CHINA 2010 SATURDAY 11th SEPTEMBER
Predicted thunderstorms for today made us think about our plans for the day. When 10am had passed, the time given for the first round of bad weather, we settled on Plan A – the ‘Botanical Gardens’. Just in case the 2pm rain should come I packed our plastic capes in my bag instead of umbrellas and a couple of boiled eggs as we planned to take the long route into the gardens.
The weather was good with a nice breeze ideal for walking. We caught a 531 from the harbour to Shangli district and then crossing over the road a number 2 to the top of Longhushan Lu. The number 2 bus was a small one but the fare was 2 yuan as it had upholstered seating, most of which was occupied. We hadn’t far to go but as the centre seat on the back row was vacant I would occupy it whilst Keith took a seat in the next row. Big mistake on my part as I jumped up – wet trousers and knickers again!
We were too far from home to think about changing and I hoped the sun would soon dry me out. We paid a reduced fee at the ticket office and received an up to date leaflet showing this route. We set off on a long uphill winding road relieved there were no steps – yet. With blue skies and puffy white clouds, colourful shrubs and trees, and good views including the dam and golf course as we looked back, not to mention the perfume in the air. We met up with a family whose small son was already tired of walking and further along said “hello” to a couple of students sitting under a large rock. Lots of “hellos” came back as a large group were sitting up the lower level of a long flight of steps behind them. With a winding road we occasionally got views of what lay ahead for us which included crossing over a long bridge. From this point we could look down to the sea as well as spot another Temple hidden in the distant hillside to the East. Eventually we came to a wooden map and saw we were almost at the point of taking a route down to the University grounds or continuing on to a Peak.
We had only been walking for an hour so decided to take the Peak route. Leaving the road where pots of bougainvillea had been placed in areas where it was unsuitable for planting we followed a narrow path leading to steps but at least there were flat stretches between each small flight. Just when I was going to say to Keith that we hadn’t encountered anyone else in a while a man appeared giving us information that we would have to climb then go down and would end our walk in ‘Nanputou Temple’. That will be nice and handy for the 22 bus!
The landscape began to change around the Peak where I insisted Keith took my photo but with the wind billowing my blouse and trousers I looked so fat that I wished he hadn’t bothered. Still I feel it was an achievement. It looked as though there had been a fire in the immediate area and among the rocky landscape the gardeners had collected bundles of twigs and left them in neat piles, some bundles being wrapped in black polythene. There were more steps to climb just when I believed we were on our way down. Again the climb was worth it as we found a beer stop! Under a traditional style pavilion we sat on a marble seat to have a long rest and whilst Keith supped his beer from a small plastic cup I drank from a bottle of coke. Within minutes we were joined by several people of all ages. An old man came to play cards with the group of men sitting behind the glass counter, one of them being the kiosk owner. We noted that some of the women had walked up in high heeled shoes whilst men wore plastic flip flops. The views from here were lovely looking down into the grounds of Xiamen University and next door ‘Nanputou Temple’. Behind where we were sitting was a series of large flat rocks and close by a lookout turret probably from the war with Japan or Taiwan. By now a woman had replaced the man in the kiosk and the man had passed by going down into what looked like a tunnel which presumably led to the turret to carry out some work as suddenly there was a lot of banging coming from that area. As men appeared from the rock area I went to check if there was a route down but saw nothing other than pine trees and a large area that had been prepared for either a building or perhaps another small reservoir as there are already a few in this area.
When it was time to leave we took the set of steps by the kiosk building and could now see a lot of work was taking place and a pair of ladders had been set up on the stone steps making it a little difficult to pass by. Gardeners were digging holes in between the trees close to the lamp lined pathway. We came to a small junction leading to a new toilet block most of which had been hidden by concrete in the shape of large rocks to fit in with the landscape. There was also a motorbike and small crates containing a total of 19 loudspeakers. Two young men on their way down asked “What is in the boxes?” and Keith explained but didn’t know why there had been left there. We walked down to the next level with the young men learning they were from a small town in Fujian province, and having our photo taken with the talkative one before saying “goodbye”.
The small steps continued, sometimes going into sharp corners, but all the time the landscape was lovely and forever changing as we neared the Temple buildings in the hillside. I was so glad we were going down and not up! Apart from lots of ornate lamps there were plenty of rubbish bins and it was nice to see that people used them, but we still encountered old people searching for discarded plastic bottles.
