Travel Journal 2

After getting settled, a lovely dinner of noodles, hard-boiled eggs, and fresh tomatoes was enjoyed!  Debbie presented R with a gift:  two boxes of tea, a box of pecan tassies, and a container of rice crispy treats.  The gift was joyfully received.  We feel a bit like intruders, so we plan to move to a nearby hotel when other family members arrive.

R’s apartment is very modern, clean, and organized.  She is 55 years of age and her husband is 59.  The space is furnished with lovely furniture and many flourishing plants!  Her husband loves to talk and is keeping Randy pretty busy.  He is a very warm and friendly man – very joyful!   [Neither can speak English, but he loves to learn English words!]

It is now 7:10 PM.  I think we will all be quite tired tonight after the night on the train.  Sleeping in a real bed (that’s not moving) will be a treat!  Yay!  They have wireless internet and I got connected.  We’ll do the same on our Kindles and Deb’s iPad!  Cool!

We read until 9:30 PM and then went to bed.  R provided us with an extra quilt reporting that the building heat goes off at 10:00 PM.  We were warm and comfortable in a bed somewhat smaller than a double bed in America.

February 1, 2013  -  Friday

I was up early to read, then went back to our room to sit on the bed and pray.  R’s apartment has a throne toilet.  :-)   A large bucket of water is kept in the corner of the room for flushing.  Very comfortable!

When I came back out they had breakfast ready to eat.  It was delicious!  It featured porridge which was a blended mix of eight or ten grains, rice, and vegetables!  It had a purple color to it.  It was relatively thin and quite tasty.  There was also a bowl of hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters and a plate of spicy, raw cucumbers (very good).  Then we had tangerines and apples to top everything else off! 

After cleanup, we went out for a walk.  We walked along the river and then crossed it.  We climbed 409 stairs (I counted them) to a community recreational area with an ornate building on top of the mountain! 

Then we walked through the recreational area and along a country road;  then under a major highway and into a small community.  This area has ground that is very clay-based.  While coming in by train we saw evidence of homes that had been cut into the clay.  While walking, we came into one of these areas and were able to walk into the caves and see what living in them might have been like.

     

Then we came on a construction site where they were building a version of these cave-homes into a modern hotel.  The construction manager seemed happy to give us a tour of these homes along with a look into their private greenhouse!  When we walked above these homes, we saw the chimneys coming up out of the ground!  This is going to be an exclusive hotel!

Walking back to R’s apartment, it was a spring like day with temperatures probably in the 40’s.  When we came to the large recreational area, we did a traditional Chinese thing:  we walked about two hundred yards back-wards, which supposedly adds years to your life and undoes some of the evil that has accumulated in your life!  [Hmmmm...]

Upon our return, R and Jessica prepared a wonderful lunch of left-over mashed potatoes, rice, lotus root, sliced banana peppers with pork shavings, cabbage and mushrooms, and a few garnishes.  Soooo good! R’s husband was already home from work and able to join us 

for the meal. 

After lunch I journaled and Deb napped.  Then, we took a nice LONG walk along the river.  We passed a huge sports arena that has a running oval track that crosses the river at each end.  Very elaborate! 

Next, we arrived at an area on the river where the swans gather.  Majestic!  We watched for a long time with a small crowd of other onlookers.  When everyone else left, some people went out and dropped bags of corn to feed the swans.  It was fun watching and listening to them as they scurried in to gobble up the food!

We caught a bus into center city and then walked the rest of the way home via several markets.  Along the walk we passed some funeral supply stores with colorful funeral decorations displayed along the street.  Home at 5:45 PM  -  pretty tired. 

We read while R and Jessica prepared dinner.  We had Chinese vegetable wraps.  We put a salty sauce on the wrap along with a spicy sauce (if desired).  Then we loaded it with shredded potatoes, celery 

spears, cucumber spears, and dofu.  You simply rolled it up and ate it.  They were refreshing and delicious!  I ate three.  Then, I read until bedtime.