.

To me, who will eventually be reviewing this journey again:

Please don’t be so cheap with money. You will make more money, stop being so cheap. Thank you (sarcastically).