CHINA 2010 TUESDAY 6th

Keith has to work until 4pm today but will be home for a couple of hours at midday. I went to do a little more supermarket shopping but nothing strenuous as we are now feeling tired. I decided we would have chicken for lunch. 22 yuan for a fresh one or 9.80 for a smaller one but already cooked – the cooked one I think, which I would serve with a carrot and cabbage salad. The small plum tomatoes are served as a fruit in China but today they will be included in my salad. Keith arrived home at lunchtime with a present – one of his student’s had given him a Company tie. Was this because he wasn’t wearing a tie yesterday?

Late afternoon when it feels a little cooler we took a walk towards the ‘Walking Street’ where there is no traffic. We were getting into the older part of the city where the shops may look modern but on looking up the buildings are very old and many seem to have retained their shutters. We took note at the number of shops selling clocks and also shoes as my feet are beginning to suffer with blisters due to the heat and wearing heavy sandals. A lot of people were already in the main street, some drinking coffee and tea at the outside stands, many shopping, and others like us just aimlessly wandering along We saw old carved wood panels forming the top of a gateway into a side street and a brass statues of Chinese figures which are very bright in parts touched by the people walking by.

We reached the end of the road which happened to be almost opposite the ferry terminal to Gulangyu. Outside a very nice hotel a man tried to sell Keith a watch. He was somewhat persistent although Keith repeatedly said he was not interested. An offer of 2 watches for 100 yuan and still he refused to buy.

We crossed the road to get rid of him and watched the ferry boats coming and going to the island. Small slow fishing boats moved in the straits with no sign of the men fishing just seeking shelter from the hot sun under a makeshift shelter. We walked past a couple of restaurants and then a modern Government Building with a top to bottom curved frontage and now illuminated.

A short distance further on was yet more eating places and we chose one of these to eat in. All seafood and we made good choices and although the portions were slightly smaller than last night the prices were very good. One particular dish we tried was very small squid with ginger and shredded seaweed and was extremely tasty. However there was something in the sauce which cleared my sinuses and brought tears to our eyes! The feeling soon passed especially with the help of more beer.

I understand that by visiting the following site you will be able to see some photos of Xiamen, none of which are mine I might add :-

http://www.flickr.com/groups/xiamen/pool/