MONDAY
The hot weather continues and like mad dogs we English venture out into the mid-day sun - well 2pm. Keith has decided he needs a haircut and has asked one of his students to write in Chinese ‘50% off’. He got another student to verify the note just in case! There are many salons in our immediate area all staffed by young men with ‘way out hairdos’ so we would explore further into the old part of the city and hopefully find somewhere a little more sedate. Not too far away several young men were lazing about outside an empty salon as most people go in the evening to get their hair done. “It’s as good as any” he says and in we go. After going upstairs to have his hair washed ‘007’ set about drying it before beginning the trim. Did I use the word ‘TRIM’. Well all was fine until ‘007’ brought out the electric shears. At least I stopped him taking them too far up the back of Keith’s head. But the lad was determined he would get rid of everyone one of Keith’s waves. Let’s say when ‘007’ had finished Keith probably won’t be visiting the hairdressers for the rest of our stay!
We wandered round more of the narrow streets eventually finding ourselves in a different part of the street market and viewing more unusual food. I wondered what the bright red steamed buns would taste like, or the flat black ones next to them or even the overblown muffins with red bits in. At a stall where the man was grinding dried chillies into powder two boys holding their noses watched the process.
We decided at lunchtime that we needed some coasters for the tables, especially the glass topped coffee table. A more tourist place would be a good starting point for our search and so we caught the ‘Rapid Bus’ to the Railway Station. Next to the Station is a large shopping mall ‘PCD Stores’ but this was floor upon floor of mostly shoe and clothes shops. Leaving the store we went down the subway where again as far as the eye could see was more shops. Everything was so bright and clean and not so crowded but despite the number of shops we couldn’t find what we were looking for. We did however find an excellent Guide Book written by an American Professor who now lives in Xiamen with his family. It is the best guide book I have ever come across containing not only information about Xiamen and the immediate area but also about China’s customs and legends and food in particular. Keith has recommended it to his students as it does make good reading and humorous too, although we have groaned at some of the Professor’s puns. There is even a small section on walks around the hillsides in the city explored and written by an Australian lady. Some look a little too strenuous for us but ‘we’ll give it a go at the shorter ones!’
TUESDAY
I found my coasters in ‘Rainbow Supermarket’ - now why didn’t I think of looking there first.
We decided to go and eat in ‘Haiwan Park’ this evening. Again it’s not too far from our home and is situated by the sea on one side and ‘Yungdang Lake’ on the other. The bars and restaurants were beginning to set up for the evening so we explored the park before eating. A good fairground for those who like being shaken up and turned upside down! I prefer the lake areas and the one in this park had been split into different sections and levels with walkways in all directions. The water lilies are just beginning to emerge which made a pleasant change from the lotus flower. A couple of large mounds proved an ideal place to fly a kite or if you are a kid to run up and down. With plenty of stone tables and stools under the shade of the trees it’s ideal for those wishing to picnic or play cards. As the sun began to set we returned to one of the restaurants. This was more like the eating places in the parks in Dalian with lots of skewered food. We had ordered a dish of ‘butterfly cockles’ but a foil wrapped parcel of stringy mushrooms and another vegetable arrived. Not our order but the young assistant begged us to try as there were no cockles. We stuck to our guns and refused ordering prawn kebabs instead. It was dark when we finished eating and drinking so the park was now illuminated with rows of ever changing coloured lights especially the lights that were set in diamond shapes on the floor by the long row of fountains. These too were illuminated but no ‘dancing’ tonight which was a shame. At last we saw a few ladies dancing and a mother with two youngsters we had followed from the restaurant was joining in. Her little girl with pigtails high on her head and wrapped tight in coloured bands joined in, her brother not being so enthusiastic getting into trouble for standing in the way at times. We returned to the road by walking over the lake where a couple of the white water lilies were in bloom. So much for the myth that they only open in sunlight! We could hear the loud croaking of frogs but failed to see any. They do right to hide as they could end up in the cookpot!
WEDNESDAY
We needed to buy some blank CDs from the ‘Electronic City’. Keith had asked his students if anyone knew where this store was, so armed with a rough map we found it was not too far from our apartment. In fact we had walked by the building several times without realising what was inside. 5 floors of everything one could possibly want to do with computing plus all the well known brands of cameras. I was quite taken up with a bright pink silicone keyboard that can be easily rolled up available at 45 yuan (£4.50) Crossing over the road we found ‘PC World’ and even more computer shops.
We had passed a small park set on a street corner so went to have a walk around it. It was only small but in its day had many water features such as a stream, waterfall and dancing fountain but it looked as though it was a long time since they had been running. Once again the park had been thoughtfully designed with large square wooden planters set on decking. There was even a toilet discretely hidden at the back of the park which I could easily be missed if I had not seen a lady coming out of the doorway.
