CHINA 2010 WEDNESDAY 7th

We spent most of the afternoon riding the overhead ‘Bus Rapid Transit’ on line 3 which will take us to the Conference Centre on the east coast of the island. A very quick system on an air conditioned bus fitted with TVs to keep passengers entertained. We were happy to look at the landscape of ancient and modern buildings and landscaped avenues. We soon arrived at our destination to find a new very large station is in its final stages of construction.

We walked a fair distance down a wide road with large urns of red and yellow flowers running down the central grass area. Unfortunately nothing was taking place in the Conference and Exhibition Centre today so it was quite deserted. It seemed much bigger than the one in Dalian and unlike Dalian’s there was plenty of parking spaces. Next door was a large hotel built in the shape of a cruise liner. Behind the hotel was a large open field and under the shade of a few low trees people were sat. One woman was in charge of a large display of kites, presumably for hire by the state of them. She tried to entice us to have one but we declined and moved over the rough field, where someone was trying to fly a red parachute kite but having no success due to the lack of wind, to reach the promenade. As we walked along heading north several Westerners came by on bicycles – in this heat!

We met an Englishman taking a break from his job as Production Manager for an English Company, he didn’t say which and we didn’t ask. He has lived in Xiamen for the last couple of years. Ahead of us was another large area under construction. Our companion told us this area was to be Asia’s largest marina for 800 boats. I asked if they would ever fill the marina only to be informed that recently in one day 20 moorings and apartments had been sold. At last week’s Xiamen Motor Show 1,000 cars had been sold.

At sea two dredgers were busy at work close to the proposed Marina sea wall and close to the shore a man was wading through waist deep water collecting something between rows of sticks protruding out of the sea. The smell was not very pleasant and we felt we had walked far enough in this direction so turned around.

As we approached the Conference Centre we said goodbye and set about retracing our steps to the bus station once again encountering the cyclists. In a row of buildings we spotted a coffee shop and called in for a welcome cold drink. A very nice place where we were made very welcome by the young girl tending the bar, and was even more surprised at their reasonable prices.

Back in the street we failed to find the bus station but on showing our map to a man he pointed us in the right direction. We had to walk past the new station, turn left and walk up a shady incline to arrive at a very small brick kiosk which was currently the substitute station. We have each been issued with a travel pass so do not have to queue up for tickets. Our card is swiped as we pass it over a large ‘button’ at the turnstile and on exiting the turnstyle at our destination the card is again swiped and the cost deducted from the card. We have 100 yuan and fares are normally 1 yuan, but with using the card the fare is a little cheaper. The buses are very frequent so we do not have too long to wait. On this system there is no overtaking and although a very good system it does not go everywhere so we need to pay attention as to which of the 3 lines we should take. The station close to our apartment is ‘Si Bei’ and is only 2 stops from the terminal which is also close to home. Leaving the station we took a detour home and found yet more suitable eating places, one of which we would try tonight.

The restaurant we chose looked as though it had recently opened because the gold drapped pillars still looked fresh and inside timber and workmen’s tools had been moved into a corner. We were shown upstairs into a private room as these have air conditioning units. Floor standing fans are usually used elsewhere. The young man who attended to our order practiced his English which was somewhat helpful to us, but they do not always understand what we are saying to them. We ordered our usual 3 dishes, 2 of which came with a burner where the flames were going up the side of the metal dish. As Keith tried to reduce the height of the flame we had a problem. The box of paper hankies used as napkins had been placed next to the dishes, or vice versa, and with the air conditioning blowing our way the exposed tissues caught fire. Keith quickly got hold of them and dropped them onto the glass top but the breeze took them down onto the tablecloth and finally onto the floor by which time one was a pile of ash and I poured some of my tea on to the other which was still alight! He slightly burnt his thumb which must have hurt as he put it in his small glass of beer! No signs of any damage thankfully, and not enough heat to set off the sprinkler system, but we did mention it to our young man when he reappeared to see if we wanted anything else. It will be some time before we return here. On paying the bill we commented how cheap the meal had been and then examining the till receipt found they had not included the beers. When the young man returned with our change Keith showed him the bill but he said it was okay even though we tried to pay for them.