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Published: October 8th 2012
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Oct. 7
This morning we tried a Skype call (voice only) with Ron. We managed to get through and could hear him fine, but he had trouble hearing us, and it's a bit awkward with the few-seconds lag. Good to have some contact, anyway! Then we looked at the "Ladies' Market" near hotel, so named for clothing stores and beauty parlors, but these were not open yet. We concentrated on the fruit stands and convenience store, where we marveled at the giant mangoes, dragon fruit, durian (stinky fruit), and one we had never seen before called Buddha's hand (yellow basketball-sized fruit with protruding fingers? See photo.).
We got together to go out at 11 and went right to lunch, to everyone's dismay. We are certainly not going hungry on this trip! After leaving much food uneaten on the lazy susan, we boarded the bus for a trip to the flower and bird market. This was a fascinating display of souvenirs, live flowers, bushes, trees, and every sort of pet imaginable, all for sale on one crowded street. Of course we found the animals the most interesting. The one that struck us as the oddest choice for a pet was
a rodent that looked like a chipmunk. In its cage it was in constant motion, flinging itself from one side to the other. Not very happy, I think, and neither would an owner be if he tried to get any sleep. Little guinea pigs, chinchillas, and rabbits were very cute. Less cute were the turtles, lizards, snakes, and tarantulas and the buckets of mealworms and beetles to feed them! There were even puppies and kittens of many varieties. The Sharpeis were adorable.
Then to Green Lake Park, which was really hopping like many other parks we've been to this week. It seemed everyone in town was there to sing, dance, stroll, or just people-watch. It is very common to see large groups just doing impromptu dancing for exercise. There were lots of kids everywhere, and they had their own amusements: bumper boats and big inflatable balls that they could get inside to "walk" on the water, as well as electric horses and elephants that scooted around (silent but deadly). The kids seemed to take their riding very seriously, judging by their facial expressions.
Next, a stop at yet another Buddhist temple, dating back to the Tang dynasty(about 800
A.D.). We were fortunate to see a service taking place, to see the monks in their robes and hear the chanting and drumming. I noted that one offering plate contained a Snickers bar and some moon cakes. That finance committee might be fun to serve on.
Yet another dinner. Eat, eat, eat! It really is criminal how much good food we're wasting. I wish I could put it all in a doggie bag to feed us for a couple of months when we get home. Of course then we'll be craving pizza and steak and ice cream. Actually we already are, which is criminal in itself, because the food is so wonderful, just rather similar from one meal to another. Speaking of which, we had duck again, and this time we were relieved to note that the head was not on the platter this time. Then we realized that that was because Wayne had already picked it up and started chewing on it thinking it was a leg. Bleah!
Tonight another late flight, this time from Kunming to Chongqing (formerly ChunKing like the old canned-chow-mein brand). Two things we've noted about all theses cities we've visited since Beijing:
they're all building or have recently built subways and enormous, modern airports. This Kunming Airport is especially gorgeous and just a few months old. China is clearly preparing for an expanding population with more disposable income to spend on travel. Works for us!
Photos:
Buddha's hand
Flower market
Pet market
Guitar player
Kids at park
Snickers
Airport
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