Tania in China

Sun, Oct 29: Around the Lake

I have now officially been in China for 3 weeks, and have not gotten sick yet (knock on wood!). Part of it may be that I have been eating out so infrequently. I am still having a bit of a "bobbing" problem, although now I am more "listing to port", as if the whole world is tilting to my left. It doesn't seem to be as severe as before, so maybe it is clearing up a bit. My friend Martha suggested Ginko Biloba to get rid of it, so I looked for it in Walmart. I found a bottle, but it was $25 US! I am not feeling THAT bad! I will have to ask the guys here if that is something that would be on sale at a pharmacy here, and how much it is there. Maybe one will go with me - I am sure the staff will not speak English. Otherwise, I am planning to just put up with the bobbing until I get back to the US and try the herb there.

Another lazy morning - I don't wake up until 9am, and it is 9:30 before I finally head down for breakfast. I try to make a bacon and egg sandwich, but it doesn't work out too well - no cream cheese to hold everything together! I go back to the room and putz around for 3 hours; updating the blog, organizing my room, watching TV, until I finally decide I have to get going and head out the door. It is hazy again, so I decide to visit the park near my hotel, Mochou Lake. Even though it looks like it is right next door on the map, it is about a 15 minute walk, dodging bikes and scooters the whole way. There is a 20 RMB entry fee to the park, so the park itself is fairly empty. It is a pretty day despite the smog, so I am happy to be out walking.

The lake is named for the legend of Mochou, a girl who, 1500 years ago, married a soldier and settled in Nanjing. Her husband was called off to war and lost in battle, and her grief was so great that she changed herself into a lake, hoping to flow with the Yangtze and White Wolf rivers to flow off to where her husband was located.

Even though it is not a large lake, there are may pretty pictures to be seen around it.

Apparently this is all the rage around China, since I have seen it in several locations. The child gets inside the deflated ball, the ball is sealed and a pump is attached, then it is (very quickly) filled with air. Then the kid rolls himself over to the water and plays away. It is sort-of like a hamster ball for kids!

This style of cobblestones is quite popular in parks and gardens. You can see how much time it takes to construct since each stone needs to be turned on it's side and set in the concrete. Paths stretch for 100s of feet displaying these intricate patterns.

It is pictures like this that prove that, yes, I really am in China...

I am back in the room about 4:30, and need a little nap before dinner. I break open the Bugles I bought, and instead of being plain like I thought I bought, they seem to have a flavor. I search the package, and find in small print that they are "seaweed" flavored. I don't know if it was the actual flavor or just knowing the name, but I don't think I will be finishing those... At 5pm, Star World starts a marathon of most of The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" shows back to back, with very short commercial breaks. I try to get up during commercial breaks to get things done, but the breaks are so short that I barely seem to get up when the show starts again!

I finally tear myself away from the TV and go out for dinner - back to the Thai restaurant, and am very wasteful because I order both Pad Thai and Beggars Bags. Beggars Bags are an appetizer a bit like an egg roll, but tied up in a neat little bundle of dough and deep-fried. They are what I really wanted, but I was afraid one order of 6 would leave me hungry, so I order the Pad Thai, too. The waitress is really suprised when I say I am done and want the check - I don't think people leave large amounts of food on their plates here. Next time I will just get the appetizer, then maybe dessert if I am still hungry.

After dinner it is back to the room where The Simpsons marathon is continuing. I had really planned to finish off my expense report tonight, but I just get too wrapped up in TV and skip it. I do get another 2 entries made to my blog, so at least I did do something.

It is past 11pm when I finally put down my book and turn out the light; I have got to start going to sleep earlier!

posted by Tania @ 4:11 PM