CHINA 2010 SUNDAY 25th

Just when we thought we would go out this morning it began to rain so a change of plan. We stayed for lunch by which time the shower had passed and the hot sunshine was back.

The afternoon plan was to walk to Yundang Lake cross over it and then take a right and we should end up at the Government Building. Forgetting to pick up the map we still went ahead with our walk deviating slightly to get to the lake and passing the small garden on the street corner that I wrote about recently with the hidden toilet. On our previous visit I had missed the violin sculpture and today the planters were more colourful. Going diagonally across this small park would bring us out on a road leading to the ‘State Grid’ building and into the landscaped area of Yundang Lake.

With the hot sunshine we chose to take the winding path under the shade of the trees. The gardeners had been busy cutting back bamboo and in my opinion making a right mess of the pruning. (The city gardeners have been cutting back the trees along the roads near our apartment and the prunings are in large piles are causing an obstruction on the pavement whilst awaiting collection.) Over the two bridges across the lake and then the direct path out to lead us to a road where we turned to our right and again choosing the shady side to walk we continued to the next junction.

We hadn’t walked far when it began to rain but thankfully a few sun umbrellas at the side of the road provided shelter for the short shower giving us a lovely view of a basket of flowers. When I say basket of flowers this is a centre piece in the landscaped gardens of the Government Building. I cannot say how high or wide this basket is but would guess around 10 feet and has a series of large paintings depicting different landscape scenes of China. I bet it even looks better illuminated at night especially with an avenue of large lights in the shape of spikes of flower heads to light up the whole area. We walked through the garden which being a Sunday was very quiet to see on our left an amphitheatre with large ornate stone plaques on the curved walls whilst at the top of the tiered stone seating was a row of sculptured shrubbery. Arriving at another road which was roped off due to the replacement of large underground pipes with metal ones which surprised us somewhat as we thought they would not be using plastic we headed back towards the Lake.

Walking past a row of cafe’s overlooking the Lake we decided we would join Xiamen’s elite and have a drink. As usual Keith ordered beer whilst I went for a mango smoothie. His drink soon arrived but I sat a while and was just on the point of going to ask where my drink was when the waitress arrived with a large glass of mango ice. It took me a long time to eat it and I only managed to drink the last couple of inches through my thick straw when the last of the ice had melted. Very nice, and very welcome in this heat. We were in no rush anyway spending the time watching the Porches and other expensive cars arrive and the occupants disappear into the cafes after being chased by the lady parking officials riding small bicycles to purchase a ticket.
Back by the Lake we followed the path avoiding the fishermen who were out numbers today. By the bottom of the lake we saw several egrets sitting on posts jutting out of the water. A couple of wooden hoardings on the path showed pictures of the birdlife we could expect to see in the area and various shapes at different heights had been cut into the wood panelling so everyone could have a really good view of the egrets. The Lake is tidal and at this point we could see just how fast it was draining into the sea. Continuing on the path we got another view of the skyline of Xiamen and as we approached another water feature we were to witness another local taking a shower before returning to the busy road to make our way home. The greenery was still lying on the footpaths awaiting collection.

We ate at the Vietnamese Restaurant not very far from our apartment. On being handed the menu we discovered the dishes were Thai - no wonder I am confused! At least we were left to look at the pictures without feeling we have to make a quick decision when the waitress is standing by our table with pen and order pad in hand. It’s okay for the locals as they wish to discuss every dish before making a final decision. Having made or choices I noticed a couple at a nearby table eating the fried ‘Elephant Fish’ that we had sampled in Vietnam and is served upright in a wooden rack but we hadn’t seen that in any of the pictures. We had hoped to try ‘Pineapple and Beef’ but our waitress said this dish was pork even though the menu and stated in written English beef, so a change of choice and went for an alternative beef dish. We also had some lovely spiced prawns with lots of peppers and onion, and a selection of Thai vegetables that consisted of cabbage, cauliflower, brocilli, red cabbage and green beans in a sauce. Trying to order a dish of mixed vegetables is difficult in most restaurants. Of course we had the Thai beer to wash it all down. On paying the bill Keith said what an expensive day we had had. I looked puzzled until he reminded me of the expensive cafe by the Lake and as this is the only Vietnamese Restaurant in our area of Xiamen Island it too was expensive.

We were home at 8pm just in time to watch the German Grand Prix.