Carol's Travels

This morning after breakfast we drove to the old village of Tongli which is known as the Venice of China. This was about a two-hour trip from Shanghai. As we walked by the old shops along the river and over stone bridges, we watched people floating down the canals in gondola-type boats.   
  

 

I was fascinated with the instruments in a small music store. I wish I could bring a pipa home, but it is too large. I found an interesting-looking instrument, though, that I had never seen before. It is called a Hulusi. The Miao people, a mixed raced people, played it. This recorder-like instrument has a decorated small gourd on one end. I knew that I could carry it on the plane in my daypack, so I bought it.   

 
We ate a delicious lunch in a very old restaurant, Teahouse of South Garden. Then we drove to Suzhou to ride on a little bit bigger boat with an engine through the Grand Canal. Last, we drove to the Humble Administrator’s Garden. Neither Paul nor I were particularly interested in walking here, so we sat on a bench near the entrance and watched people while the rest of the group walked. We had a great time watching people taking pictures of the wilting flowers that were planted in plastic flower pots and colorfully arranged in groups. I found it strange that the flowers weren’t planted in the ground. 

Throughout the trip. People have been taking selfies with their iPhones attached to sticks. It is fun to watch them pose. Another popular spot to have a photo taken is by a blossoming tree. 

Our group decided that they wanted to take a shorter tour than our guide had planned, so we only got to people watch for thirty minutes. When our group left the gardens, we drove back to Shanghai. We stopped for dinner at a combination Chinese/Japanese restaurant for our farewell dinner. We watched the chef cook the meat in front of us then pour brandy on it to make it flame!

When we got back to the hotel, we packed. Our flight to Beijing has been cancelled, so we have been booked on a much earlier flight. We will have to leave the hotel at 5:45 A.M. Then we will have to spend more time in the Beijing Airport before our flight leaves for San Francisco.

7257 steps, 3.08 miles

We ate a good breakfast this morning, but we decided that breakfast at the Shanghai Sheraton Hotel doesn’t compare with the Beijing Sheraton. At 9:30 we met our guide, Kristy. She first took us to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower where we took a very fast elevator up to see the panoramic city view. All the important buildings were labeled in English.  

After that, we walked down to experience walking on a glass floor to view what was below. With my acrophobia, I felt numb all over. I was determined to succeed, however, and I did! 

We passed a roller coaster and other things kids would like, then we took an elevator down to the Shanghai Municipal History Museum. It had reproductions of cars, street scenes, and many other items from Chinese history. Our group went through it rather quickly, then we went to lunch. The food was O.K., but it didn’t compare with Guilin food. 

Next we toured a silk demonstration facility where the process of using the silk from the silkworms is shown. Fabric is made from cocoons that have one worm inside. Fillings for silk comforters are made from cocoons with two worms inside. We had the opportunity to buy things from the showroom, but I didn’t see anything I wanted. When I was here before, we went to a silk factory where women were actually working taking the cocoons out of boiling water with their bare hands! This place was much more commercialized and had a bigger showroom to buy silk products. 

We walked along the river on the Shanghai Bund. Then we had the opportunity to do a little shopping in Old Town. Anita and I went shopping for silk scarves. We weren’t finding anything when suddenly an enterprising man on the street told us to follow him. He must get a kickback from the stores he takes tourists to if we buy. He took us to three stores before we found anything we finally liked, and we bargained for the price we wanted to pay. 

We went back to the hotel for a short break to get ready for dinner and the Shanghai Acrobatics Show this evening. Our guide took us to another restaurant that is frequented by tour groups. That may be the reason our food is mediocre here. When guides take us to their special favorite restaurants the food is good.

The acrobatics show this evening wasn’t as good as it was in 2001 when I saw it. There wasn’t nearly as much acrobatics as then. This was more like a vaudeville show. Too bad we couldn’t see more of what I thought we would see.  

9000 steps, 3.83 miles

We visited the Guilin Tea Research Institute this morning. Li, our guide, had arranged for Nico to show us the various kinds of tea picked off the same plant. The tiny top leaves are the white tea, the next largest are green tea, then it is oolong, and the largest are black tea. Then he took us into a private room where there were specialized pots, strainers, and tiny cups. We tasted five teas including Six Treasures which is a blend of six teas. Most of us liked this one the best. It can be stored for ten years, and it gets better with age. They sell gift boxes of this tea that have been aged five years. This is the only place where this special tea can be purchased. 

 

We had another delicious lunch at a restaurant. Li has succeeded in picking great restaurants and dishes for us to try. He is a knowledgeable, intuitive, caring guide who is skilled in talking with tourists.

After lunch we had a free hour where we could go for a walk, look at the Internet in a hotel lobby, or go experience reflexology. Three of us chose reflexology. I really enjoyed the experience! 

Then Li took us to Reed Flute Cave. I love caves! This one was beautifully lighted in many sections to accentuate the stalagmites and stalactites. Even though there were over 300 steps, they were fairly easy to maneuver.   

 
He had arranged our final dinner in Guilin to be at the Macau Restaurant. Again the food was excellent. The duck was the best we have eaten so far. Of course, I loved the eggplant dish again. It was then time to take us to the airport for our flight to Shanghai. The plane was on time!

When we arrived in Shanghai, we were met by our last bus driver in China. Our female guide will meets us tomorrow morning.  

10,356 steps, 4.41 miles