Eventually we completed our downward route and chose to walk through the quieter areas of the Temple taking photos of lines of washing hanging outside the monks’ accommodation and noting that there appears to be no running water in their small rooms as we saw one monk carrying a bowl of water along the corridor. The two ‘lion dogs’ outside a small Temple had been covered over with bed linen - not a sight one usually sees. Behind one of the larger accommodation buildings I found a small pool with a bridge across it and close by a large rock with an opening. Venturing inside the narrow opening I found the floor space and part of the inner rock surface had been filled with small statues similar to ones that I had noticed around the base of the rock outside.
We left the Temple grounds pleased to see the souvenir stalls, map sellers and beggars were no longer operating in the area. We had a while to wait for a 22 bus and were able to get seats for our journey home. We had not realised we had really caught the sun today, especially Keith as he had been walking with his shirt undone.
We went to ‘Haiwan Park’ for our final fling and as usual had a really good night even though one session included locals getting on stage to sing. I say locals, a Westerner sitting at the table behind us with his Chinese girlfriend sang a lovely song to her during which she rushed on stage to embrace him to the cheers from the crowd. When the song was over he picked her up and carried her back to their table in his arms! Feeling peckish Keith ordered a plate of something in breadcrumbs which our waitress had informed him was very hot. The dish was the very hot green chillies stuffed with cheese and covered in breadcrumbs then fried and presented with a bowl of Thousand Island Dressing. I took a small piece from the tip of one of the peppers and that was enough for me. However Keith persevered and almost got through two of the four before asking the waitress to clear the table agreeing they were hot! I told him we should have stuck to the chicken wraps but one has to try something different.
Just after midnight we thought the group had finished but they returned to the stage for another session playing lots of good music including some requested by us so more dancing with the locals. We left around 1.30am waving goodbye to our entertainers at which point Keith caught his leg on one of the planters and fell into the plants. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the staff didn’t put dirty glasses on the marble top and as Keith stumbled he knocked them over breaking quite a few and cut his thumb. In the short time the front of his shirt was covered in blood as people fussed around him and one of the older men I had been dancing with produced a napkin to wrap around his injury whilst I thanked him for his help needless to say Keith was very embarrassed.
The weather was good with a nice breeze ideal for walking. We caught a 531 from the harbour to Shangli district and then crossing over the road a number 2 to the top of Longhushan Lu. The number 2 bus was a small one but the fare was 2 yuan as it had upholstered seating, most of which was occupied. We hadn’t far to go but as the centre seat on the back row was vacant I would occupy it whilst Keith took a seat in the next row. Big mistake on my part as I jumped up – wet trousers and knickers again!
We were too far from home to think about changing and I hoped the sun would soon dry me out. We paid a reduced fee at the ticket office and received an up to date leaflet showing this route. We set off on a long uphill winding road relieved there were no steps – yet. With blue skies and puffy white clouds, colourful shrubs and trees, and good views including the dam and golf course as we looked back, not to mention the perfume in the air. We met up with a family whose small son was already tired of walking and further along said “hello” to a couple of students sitting under a large rock. Lots of “hellos” came back as a large group were sitting up the lower level of a long flight of steps behind them. With a winding road we occasionally got views of what lay ahead for us which included crossing over a long bridge. From this point we could look down to the sea as well as spot another Temple hidden in the distant hillside to the East. Eventually we came to a wooden map and saw we were almost at the point of taking a route down to the University grounds or continuing on to a Peak.
We had only been walking for an hour so decided to take the Peak route. Leaving the road where pots of bougainvillea had been placed in areas where it was unsuitable for planting we followed a narrow path leading to steps but at least there were flat stretches between each small flight. Just when I was going to say to Keith that we hadn’t encountered anyone else in a while a man appeared giving us information that we would have to climb then go down and would end our walk in ‘Nanputou Temple’. That will be nice and handy for the 22 bus!
