Venturing into the city

6) In most Asian countries that I have been there is a massive stray dog problem, because at one point dogs were introduced or somehow got loose. Then they found highly populated cities with lots of trash for a food source and they bred. Their existence is very similar to that of rats, but they do not try to hide. Also there are no distinguishable breeds just moderate sized mutts usually afflicted by mange or other diseases.

In China or at least in Harbin this is very different. There are many breeds of dogs and I even recognize many of them. Also these dogs are not strays. They are extremely loyal to their owners and usually follow them around unleashed. There is also a trend for these dogs to be extremely small and ridiculous. (I will take a picture of the next one that I see to illustrate my point about how ridiculous)

So this is my third day here and today Jason and I ventured into the city for the third time. The first stop was at a large shopping center that is all underground in long hallways. To be honest it resembled a shopping mall setting the only difference being that it was underground, but you would not know it from the look. The area was originally built by the Japanese as bunkers. Then we stopped in for my first taste of Chinese sausage and poked around a very expensive market for a while. We also looked around a very large clothing market that was nearby. This brings up an interesting point of contrast.

7) Harbin does not have very many street venders. Pretty much the only things that you see on the street are seasonal produce, food, and some small clothing items. There are no large outdoor markets or even streets crowded with vendors. The simplest answer that I have for this is the cold. Today it was 8C.

8) Also the streets are very rarely crowded. This is surprising being that this is a city of several million people.

After that we went to a different part of town to go back to a shop to purchase another Halloween costume for Jason’s old roommate. We also picked up some more tea because I still am not feeling quite on par. I think I have a slight cold. The tea selection is pretty great and even includes many types of flowers and dried citrus. We picked out some dried lemon today that I am excited to try. Then we headed for a snack.

We were very near to an amazing alley that we went to yesterday to eat and decided that it would be a good idea again. Yesterday we went to this alley specifically to eat and there is a good reason for it. The alley is full of all different types of food: from fresh meats and seafood (even live shrimp) to baked breads and other pastries to cooked meats of all kinds. We were shown this great find by a friend of Jason’s named Ken. The three of us picked up a random assortment of foods as we walked though. The best of which were some great fried breads and some amazing pork in a salty, chili broth.

The three of us wondered for a while longer until our smack wore off and headed for a lamb restaurant that had been recommended. It was a bit disappointing because it was kind of expensive, there was a fish wrapped in cellophane that kept twitching, and the meat was lacking because it was fat instead. The pork fat that we had earlier was amazingly flavored and in moderation, but this was too much. It was enough to go vegetarian. I know that I can make the statement that yesterday I ate more straight animal fat than I ever have before and hope to ever again.