Wanshi Botanical Garden

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I went to a very nice botanical garden. It was huge, taking many hours to cover, with lots of spots left unseen. There were a couple small mountains in the area, a lake, and some temples.

But no restaurants. I became very hungry, and had to settle for instant noodles from a shop.

It's getting very hot in Xiamen.

I will put some random things here.
- I bought a watermelon bigger than my head, for about 50 cents. It was good.
- Most supermarkets have at least half an aisle dedicated to MSG.
- They sell Asparagus Juice in one of the big supermarkets.
- There was a man in the middle of the street, hitting his 4yr old (or so) son's hand with a wooden stick. Many onlookers had horrified faces.
- If there is ever a competition for world's most aggressive door knockers, someone from China will probably win. Many times I have heard it, about 10 fast, solid raps followed by a brief refrain, and 10 more. They launch about 8 volleys in this manner before giving up.
- I went to a matinee showing of Spiderman 3, on a weekday, and the theatre was packed. This is a couple weeks after it opened. I was very surprised. A few cell phones rang, but most people were courteous and left the theatre to talk. The ticket was about $5. Sidenote: It was a disappointing movie.
- Cereal is not common but Oatmeal is very popular. Dozens of varieties.
- I was at the supermarket today and 3 old ladies (not together), made attempts to budge in front of me in the checkout line. One of them was 2 people ahead of me, and managed to push another lady out of the way. The second one I allowed in front of me (although I probably didn't have much choice... she was sneaky), because she didn't have many things. The third was thwarted by the checkout person, who took my stuff and refused the old lady.

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Photos

Pork
With cabbage and onions in a pepper sauce. Tasty.

Dragon Fruit 2
The inside. It is very bland. Disappointing.

Plant
It was prickly!