The landscape began to change around the Peak where I insisted Keith took my photo but with the wind billowing my blouse and trousers I looked so fat that I wished he hadn’t bothered. Still I feel it was an achievement. It looked as though there had been a fire in the immediate area and among the rocky landscape the gardeners had collected bundles of twigs and left them in neat piles, some bundles being wrapped in black polythene. There were more steps to climb just when I believed we were on our way down. Again the climb was worth it as we found a beer stop! Under a traditional style pavilion we sat on a marble seat to have a long rest and whilst Keith supped his beer from a small plastic cup I drank from a bottle of coke. Within minutes we were joined by several people of all ages. An old man came to play cards with the group of men sitting behind the glass counter, one of them being the kiosk owner. We noted that some of the women had walked up in high heeled shoes whilst men wore plastic flip flops. The views from here were lovely looking down into the grounds of Xiamen University and next door ‘Nanputou Temple’. Behind where we were sitting was a series of large flat rocks and close by a lookout turret probably from the war with Japan or Taiwan. By now a woman had replaced the man in the kiosk and the man had passed by going down into what looked like a tunnel which presumably led to the turret to carry out some work as suddenly there was a lot of banging coming from that area. As men appeared from the rock area I went to check if there was a route down but saw nothing other than pine trees and a large area that had been prepared for either a building or perhaps another small reservoir as there are already a few in this area.
When it was time to leave we took the set of steps by the kiosk building and could now see a lot of work was taking place and a pair of ladders had been set up on the stone steps making it a little difficult to pass by. Gardeners were digging holes in between the trees close to the lamp lined pathway. We came to a small junction leading to a new toilet block most of which had been hidden by concrete in the shape of large rocks to fit in with the landscape. There was also a motorbike and small crates containing a total of 19 loudspeakers. Two young men on their way down asked “What is in the boxes?” and Keith explained but didn’t know why there had been left there. We walked down to the next level with the young men learning they were from a small town in Fujian province, and having our photo taken with the talkative one before saying “goodbye”.
The small steps continued, sometimes going into sharp corners, but all the time the landscape was lovely and forever changing as we neared the Temple buildings in the hillside. I was so glad we were going down and not up! Apart from lots of ornate lamps there were plenty of rubbish bins and it was nice to see that people used them, but we still encountered old people searching for discarded plastic bottles.
Eventually we completed our downward route and chose to walk through the quieter areas of the Temple taking photos of lines of washing hanging outside the monks’ accommodation and noting that there appears to be no running water in their small rooms as we saw one monk carrying a bowl of water along the corridor. The two ‘lion dogs’ outside a small Temple had been covered over with bed linen - not a sight one usually sees. Behind one of the larger accommodation buildings I found a small pool with a bridge across it and close by a large rock with an opening. Venturing inside the narrow opening I found the floor space and part of the inner rock surface had been filled with small statues similar to ones that I had noticed around the base of the rock outside.
We left the Temple grounds pleased to see the souvenir stalls, map sellers and beggars were no longer operating in the area. We had a while to wait for a 22 bus and were able to get seats for our journey home. We had not realised we had really caught the sun today, especially Keith as he had been walking with his shirt undone.
We went to ‘Haiwan Park’ for our final fling and as usual had a really good night even though one session included locals getting on stage to sing. I say locals, a Westerner sitting at the table behind us with his Chinese girlfriend sang a lovely song to her during which she rushed on stage to embrace him to the cheers from the crowd. When the song was over he picked her up and carried her back to their table in his arms! Feeling peckish Keith ordered a plate of something in breadcrumbs which our waitress had informed him was very hot. The dish was the very hot green chillies stuffed with cheese and covered in breadcrumbs then fried and presented with a bowl of Thousand Island Dressing. I took a small piece from the tip of one of the peppers and that was enough for me. However Keith persevered and almost got through two of the four before asking the waitress to clear the table agreeing they were hot! I told him we should have stuck to the chicken wraps but one has to try something different.
Just after midnight we thought the group had finished but they returned to the stage for another session playing lots of good music including some requested by us so more dancing with the locals. We left around 1.30am waving goodbye to our entertainers at which point Keith caught his leg on one of the planters and fell into the plants. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the staff didn’t put dirty glasses on the marble top and as Keith stumbled he knocked them over breaking quite a few and cut his thumb. In the short time the front of his shirt was covered in blood as people fussed around him and one of the older men I had been dancing with produced a napkin to wrap around his injury whilst I thanked him for his help needless to say Keith was very embarrassed.
posted by Pam at
07:16
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