CHINA 2010

MONDAY 2nd AUGUST

Very hot again today so we left it till mid afternoon to go to the old part of the city in search of some casual shoes for Keith. Having already seen some leather ones but not available in his size he was hoping he would find something similar in the smaller shops. He saw several but they were either not available in his size or too narrow. At least we were under the shade of the buildings but at times ventured down narrow alleyways. Taking one of these routes we found ourselves in the ‘red light district’ and as I was a few steps behind Keith saw their faces light up – they were not so happy to see me! Down one of these alleys we came across large round baskets with a wide opening containing ducks lining the pavement outside small houses where women were either soaking them in water to make plucking the feathers easier or already filling small buckets with feathers – another messy job. I wondered if this area provided the restaurants with ducks. As we approached the fish market we came across two men standing over a large polystyrene case overflowing with small sharks, a fish we had not previously seen on display anywhere. However as we progressed down the rows of fish stands we saw a few of these fish for sale. All this seafood was making me feel really hungry but we had arranged to eat out tonight.

TUESDAY 3rd AUGUST
A full day for Keith and after eating out in the evening went for a walk around the old part of the city again. There are so many streets to explore and we found ourselves almost walking down another ‘red light area’ spotting the young ladies stood at various points along the street. It’s a good job Keith had taken extra money out with him as we came across two shoe shops where he had success in getting his casual shoes. We ended up in the fish market walking through some messy areas which were or had been hosed down. The fish stall holders were now transforming their area into barbeques, the long narrow metal burner filled with newly lit charcoal. I noticed the last of the prawn sellers had reduced the price hoping to get rid of the remaining few. On some of the larger fruit stalls Keith spotted grapefruit but I had already bought a large supply from the supermarket. I really must make an effort and come and shop here if only to buy chicken eggs!As soon as we arrived at home the first thing I did was fill the washing bowl with hot water and good helping of disinfectant and soak my feet!