Advertisement
Published: November 18th 2011
Fruit Galore
Me beside a typical fruit vendor here. The fruit here is far superior to what we endure at home. Juicy, fresh and abundant is how I would describe it. My favs are the tiny mandarins--so sweet and, as a bonus, very CUTE! LOLIt is Friday morning here, the 18th of November, and I am just finishing up the final touches on this blog entry. I have been wrestling with it for several days having had issues with uploading pictures, making editorial/text changes and generally "polishing" it. As usual though, I will have missed little things here and there while I am packing up and making my departure arrangements. I have done my best with the pictures. They can be such a "bete-noir" with this blog. *Sigh* I am beset by melancholy listening to the rain drumming steadily outside. The last several days have been wet and uncomfortable. My new umbrella busted a spoke. Already. Sheesh. Good thing I'm on my way home tomorrow. LOL Who-so-ever amongst you who dreams of tropical or, in this case, sub-tropical paradise, I challenge you--live in this climate awhile and see for yourself if you don't come to loathe the heat and wet! ARGHHHH I feel like I'm mildewing! I am having trouble getting clothes to dry and pack and so this contributes to my general unrest while anticipating the long journey home to Canada. I am feeling sad and unhappy at leaving behind people I have
The Long Walk
And green fields cultivated...and not just fields, ditches and any space patch of land. All variety of veg was growing in all available space. And what nice looking veg it was. come to care about and a country I have grown to love. Sigh. I know...you don't feel sorry for me. LOL I guess I deserved that. I understand. Onwards then, to the real blog entry.......
Buses can be interesting, lol, especially here in China. Elise and I decided to go adventuring together last Saturday to nearby Dadeng Island, to be exact. Elise had heard of a Taiwainese duty free shopping plaza being there and had a hankering to check it out. I was game and so were were off! As usual when Elise and I go on an adventure together, it was raining. I said, "Elise, what is with us and the RAIN?" She just laughed and said "I don't KNOW!" Armed with our umbrellas and wearing short jeans, sandals (some that I am leaving behind) and wearing my red velour zip-up sweater (only the 2nd time I've had to wear a sweater here, OMG!) We met at the BRT station one station east. Then we walked down the intersecting road (DON'T ask me the name, I have SO much trouble with those here, LOL) looking for a bus stop for one of the 3 buses were would take to
The Dangerous Highway
Although the island was quite quiet in the streets it was not so on this busy highway we traversed to find our destination. Turned out in the end that it was unnecessary. Oh well. More adventure this way, LOL. get to our ultimate destination on Dadeng Island. Well, we were not sure the bus would even show up as we waited for quite some time, chatting in the rain, when suddenly, there it was! A little wee thing we clamboured up onto which we rode for a short while and which we eventually got off and cross the road to take another...a 750. We found that one and rode it for a long, long ways. That was okay cuz we didn't run out of topics to discuss. I bet you are shocked by THAT admission, eh? LMAO! NOT! Bedraggled and wet, no make-up or hair style nor pretty clothes made me quite a sight, I can assure you, but I was not adventuring for anything but pure thrill today. Little primping was required knowing I would be looking and feeling wet most of the day. And, as it turned out, the rain stopped by the time we'd gone UNDER the ocean in the Xiang'An Tunnel to the mainland or the Xian'an District. We then disembarked and crossed the street again, all the while asking people where to go, and Elise's Chinese is really quite proficient, I must say, I'd
Dangerous Highway 2
The highway looking the other way. have been a goner on my own! We hopped onto yet another bus. Well, we rode that for quite awhile too, and approaching the Dadeng Bridge we saw plenty of oyster flats and oyster cultivation areas. Kind of neat, really. I had never seen that before and didn't know what it was till Elise told me. These squares of shallow water with earth forming a sort-of natural enclosure looked so precise I knew that they were man-made but having been raised in the bush and never having laid eyes on an oyster in it's natural environs till I was well into my teens and on a beach during a holiday in British Columbia, I was clueless but curious! LOL Eventually after eyeballing everything around me during the ride we got off at the place where a man had told us we needed to get off. Of course, we had NO idea that if we'd only stayed on the bus we'd have saved ourselves 45 minutes, AT LEAST, of walking one way and figuring out where we were going, but HEY, what kind of explorers would we be if we didn't uncover the mysteries of the place? LOL Well, mystery number
Field
This island was fully cultivated if not settled. Every availalbe inch of growing space was utilitzed or soon-to-be utilized. one was that there were thousands upon thousands of empty apartment buildings, high-rise apartment buildings and also row upon row of newly constucted low-rise apartment dwellings..sort of attached row-house ideas, but much, much ritzier. The effect was actually rather creepy. These HUGE neighborhoods that were deserted were so quiet. So devoid. I did think, that there were SO many that one could likely fit the WHOLE population of Thompson into them without exaggeration. And, maybe I've just been in China too long and the quiet is something I'm not used to....I did savour it after we left the last bus and said to Elise, "Listen......what do you hear? That's the sound of NOTHING! I LOVE it!" LOL I could enjoy the birds. There were loose live chickens. Well this is not a new experience--they are everywhere here, skinniest chickens EVER and so tough you cannot believe it! I'm always wondering if I'm eating some old rooster who crowed once too many an early morning, owner finally deciding "It's stew-pot-hell for YOU, chicken!" LOL! There where white cranes flying head in groups overhead and plenty of dishevelled dogs packing up and loping along the road-ways looking slightly dangerous. There were also
Shack
Truly, I am clueless as to why this small and crumbling building sits adjacent to the road. cows munching away vacantly, though we kept a good safe distance just to be sure they weren't as vacant as they seemed! LOL Anyway, after asking the locals, er rather Elise asking the locals, we got walking down a busy high-way (A less relaxing experience, shall I just say? lol) and walked and walked...now, let me mention that I had gone to my first yoga class in about 3 months the day before and Elise had done a killer lower-body weight workout as well. Needless to say we were a couple of sorry sisters, asses and legs so damn sore, we were wincing with each step. I hadn't thought the yoga bad at all on Friday, but apparantly my 45 year old body was not fooled. Even doing run/walk 2-3 times a week, walking all over, doing weights and spin classes was not enough exercise to keep me from seizing up and producing that nasty lactic acid residue that hurts so good....er, not so good. ANYWAY, we did decide that some ibuprofen appetizers would be a good idea for our supper that evening as we were both suffering for our healthy lifestyles....go figure! That just didn't seem fair at ALL.
