Hello there, fans! This is Flaberjob Milkyin, reporter for the Kelley Blog. Yesterday the Kelley fam had an exiting adventure, especially Emily. This is how she described her day:

"First, we went to breakfast. We met our guide in the lobby at precisely 10:30 AM. She took us for a long walk, but we figured that we could handle it. Just to be safe from the overwhelming heat, we brought a Chinese sun umbrella and a fan and off we went. Large bridge. Knowing me, you would know that I am scared to death of heights, rope bridges, and high windows. My stomach felt like there was a bowling ball in it.

The first interesting street we stepped onto was a medical and herbal supply street, full of Chinese "medicines". As we walked, we saw deer tendons, snake skin, and some kind of animal leg bones with feathered feet. I was too scared to ask what they were. The crowning glory was the worm grass. This medicine was used to make your lungs and throat stronger. At some point, worms had crawled into the ground tail first and died. After this, their heads had fallen off, and the worm's body sprouted grass. If you are sick, make a stew of worm grass, and your sickness will be all gone - all for about $100US/oz! If you are not sick, make a stew of this, and your sickness will be doubled! Not really, but that is what would happen to me. Ugh!

The odor in the air was a clash of seafood, medicines, animals, sweat, people, and I have no idea what else. Then our guide led us to the food street. We saw huge tubs full of live scorpions and turtles. Ever thought about a live stingray for supper? Or some delicious lizards? You want it, they got it! Just take your pick and take it home! I very nearly vomited. And there was Caroline, rolling along in her stroller, happy as can be!

We finally left the food and went to the pets. The air was getting hotter by the minute. There were some adorable kittens and flat-eared little puppy dogs. If the dogs were too wild, their owners would tape their ears together to calm them. Poor things! After this, our guide took us to the Holiday Inn, where we rested for a while. Thank goodness it was air-conditioned! While we were there, Caroline threw a fit, had to have her diaper changed, and a little girl took possession of my umbrella. When fully rested and cooled, the rest of our group set off to look at Chinese jerseys and grab some lunch. Our family headed back to the hotel. All this to say, if you ever go to China, bring a breathing mask!"

-Flaberjob Milkyin

This is Emily's mother, making comments about the photos :)

~Caroline's first pair of squeaky shoes
~Assorted pictures from the market: Choose what you want, take it home, and eat it fresh!