We walked by a very smart apartment block the entrance guarded by two very large gold winged women either side of doors with intricate patterns of gold in the panels. I wonder how much it costs to live here? We walked on to ‘Yundang Lake’ following the winding path under the shade of the trees. Xiamen Island has the nickname ‘Egret Island’ because of the number of these birds that come to roost every day. I bet we could count on one hand the number we have seen since our arrival. I can only assume they have moved else where due to the amount of development continuing to take place.
We decided to return home as it was so hot and had no sooner stepped into our apartment when we heard the sound of breaking glass. Stepping onto the balcony we saw several policemen walking into the apartment block opposite. In one of the street level shops someone was throwing a hammer through a plate glass window. We have no idea what is sold in the shop as all we have seen are large sealed brown boxes stood in the windows. Later when I looked out the area of concrete supporting the window had been removed and a man was cleaning up the area.
THURSDAY
Because the very hot weather is continuing it was late afternoon when we took a walk along the waterfront to watch the activity in the area. Most of the large boats, similar to the one we went on last weekend, were tied up with no sign of life on any of them. The ‘Dancing Waters’ opposite ‘Luijiang Harbourview Hotel’ were silent but between the ferry points one water feature was in operation. Water cascaded down large carved stone columns set in a deep rectangle trough whilst in between small fountains bubbled up. There were two of these features and sitting on the wall of one was a young man carrying out his ablutions! He must have sensed me watching him as he washed his feet because on turning round he got out. Walking away I almost shouted to tell him he had left his flannel behind! We walked down the wide pavement as far as the impressive ‘Wyndham Hotel.’ After crossing over the road to head back home I heard what I thought was the noise of a frog. Looking over the neatly trimmed hedge I was amazed to find a small pond with water lilies still in tight bud but no sign of a frog just a continuous calling.
FRIDAY
Keith was home early today and with clear blue skies it seemed an ideal afternoon to visit the ‘Botanical Gardens’ overlooking Xiamen. If we were energetic we could have found our way down to ‘Xiamen University’ below according to the Guide Book. Trying to find a bus that would take us there proved difficult for me. The writing on the map is so small and there are so many buses running along the same roads our best solution was to go by taxi. It didn’t take too long and so the fare was the minimum rate of 8 yuan, plus an extra 1 because of the price of fuel. If we got there before 7am we could get in for free now we had to pay 40 yuan. There were several prices on the board and as an English couple arrived I said because we didn’t understand Chinese they would sell us the most expensive ticket anyway.
Once through the turnstile we had to climb several steps before making a decision which track we should take. We chose to go up yet more steps as the lower level sounded very noisy with local visitors. It was so quiet under the welcome shade of the trees. Higher and higher we climbed getting views in certain points of Xiamen’s skyline. Suddenly we came to a small temple and then another. I bet if we had wanted to visit these we would have had trouble locating them.
The first temple was hidden among the boulders where between a large crack many statues had been placed. Climbing a few more steps we came to an area where a young Monk was talking to an old lady who was more interested in watching TV.
The second temple looked quite new and a different style with a large round building inthe centre of the complex. There appeared to be no-one here, certainly no visitors. Bells hung from the corners of the roofs and a gust of wind caused one or two of them to ring. I also noticed that there were no phoenixes on any of these roofs.
All the time we walked along the meandering path we passed hundreds of large boulders some with large bright red characters others with inscriptions partly covered with plant life or eroded due to the elements. Having felt we had done enough climbing at the next junction we took the route that would lead us down rather than up.
At the lower level we walked across stepping stones over a small pond only to have to return. Then we came to a walkway across again passing by the large rocks. Down an old rough stone road we came to a grassed area where surprisingly the kiosk sold beer. There was the usual picnic tables advertising soft drinks but they had seen better days. Under the circle of stone shelters we found one in better condition and with a few plastic chairs scattered around so I chose to sit on one of those rather than the bench. No-one else was around and with the lawn sprinklers at play numerous birds came down to feed. Across the small lake was a stage with a backdrop of two shapes representing lotus petals with rows of lights leading down from the tip to almost the bottom of the shape. We stayed a while before moving onto the ‘Flower Exhibition Halls’.
Set by another lake with a large brilliant white statue of a bare chested woman standing in the water we followed a trail that lead us through various rooms where a limited display of pot plants were on show. I was a little disappointed as I expected to see more exotic specimens such as orchids. An elderly lady tried to have a conversation with me about the size of the colourful koi fish swimming around in the lake.
We had walked for around 3 hours and there was still a lot to see. Now was a good time to get a taxi home – if we left it any longer everyone would be leaving the offices and we would have a problem – so we left the park convinced we shall be back again as I think we have only see a few of the 10,000 rocks supposedly set in this vast garden.