Flora
Along the route there were beautiful blooming shrubs. Every passing vehicle HAD to honk just to alert us of its presence. Yikes. (As if we couldn't hear them!) LOL Whatever. Explorers are not wimps. We soldiered on. FINALLY, after rather humourously following this sign we kept seeing repeatedly, "Hey, Elise, there's that sign AGAIN!" we found our destination. For a slight moment we were a little worried when we saw the China customs office, neither of us having brought our passports and thinking that maybe somehow we were doing something wrong, but we were definately still in China, though Jinmen Island was just across the channel, and that definately is NOT mainland China. I have only a single entry visa and to leave China would mean not re-entering......so I'd have been screwed. But after a moment of almost panic that we managed to talk ourselves out of we decided to AVOID all Chinese Customs offices and officers and just shop. Well. We quickly realized how outclassed we were money-wise.....this little haunt was for the rich and the richer...not the likes of us as we peered at pretty sparkly baubles under glass some of which bore the stickers marked with the low, low prices of only 22,000 Yuan and much HIGHER--and ok, so this is a lot, even for a rich white lady in China such as myself! LOL-- at
Tourista Canadensis (LOL)
Me in front of an ornate iron temple gate along the dangerous highway. $3000 Cdn, YIPES, step away from the glass.....and truly, like, as bedraggled and wet and as truly pedestrian and uber UN-chic as I was looking the clerks realized long before I did what a lost cause I was......and very uncharacteristically for the Chinese left me ALONE in this particular section of the fancy store. LMAO! Wow. Who knew that could be a plus? We wandered more. We spotted loads of expensive Jade, knives, clothing and did you know that BMW makes men's jeans? HA! Neither did I! I mean, I had to ask myself...who the HELL would wear that? Like seriously! HAHAHAHAHAHA! There were all kinds of dried Taiwanese goods (nothing smelled in the LEAST bit appetizing) purses, oh how the women here love their designer purses (again, something I just DON'T understand at all--but WHATEVER!!) huge burl tables smelling rendolent of sandalwood and cedar--mmmm. You name it: glassware, vases, tea, etc., etc., etc. Elise had been looking for a decent leather belt for her son and some cuff-links, but alas, all the things we looked at were too pricey. After getting ourselves helplessly lost and ending up in a loading dock area (don't ask...LOL) we made our way out
and found a restuarant and ate a very forgetable lunch except for the fact that we were overcharged for what we ate (46 Yuan for rice, one green veggie and a chunk of spiced pork that was mostly fat, ugh) and decided to start the trek back to where we started by retracing our steps. Everywhere we walked were people who stared at the 2 white ladies with blue eyes and light hair.....I could see that this island was definately LESS visited by foreigners. Upon arriving triumphantly at the bus stop where we started we wandered to the beach nearby to a fellow who was cooking skinny chicken legs and Elise bravely ordered one. I abstained. All I could think was E coli, E coli, E coli. I told Elise, who is much braver than me, obviously, that I would have a coke, thank you! LOL We then boarded the 760 to see where it would lead. Well. DUH. Right to the place we'd walked the 45 minutes from. Stupid. Oh well, we just had no choice but to laugh! We managed to get good seats on the long and crowded ride back to Xiamen and caught a taxi the
Just Past the Temple
Along the road further past the temple. Note the white strip on the trunk of this tree--it is insect control of some sort. last bit to Elise's apartment where Ed, her husband and my former boss had made a most delicious supper---baked potatoes, OMG--I was in heaven, green salad--more heaven---and a toasted chicken sandwich! HEAVEN! Of course, all that AFTER the ibuprofen cocktail to lessen the pain of all the soreness that just seemed to worsen with the whole adventure! LOL...it was a great day, though. Elise is a great person to travel around with. Thanks Elise. Here's hoping it won't be OUR last adventure together this lifetime, even with me leaving China. This is likely to be my last blog entry for Xiamen as today is busy with departure preparations. I will write next from the beautiful and myserious....Beijing........stay tuned.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.183s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 9; qc: 53; dbt: 0.0962s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Jeannine
non-member comment
Lovely pics
Beautiful pictures...hope you enjoy the final lap of your journey. Call me when you get back to Canada