Signs & Symptoms - Rubbish bins, China

What's the opposite of recycling?
Seen on a public rubbish bin in Xi'an, China.

Perhaps explained a little more clearly in this 'themed' rubbish bin on the Great Wall near Jinshanling.

English food - giant Yorkshire pudding & sausages

This is basically a variation of a Yorkshire pudding. Larger than normal and plonked in it are different sorts of sausages, some mashed potatoes, vegetables and bathed in gravy, of course.

Signs and Symptoms - Adelaide

Sign seen today in the 'City of Churches'.

It's actually a for-sale-sign for a brand of clothes in a clothes boutique along Rundle St.

My brother's travels - Abu Dhabi

Hello my favourite family,

It is very hot here in Abu Dhabi. Even in the shade, when the wind blows, it is like standing behind the exhaust of a car, having hot air blown at you. Abu Dhabi is surprisingly quite green though, they put a lot effort in sustaining trees and grasslands, which pretty much means a guy from Kerala is watering the plants every hour of the day. Literally.

Moved into the new place today. It's called a 'villa' although it feels like one of those 4-storey shop houses in Thailand. I'm on the third floor, sharing it with this other guy from Surabaya who studied in Toronto. The bedroom is alright, with brand new furnishings courtesy of Ikea and the aforementioned Kerala guy. Ikea self-serve furniture + Kerala furniture-making skills = wardrobe with crooked door. I pointed it out to him and he just rocked his head sideways (like the waiters' at Raju's), and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Err..I think the door is a bit...(using hand motions to show it's crooked)
Kerala dude: Yes! No problem!
Me: But..um....how do I close it?
Kerala dude: Okay! No problem!
Me: Um..uh..actually never mind

Indian migrant labour is very easy to come by, and to complain too much could cost him his job. Mama would not have been pleased.

The room is quite spacious but without an attached washroom. I share the washroom with the Surabaya kid, which is no big deal. My bedroom has a balcony that overlooks the swimming pool (its very dirty right now, I think some Kerala people are coming to clean it next week or something). The entire house has a central air conditioning system, which makes the air a bit dry, but at least not steaming hot.Have a bit of a cough right now, which got a bit worse from the hot and dusty air, but I'm sure will pass in a few days.

Food here is very good, and not too expensive either. This morning stumbled upon a breakfast place that served chappatis/paratas (it looks like a cross between the two) served with chickpeas curry. Very good. Puts Raju's Roti Chanai to shame. For lunch just had Mutton Biryani delivered. It came with a tub of curry with peas, chicken soup, yoghurt, and a container full of Mediterranean-looking salad.

Tomorrow morning will go to Dubai and meet the employers and colleagues. Still dunno how to tie a tie.

Love,
youngest son/brother

Englsh food - Gammon lunch

This is actually bacon, though looked more like ham to me. There is rather a lot of technicality between ham vs bacon that i don't understand at all.

The gammon, a pork hind leg bacon technically, is served with a generous dollop of mashed potatoes and vegetables. All bathed in gravy of course. The gammon is pleasantly salty.