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Non-Reno trip report

 
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Of all the strangely-named businesses that Stan saw on his recent trip to China, the winner of the "Wackiest use of English in a business name" award should go to:
"Baby Impact" (Baby furniture and such)
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"Giraffe Flooring"
33%
 33%  [ 1 ]
"Green Organic Food Monopoly"
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"In the Crystal Barbecue" (Restaurant)
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"Daily Mega Holiday Hotel"
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"The Village of Fictitious Land of Peace"
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"Special Taste City Life Shop" (Coffee shop)
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"Art Cake Well-Known Shop" (Coffee shop)
33%
 33%  [ 1 ]
"The Royal Spiced Bone" (Restaurant, or at least, I hope so)
33%
 33%  [ 1 ]
"Soap Opera" (Soap Products - shouldn't be on the 'wacky' list, really, 'cuz that's just plain brilliant)
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Total Votes : 3

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stan_allen



Joined: 19 Dec 2005
Posts: 1129

PostPosted: Feb Fri 03, 2012 3:53 pm    Post subject: Non-Reno trip report Reply with quote

If for no other reason than to explain my absence over the last few weeks, I was on a trip to China, where Mrs. Allen originally hails from - but here's something that all our board members will find fascinating: at the Seoul airport in South Korea (technically, Incheon, but who's splitting hairs??), the airport-Hyatt has.....a casino!

It's a 'real' casino, with the usual mix of table games and slot machines. Blackjack was a multi-deck shoe, and the rules seemed reasonable, from the very brief glance that I could glean. Roulette was present, but now I can't remember if they had craps. The slots were mostly reels, interestingly enough, with a couple of video-type thrown in.

The whole place was not at all large, rather like a cut-down version of the one I saw next to the Black Bear Diner in ...what the heck's that other city about an hour East of Reno? Anyway, that's what it reminded me of.

Here's the real shocker: the casino is only open to foreigners. Korean nationals are not allowed inside, and you have to show your passport to gain entrance. This means that the Korean government, or whoever, is okay with casino gambling taking place on its own shores, as long as the players are not Korean citizens. "Want to throw your money away? Fine, as long as you are from somewhere else!"

It was quite fascinating, but no, I did not gamble there - while it was tempting, gambling real money after a twelve-hour plane ride is generally not a good idea!

As for the other non-Reno-related aspects of this trip, I can tell you that I took a dip in a real hot spring, saw actual Peking Opera in person - front row, no less - and enjoyed the ear-splitting madness of Chinese New Year firecrackers being set off from every street corner.

Good stuff, but I'm not sorry to be back and catching up on my favorite Reno-related message board!


Last edited by stan_allen on Feb Tue 07, 2012 9:36 am; edited 1 time in total
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CaSwede



Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Posts: 866

PostPosted: Feb Mon 06, 2012 5:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very interesting Stan. That casino describes a real tourist trap as you have to be a tourist to get in. Confused

I had to vote for the "The Royal Spiced Bone" -- It sounds like it should be XXX rated. So is the Chinese food better in China over the Panda Express?
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stan_allen



Joined: 19 Dec 2005
Posts: 1129

PostPosted: Feb Tue 07, 2012 9:34 am    Post subject: Sinological Sumptuousness Reply with quote

Good point on the "Royal Bone"; that's why I had to add the note that I *hoped* it was a restaurant, rather than something else.

As to the food, the short answer is, "Hell, yeah!"; here's the longer version:

It is a cliche of sorts that Chinese food is different outside of China, but cliches often have some ring of truth - the real difference is that when you're in the U.S. or whatnot, your choices are either Panda Express, or some tarted-up affair that has ornate decorations, but still seems to be more or less the same fare.

By contrast, when you're in China, there's a more meaningful array of levels between high and low, so you can go lowbrow at a sidewalk stand which is barbecuing skewers of meat, or you can go low-to-middlebrow at some corner restaurant, or you can move up the chain and go to the trendy buffet restaurants, or you can go swanky and have one of those rooms which seats anywhere from eight to twenty people, and the big plates of food are so numerous they overlay one another, the waitresses refill your beer, and each setting has its own ashtray.

So in summary, it's kind of like that joke that the "Friends" show had at the expense of the concept of Chinese food; Ross (I think) was about to go to China for archaelogical purposes or something, and this exchange followed:

Joey: "I bet the Chinese food is great over there!"
Chandler: "Yeah, but they just call it 'Food'"
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