We have found that words do not really describe our experience in China - and pictures don't really, either. The video we are using this week might help. No, probably not.... The only way you can experience being nibbled by fish is to be nibbled by fish!
On Tuesdays we have a day off from teaching except for English Corner in the evening. This week we worked really hard to get student journals read and class work prepared, then we rewarded ourselves with a Tuesday trip to Zhujiajiao, an ancient water town near Shanghai. There are several of these towns that are the Chinese version of Venice, and each is recommended based on how much there is to do/see and how close to Shanghai they are, which is a curse and a blessing. Close for us means close for millions of other people...Tuesday threatened rain, which didn't materialize, and we got an early start, getting there by 10 am. Fortunately, not many people were there when we arrived, and it really didn't get crowded all day. The weather was overcast but pleasant, and we had a nice visit. We saw a watercolor museum, a beautiful garden, had a very interesting lunch (lotus root, anyone?), took a boat ride, and visited a Buddhist temple.
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| The water street where we entered. |
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Inside Kezhi Garden - one of the rock structures with steps to climb
up and sometimes cave-like tunnels to explore. Mr. Ma, who built
the gardens in the early 1900s must have had kids or grandkids!
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| Nice fish pond and pavilion, |
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| a nine zagged bridge! |
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| And Roses in the garden! |
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Mr. Ma's wax figure (center) and his four elderly and prestigious
(retired, I assume) friends would gather to discuss art and read poetry. |
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We ate lunch at a restaurant along the water and next to the most
famous of the 36 bridges in this town, the Fangsheng Bridge. |
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We enjoyed seeing this cup on the shelf behind the cash register.
We finally found something in English! :) |
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| This is where we ate lunch, pictured from the bridge. |
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| We enjoyed a short boat ride - the oarsman in the background. |
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Several shops sold various cuts of BBQ pork. In the first bin
is "pork trotters" - which is what that part of a pig does. We
didn't try those, but did try the green things in front--rice and pork
tied and cooked in a green leaf. One doesn't eat the leaf. |
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| We ended our trip with a visit to pedicure shop |
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| where they have tanks of specially trained technicians! |
If you think you can bear it, you can check out our reactions to our pedicure
1 comment:
Ha! Nate and I saw the fish pedicure thing several years ago on a game show that took place in Japan ("I Survived a Japanese Game Show" I think was the title.) Recently an aquarium opened in Syracuse/thereabouts that has the fish pedicure. I am so intrigued. But I don't do pedicures so there's that.
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