Crags

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I'm sitting in the lobby of a five star hotel. No, I'm not staying here - I wouldn't pay that kind of money for a room - I'm simply sitting here. Lobbies like these simply act as resting places for the well dressed. And being white I could walk in here wearing almost anything I liked - besides beggar clothes or my birthday suit. I came in to use the bathroom but I have a whole hour to waste and nothing to really do.

Yesterday it rained - all day - and not what I used to call "Chinese rain" that Dalian gets but real hard rain. I went to see Dinghushan and was carrying my umbrella around the whole time. I got sick of carrying my umbrella around the whole time. I got sick of carrying it at one point and put it away as it was only drizzling, but then the sky opened up again. I took a lot of pictures for while I've been to temples and waterfalls before they still don't stop amazing me. I've seen waterfalls much longer and much wider but I love the sound and feel one gets while being around one. It's pretty amazing. I love dragons and the temple there was perfect for them - all over. Their one of the greatest thngs about Chinese culture. I especially love the dragons that act as centers to staircases - hence why I bought a similar one as an inkstone.

The rest of the afternoon I went shopping - I got a Japanese dress and pants, threePuma shirts and a spaghetti top and a nice black shirt. I've figured out that when I live some place I don't normally go shopping but when I travel I really feel like shopping at times. So next time I travel I'm going to take less clothes because I know I'll buy some.

Last night I met Derek at Texboy - a cross between many different places. The playground is exactly like McDonalds. The swing chairs are exactly like Easy Way, a popular coffee shop here. The chairs and waitress' costumes resemble a Texas Steakhouse. Finally the food resembles KFC. Afterwards we went walking around town. We stopped to get our hair done. The boys there were like the Salon boys - all from Hubei and some of whom didn't speak Cantonese - except not as goood. The massage was okay - the boy at the Salon in Daliang did much better. The man asked me how to do my hair - which Camillo often does even though I told him I trust him to do whatever he wants - and then gave me a very simple hairdo. Unlike Camillo's the man's flipped outwards even though he tried to get it inwards and it's still outwards now. After we walked around we had some tiny snails and went out for barbecue with Anna and Martin. Martin is from England and as I explained why I'm here he told me that it is often a reason he hears from others and himself - as he's been here for almost three years. There's no reason to go home. No matter what job I want at home I'd have to go back to school first and who knows if it would be the right job. I may have to go back to school multiple times with still yet not a good paying job. While I may not want to teach my whole life I can still explore my options more here. He agreed whole heartedly and added if he wanted to buy a house he could do it much faster here. We can also travel pretty easily here, to places we've never seen or had the opportunity to see.

Today I went over to the Crags after checking out my hotel. It's absolutely amazing the things nature makes for us to see. The Crags are limestone formations in the lakes of Zhaoqing. There are seven of them. It's also amazing the folk stories people tell about these amazing natural things.

The following is according to Lonely Planet July 1998 (p. 733). "Legend has it that the Seven Star Crags were actually seven stars that fell from the sky to form a pattern resembling the Big Dipper."

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Photos

Laughing Buddha
Little temple I found while climbing Dinghushan with a Laughing Buddha

Waterfalls
Waterfalls at Dinghushan

Dragon Temple
Myself outside the dragon temple at Dinghushan

Dragon
The big dragon at the top of the middle part of the stairs.

Crag
This is one of the Crags.

Artsy
For some reason I like this picture. It's a little peek at one of the Crags from the pathway.

Incense
This is incense outside a temple half way up one of the Crags.

Praying
A woman praying with the incense in her hand in the temple.

Pathway
Pathway from above - while climbing the Crag.

Chain Link Bridge
Crossing the famous Chain Link Bridge at the Crags.

Tradition
This is an interesting tradition for most restaurants. Mostly big restaurants. They have their waiters and waitresses and everyone stand outside and sometimes sing or chant or clap or the boss just has a talk with them. Here it's the cooks (I believe) of the UBC coffee shop and their boss is just having a chat.