Thursday, November 6, 2008
November 5, 2008
- Today we were scheduled to be
typical tourists, no workshops or school visits. - We checked out of the hotel at 7:40 AM, and boarded the bus for a ride to have a traditional Chinese breakfast. Most of us ate at the hotel’s buffet; our experience with traditional Chinese meals had taught us to take advantage of good food while you can.
- Our wisdom paid off. Although some of the dumplings were good; and our definition of good is quickly changing, most of the meal was varieties of steamed vegetable and unidentifiable meats. Like our banquet room at the Yangzhou Guesthouse, the restaurant had lots of round tables that seated ten, and there was the exact same type of glass lazy Susan that enable family style sharing of each of the dishes.
- We then went to Slender Lake Garden which was built several hundred years ago by the salt merchants of Yangzhou to attract the Emporer. Gardens are a very important part of Chinese life. Every garden must contain water, rock, trees and flowers. Paths, and even the bridges over the water, are frequently crooked in order to provide a constantly changing views. This garden was the premier garden of Yangzhou and was filled with other tourist groups. In addition to the obvious floral arrangements you’d find in a garden, this garden also had music piped in to various places.
- We went for a 20 minute dragon boat ride. Our boat was power by a beautiful young woman who moved the boat
with a single oar/tiller as she sat at the stern of the boat. One of our teachers from Manchester, James O’Dwyer, who has been to China before and provided us with constant local information, ecouraged her to sing and she did. James actually was on a dragon boat with this same woman during his previous visit and noted that they were actually on the boat when the most recent big eathquake occurred. - During out time in the garden a number of the educators in the group were receiving election results from the US via text messages from friends. When I first heard that Obama was off to a big lead and that victory was likely I was moved to tears. Word spread quickly among the Americans especially with each update. Many of the Australian and English expressed their elation for Obama’s impending victory.
- We left the garden at 11:30 and head for a modern, clean large restaurant that was surrounded by beautiful gardens. As we walked into this restaurant we were greeted by a two piece musical combo that was singing a Carpenter’s song. They were actually pretty good and cover many American hits including the Eagles’ “Hotel California”. We were treated to a wonderful buffet, including cold draft beer, sushi, and espresso. Their wasabi was very hot. Like the buffets at the Yangzhou Guesthouse, they are clearly appealing to a wide range of Western tastes. I still haven’t figured out how to eat fully shelled shrimp with chop sticks. Our best meal so far.
- I made a toast to our new president…everyone cheered!
- Our next stop was to the Yangzhou Municipal Museum, a very large Guggenheim like structure that was probably built in the past decade. The volunteer guides from Yangzhou University that are spending the day with us did not provide much information about the displays, so we on our own to interpret what we were seeing. Unfortunately none of the displays included English.
- After leaving the museum our bus took to us to first a laquerware store, and then to a jade store for some shopping. A number of people in our group bought items in one or both of these places, and many bought nothing. Even in very Western like stores,
you’re expected to haggle over the price. The rule of thumb, don’t pay more than 30% of the original price. - After shopping we headed toward our dinner restaurant, but walked several back streets/alleys of downtown Zangzhou to see the real urban China. It was extremely depressing and shocking. We saw many people living in shantiess, one room homes w/out plumbing or electricity. They cook in the alley and use public toilets. They have to leave their doors open for light, so you can see right in. At first I thought these were just run down garages that people were using for a business of some sort or storage, but then it becomes clear to you that these spaces are their homes!
- There were many street vendors, cooking and selling many unidentifiable items. Some smelled good and some smelled horrid. My appetite was quickly disappearing.
- We did see the home of the current Chairman. It is unmarked and very modest. He does have an official residence, so this is his home prior to becoming Chairman. However, our guide says he does still use it occasionally.
- Dinner was our second worst; only a bit better than what we had at the NBOFL school on Tuesday night. Lots of vegetables and unusual meats. The best course was peanuts…I’m not kidding!
- Our stay in Zangzhou ended when we arrived at the train station, a mammoth modern looking building that was very crowded. Bags had to be xrayed before we could enter the station, and we boarded our train almost immediately.
- The train left the station right on time…8:30 PM.
- Four of us share a compartment that had already been converted into two sets of bunks with pillows and comforters on each bed. The space between the bunks was very small so we had to take turns standing in the corridor while one person got ready for bed.
- Several of us went to the club car and had a Budweiser in celebration of Obama’s victory, but the beer was warm and we were all exhausted, so we turned in by 10 AM.
- The bunks were hard as wood, but I slept ‘til about 3 AM before having to go to the bathroom. Those are another story…words can describe the smell…you had to be there…no…I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.
