CHINA 2010 SUNDAY 21st AUGUST

I had a morning of shopping, washing, then frying small fish for lunch before setting out in the afternoon. Nothing strenuous for us – a walk along the front from ‘Huli Fortress’ to ‘Music Square’ which I was convinced wasn’t far from the end of the musical note sculpture. New bicycles, especially tandems had been delivered to the several hire stands in the area but it was still too hot for cycling. It had felt very pleasant at home but getting off the 22 bus we found ourselves once again in the heat and clear blue skies – no wonder so many people were on the beach and in the sea.
We walked along the roadside occasionally wandering through the paths of green areas or walking along the wooden walkway by the sea. On one stretch of the walkway we saw a few homemade boats, if boats is the right word. We watched one man walk out of a boat compound with a polystyrene platform in a metal frame on his back, the front being slightly curled. Surely he wasn’t going out in that! We stood and watched as a friend helped him load the boat with a fishing road, buckets, and other bags whilst the boatman set about erecting a makeshift mast on which he hung a basket. Fitting a small outboard motor with a ‘kill cord’ impressed Keith for a minute until he saw he had fitted it to the boat and not his wrist! As we watched a flotilla of fishing boats went by sailing very close to each other which made me think of the catchphrase “we want to be together”.
A little further along by a line of large pipes leading to the water’s edge a woman was busy knocking very small mussels off the pipe closest to the water. We have had these but they are so small it’s only the sauce that really ‘makes’ the dish. In this area was a large seafood restaurant and a new ‘pub’ in the final stages of construction which should be good for listening to music with a lovely view across the straits to the several small islands close by.
This ‘short’ walk took around 35 minutes and then when we reached the ‘Music Square’ wondered if our journey had been really necessary. Our guide book had said we would see sculptures of famous musicians and could listen to the musicians. The sculptures laid around the lawned area were cleverly done using large pieces of rock with a face, a few lines of music and inscription about the person. Unfortunately most were not arranged in a photographic position and there were no musicians just lots of couples sitting under the trees. The large toilet block even had musical notes painted on the walls.
Across the road in the hillside was a Temple and by the side of a small road leading up towards the hillside was a painted sign of Ying and Yang, people and two other symbols we couldn’t identify. Up a few steps we saw plastic chairs amongst coloured bunting hanging from the trees – a beer stop! Waking up some of the staff we asked for 2 cold beers but asking the price, before removing the top, said “no” not 25 yuan and we left. A bus stop was not far away so we caught the first bus back to the Fort and then a 22 home where we both drank rather large amounts of the amber nectar!
After I had cooked we went up to ‘Haiwan Park’ to drink more beer and watch the group play in JJs. They were very good tonight and played a wide range of music including hill billy rock, the keyboard player singing several Lionel Ritchie numbers and as we were about to leave Sex Bomb so we had to stay for that number! Once again as we got up to leave they waved and thanked us for staying.