Happy Holidays from Xining!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! I am currently in Xining and have passed a lovely Christmas eve day in the city. Here is a list of recommendations for how to celebrate in Xining, should you ever choose to pass this holiday in this city:

1.  Listen to Michael Buble's Christmas album, specifically his version of Santa Baby. This will help set the Christmas mood and spirit.

2. Eat shao kao (street food) for a light lunch. I stupidly forgot to bring my camera with me, so here are some shots from Beijing's night market. I am convinced this is purely for foreigners. I have never seen a Chinese person eat what I ate that night:

Scorpions!

Group starfish!

Solo starfish at the Beijing night market

Sugar glazed fruit!

I was not so experimental here in Xining, choosing seaweed, meat (not idea what kind), sausage, and tofu. It was a Muslim shao kao restaurant where you put the skewers in a basket before they cook it in delicious mildly spicy sauce. Ignore smoking man in the corner. This is China, there will always be a smoking man (and not the X-files kind).

3. Buy winter clothing like a scarf.

Pretty scarf representing UVA colors (I didn't realize until the boy pointed it out)

4. Go to a random part of the city that you have never been. In my case it was the central bus station which is right across from the Tibetan part of the city. Try something sweet that will you remind you of being a kid again. I had some cotton candy, which the Tibetan ladies found hilarious.

5. Take bubble bath #1 to chase away the cold. Watch something funny and/or Christmasy.

Wonderful tub!

6. Search online for restaurants advertising Christmas eve dinners. Fail at this.

7. Take a shot in the dark and head to Yinlong Hotel in Xining for a rumored western buffet.

8. Be blindsided by a ridiculously entertaining Chinese Christmas evening. This will include LOUD entertainment, a thin Santa, sushi, and a herd of children running amok. The highlight of the night for me was when the Boy and I were presented with two stuffed animals (his had a Hello Kitty dress on) just because the Boy was the only white person at the entire event. We gave his to a shop lady because she has an adorable baby.

So cute!

The biggest shocker of the night (and the part of the entertainment that had all of the guests and staff engrossed) was when a man dressed in a bra pulled a Cirque du Soleil and twirled in a barely controlled circle with a girl clamped to his torso using her legs. He proceeded to fling her away and she ended up smacking her face into the ground as part of the act. The crowd thought this was hilarious. So hilarious that I couldn't get the attention of the chefs the entire duration of the act, leaving me standing awkwardly in front of the roast beef and faking a smile.

9. Walk through the beautiful park that sits between Yinlong and my hotel, and watch people light up sparklers.

10. Take bubble bath #2 to shed the last of the cold.

SO amazing it had to be shown again.

11. Round out the night by either continuing to listen to Michael Buble's album or trying to find Home Along and/or Nightmare Before Christmas.

12. Finish off the night staring at gifts that you can't wait to open. Or nerd out and play Dragonvale, one of the most addictive IPad/Iphone games ever.

The Boy won't let me open anything until the morning =( This is actually a picture of my gift to him.

 Luckily we had a joint early Christmas present that makes up for having to wait:

IPad!!!

Even the box is pretty!

With its beautiful magnetic cover on.

Plus, the hotel was really sweet and gave us healthy presents:

There were apples inside!

Yes, I am a nerd.

 I hope that this post was informative or at least entertained a bit.

Happy holidays everyone!