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Published: June 25th 2005
Fishing Boats
The view from the "floating restaurant" on one side... decrepit fishing boats. I felt bad while I was eating... and worse, guilty almost when I passed old farm folk who have been doing backbreaking work all their lives on the island by the lake.Didn't post yesterday since we must spent the day at home alternating between eating, reading novels, and napping - ahh, what a life!
Today was action-packed though: we crammed into the good ol' SUV (yes, sigh, I know - I didn't even know they had a car here! Honda CR-V) and drove 2.5 hours to the Tai Hu, the second largest lake in China. I was happy because I thought it would be cool by the water, but noooooo, when we get there it is *still* sweltering and the breeze brings only hot wind. Yummy.
We went for lunch at a restaurant "on the water" when in fact it is on the edge of the lake surrounded by patches of overgrown algae in stagnant water. Yummy x 2! At least we didn't eat "farmhouse style" i.e. with farmers giving us whatever was left over... and lots of farmers were trying to wave us and other tourists down in the street. Mainland Chinese people are REALLY aggressive and scary when they think they can make a quick buck... both rural and urban.
The restaurant we ate at was surprisingly good even though they overcharged by Chinese standards and was
Budda and Two Students
As seen in one of the temples. Beautiful gilt statues similar to the ones in Vancouver but in temples far older... extremely ghetto/somewhat dirty. We had two of the signature dishes from the lake - small long white fish (shaped like eels but tiny) with preserved vegetables and fresh shrimp. The shrimp came in a covered dish with a sauce that includes alcohol, and are half-dead. They didn't explain fully to us but I think the idea is to have the shrimp consume the alcohol in the sauce (since they're swimming in it and can inahle nothing else) and become drunk and pass out for us to eat it with the flavour inside so to speak. However, when I lifted the lid one bounced out and flopped around the table, so we had to get them to cook it because people freaked out :p I was a bit disappointed since I wanted to try a delicacy, but I suppose I am just a bloody savage who will eat anything. Candy barely ate any even after they arrived cooked and still wonderful delicious little morsels.
We also visited a couple of Buddhist temples, one had a tree that is still living and over a thousand years old. The other temple we went to is near the top of a mountain but
"The Louvre"
At the restaurant we dined at tonight... good food, and what better backdrop can we ask for? ;) we had to purchase admission tickets before being permitted to take the road up. When my Dad went to buy the tickets little old Chinese ladies came and started shoving xiang (the long bundled sticks of incense) into the window and demand we buy it. They babbled and I was getting a bit freaked out so I shrieked to lock the door, but by then a woman had walked around to the other side, opened the passenger door, and started yapping away. Ahhhh! Eventually we persuaded them we didn't need any incense, and drove away as fast as possible.
Same thing but not as scary (doors were locked) when we bought bucketsful of peaches from the side of the road. I guess that's the way it is in China but oi...!!
Made it back to civilization and had dinner at a much better place. Dishes included shark fin, roasted squab, and fresh steamed fish. We had a private room with a waitress lurking around throughout the meal, but the neatest part is one wall had a photo of the Louvre - I guess it's meant to create "mood" haha!
Missing Vancouver very much, especially the cooling breezes
Chrysanthemum Tea
Very pretty in a teacup like this - I've been drinking this lots in Shanghai, sometimes in a tall clear glass (pretty again), sometimes in a teapot poured out with no flowers. from the sea... hope you guys are rollerblading and sucking in as much fresh air for me as possible!
PS: The title of this entry was inspired by the lack of clear blue sky in Shanghai... it has been very sunny but there is never EVER a clear blue sky because of the smog... ick!
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eunii
non-member comment
fun! =)
Oh that tea kinda looks.. interesting. So when you drink it do all the flowers rush into your mouth? Looks like a mouthful, but very authentic! =) Is that backdrop behind the restaurant real?! What is it?!!? from the first picture, the boats looks kinda.. ghetto =( Well, I'm glad you're having fun =) =) =)!!!