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Published: August 15th 2009
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It's my last day of vacation--tonight I catch the train from Chengdu to Guangzhou and from there to Shenzhen. then 2 days before I fly out of Hong Kong back to the US. I'm exhausted thinking about it. But I have a full day to sight-see, as my train doesn't leave until 10:30 pm. This means I could sleep in a bit before checking out and stowing my things. I am pleased that I got it all into 3 bags: my backpack (the only thing I left SZ with), one bag for the mugs and tea, one bag for food on the train (you need to bring your own food or pay a fortune for mediocre eats. No naps today as I am bedless! This warm weather just makes me want to doze.
Today I went out to the Green Ram Taoist Temple, one of the few things not on the Panda Card. It was a beautiful and colorful temple. I didn't really understand a lot of what I was looking at though. I've forgotten a lot of what I learned about Taoism in college and haven't had time for much reading. And since I've not been visiting Taoist temples
as much as Buddhist temples (there aren't as many) I've not remembered or refreshed my brain this year. They had English captions, but they assume that you already know and understand quite a bit of history.
I walked down to the People's Park 人抿公园 which is a popular place for locals and tourists to come and relax and drink tea at any of the numerous tea houses. It was a huge park and it was full. As more and more time passed, there were more people, leading me to wonder if there was an organized event, as they were all gathered in one spot. They were handing out fliers, but I couldn't read them.
The park was also really noisy, which, oddly, most parks in China aren't, at least, not like this. I was hoping for a bit of solace on my last afternoon to allow for reflection. Yes, solace. In China. I know, funny.
When I was sitting at the teahouse, where I wrote this in my journal, I drank bamboo tea while surrounded by bamboo. The tea was bitter but good. I was annoyed that they served it in an actual glass and not a tea
cup with lid and saucer, thus making it too hot to pick up and drink for quite a while. But it was fun to watch the tea leaves grow downward and upward like grass in a glass. I just made a funny.
I sat in the shade of the bamboo to escape the heat and hide a bit. Or at least, feel hidden. Better for people watching. And not feeling like a spectacle helps me relax a bit. Almost too much, as the only thing I want at this point is a nap... which I can't go take since I have no bed to retreat to.
So instead, I'll make a list of things seen at a tea house:
Women lounging, heels off, feet on a chair
Everyone eating sunflower seeds
People fanning themselves, but not looking like they care than they're drinking hot tea in hot weather while wearing more clothes than a Westerner would dream of in this weather
The old man in a white shirt and grey sweater, hunched over his newspaper and smoking, his large black glasses perched on the tip of his nose--he is content and stays longer than I
do
The man missing his 2 front teeth but has a mustache to make up for it
The ear cleaner wandering around, ringing his thin tongs, trying to drum up business
Workers hurrying, carrying large plastic (on the outside) thermoses filled with hot water to thirsty guests
No bathrooms nearby--I guess the smell would ruin the atmosphere
The foreigners who don't look relaxed, but drink their tea quickly and leave
People at peace with the afternoon
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