Trip with Thomas

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Our day with our neighbour, Thomas, was especially great! Having not seen anything of the area other than a short walking distance away, we were thrilled when he offered to tour us around the local countryside. Thomas ( a native Calgarian, resident of Vancouver and married for 30 years to a Chinese woman) has spent many of his married years in China, teaching and visiting inlaws, so has a wealth of knowledge of China and the area. He had rented a car for a month, so we, along with Peter and Diane (Rick's sisters sister in law / and our other neighbour) piled in for an adventure. Everything around here tends to be an adventure, but this was special. We started down the road and spent about 3 hours touring the countryside - something that you need wheels and a guide to appreciate. Below are some of the photos from the day.

The day ended with a trip to Dalian and dinner at a delicious East Indian restaurant. We returned tired and full after 12 hours of touring, but it was a great day.

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Photos

Starting with Breakfast
We started out our day with a breakfast buffet at the local holiday resort hotel. Too much food, but it tasted great to have omelettes.

Minnie and MIckey
Marion and Diane enjoy a laugh with the Disney look-a -likes

typical transportation
These 3 wheeled vehicles are used in the country and in the city for transporting goods.

fishing village
The cement block is part a pulley system to bring the kelp in to shore.

Village housing
There were some very quaint looking houses. They have electricity, but no plumbing- not sure about running water.This was a pen for some geese.

house construction
You can see the construction of the houses in this picture with the roof poles.

Private park
A well maintained park in a local village.

Our Guide
This is Thomas, emerging from the park pathway.

More local transportation
I had quite a fun time getting this picture - after a couple of failed attempts as we passed them in the car, we went ahead and waited on the side of the road until they passed. They look like they are enjoying the attention.

Aqueduct
There are many sections of this aqueduct left over from the 1950s. Thomas says that they have climbed the stairs and walked the aqueduct - not for me

Unused housing
There are dozens of beautiful housing units, apartments, and hotels in and around Jinshitan that have been built and never used. Money landering?? Note the fake trees. Along with fake rocks and fake logs, they are popular here.

Here Come the Brides
The beach area at Jinshitan is a favourite for couples to have wedding pictures taken; here a small bus unloads about a dozen couples who head for the beach for pictures. We saw these couples as we came back through Jinshitan to tour the other side of the region.

The Blissful Couples
Several couples wait for photographers to have pictures taken in one of many shoots. Couples rent many outfits and have pictures at various locations.

The other side of town
Thomas then took us back through town to the opposite side. Beautiful scenery in the hills.

Seaweed
Some industrious souls have worked hard to get their seaweed up this mountain road to dry. It must be the out-of-the-way location that was the appeal.

Rich among the Poor
A random hotel among close to a village. Who knows if it is actually used, or only built for show. The swimming pool looked great.

An Attraction
This busload of locals in Kai Fa Qu couldn't get enough of us as we stopped for gas. I took their picture for fun as they were taking pictures of us, which really spurred them on

Comments

[Diana]

:0)
i passed a 3 wheeled truck almost identical to the one here, yesterday evening in GP. it was new, and very noisy. Minnie and Mickey look different from how i remember them. i'd love to walk the aquaduct.... or the great wall.... what adventures you're having! it's very definitely autumn here. the leaves are just beginning to transform, and the nights are chilly. i took a walk in the bush last weekend. the air was rich with cranberry smell.