To continue where David left off; after our whirlwind tour of “One-Link International Plaza” we met up with Aaron’s friend Miriam who was to take us to the infamous DVD “store” (the term can only be used very loosely here!). The existence and location of this place has been preserved through a long line of foreigners (makes you wonder how the first guy found it?). We made our way along the street, preparing ourselves to innocently wander to a store selling extension cords and other electrical stuff and surreptitiously ask for the DVD’s. Before we could put the plan into action, a little Chinese girl came out, spotted Miriam (a regular to the DVD store) and rushed us inside, around a pillar, through a door which led to a badly lit, damp hallway…(at this point we had to go back and find David who got left behind because he was busy taking photos!)

We took a rickety elevator up, and wound our way through the corridors to a small flat, yup, definitely a shady DVD business going on here! The three room apartment was filled with movies, music and Tv shows! Once we had browsed through and picked our selections, they were placed in a plastic bag and we were shown downstairs again. We congregated at the electric plug store to make our purchases. In the process of paying, someone suddenly rushed passed me, I turned around, flustered, and noticed that all of our DVD’s were gone! Yup, the authorities were there, and within mere seconds all the evidence of our purchases had disappeared. We stood around a little awkwardly, waited a little and when our DVD’s reappeared, paid and left. Definitely made for an interesting experience! (Sketchy DVD store photos omitted for security reasons - i.e., to protect the guilty, but mostly because we didn’t take any.)

Here are a few more photos from Day 4 (with comments by David)…

Left: “Santa” with his snowmen helpers and his dark grey beard and Persian satrap-like headdress. Honestly, I have no idea what they were smoking when they came up with this one. Check out the technicolor coat around his feet (Joseph?). Aaron guesses that it could be a wise man, but if so, where is he going and where’s the rest of the nativity scene? More evidence of a poorly imported and/or understood holiday.

Right: Taara and I were used to the skytrain in BC where each train car is self-contained (i.e. you can’t walk all the way through the train). The Metro in Guangzhou allows access from car to car and does so seamlessly, giving the impression that it’s one large train car. It’s so long that you can’t even see the end, but it makes for some interesting perspective photography.

Everyone knows about the stiff and proper guards at Buckingham palace, who supposedly don’t flinch even when you tickle them with feathers or poke grass into their ears. Well, this guard certainly gave them a run for their money. On our way to the DVD store we passed him and I snapped this photo, and on the way back he was standing in exactly the same position. Only the eyes moved (barely) as he watched over the building he was assigned to.

Aaron says that many of the private property guards around town are actually in the military (or former military men), which is where they receive the training necessary to perform these impressive feats of physical immobility. The guards at Aaron’s housing estate also display this training in the way they salute us when we go in our out and direct the cars using military flourishes.

December 30 ended with a visit to the Paddy Field, an Irish pub (not that kind of pub) and bar (not that kind of bar!) where we were able to enjoy some wonderful Western food (nachos, pasta, and full american breakfast pour moi). Here’s the cheeky trio as they end their exhausting day of year-end consumerism: