I realized this morning that I did not write about my all-time favorite day -- Cricket Lui Day! On Wednesday, Oct. 8, we spent the day visiting a neighborhood in old Beijing and having lunch with a local family. Mr. Lui is a famous cricket fighter -- he trains crickets to fight and also raises grasshoppers. He had his picture taken for a Chinese magazine which he had laminated and also in a book about Beijing created for the Olympics. He and his wife live in this sweet tiny little house with a lovely courtyard filled with bird cages and the most amazing birds. There were two mynah birds -- one of which said. "Me how!" as you walked by. There were pigeons, exotic birds and little birds that looked like wrens. Two guinea pigs sat in another cage and there were fish ponds and about five turtles in a tub. We had a wonderful home-cooked meal that was the best yet! The old couple were so sweet and kind. When Cricket Lui, as he is called, was 16, he was sent to Mongolia as part of the Cultural Revolution. He spent many years there before he came home to Beijing. I don't think anyone ever explained why he was sent there. He was such a sweetie. He showed off his crickets and I saw the largest grasshopper I have ever seen. We rode rickshaws to and from his place -- it was great! They have no bathroom at their home so when nature called, we had to use the public toilet. Most toilets, I think I have written, as basically holes the ground. This one did not have stalls and smelled horrible. A girl from Montana and I had to pee basically in the same stall and because I couldn't squat very low, I splashed on her. I was so embarrassed! She was, thankfully, not upset but I felt terrible! Life in China is interesting!
We had an early night because we had to get up at 5 a.m. to catch our flight to Shanghai.lt was so hard to get up but we made it on time to catch our two-hour flight to the city. The air pollution was really bad in Beijing that morning and most of us were glad to get out of it but so sad to leave our wonderful guide Tom. He took such great care of us and so much fun!
Today, Friday, Oct. 10, we spent time at the Lingering Garden in Suzhou. It was so peaceful and serene. I think we could have stayed for hours, just sitting in the garden, watching the koi swim in the ponds and the breeze blowing through the trees. It was fabulous. It was built by a rich man for his family 400 years ago but they didn't live on the grounds -- their house was elsewhere. They entertained dignitaries and other guests there. Lots of ponds filled with koi, a bonsai garden which was spectacular and rooms where the family could entertain and worship. It was awesome. We hated to leave.
Our next stop was for lunch at another restaurant but this one was attachesd to a silk factory. I was able to purchase a king-size silk quilt for only $114. Amazing. I also picked up a couple of silk scarves and a little silk coin purse. It was fascinating to see how the silkworm cocoon threads are threaded onto spinning reels and then transformed into beautiful things. We couldn't take pictures, which was sad but the ladies who waited on us in the shop were so sweet and helpful.
The last stop was at the Suzhou Industrial Park, where we listened to a boring guy talk about how proud the Chinese were that so many American companies have moved to China to manufacture goods. It just made me sad. They have this beautiful building with marble floors and an exhibit about the projects Suzhou is doing to turn itself into a modern city. A model of the city was in one of the rooms and it was quite impressive. The coopertion between China and Singapore is extremely exciting and I hope that this cooperation continues but I wish American companies would quit worrying about their shareholders and care more about the working conditions of both the American and Chinese people.
Tomorrow is a visit to a tea plantation and then a long bus ride to Shanghai. We will be there for two days & then we head back to Beijing and home. This has been a great trip but I miss my family and kitties and my own bathroom.
one of my old college friends was an exchange student in Japan -- they had the "shitholes" too.
ReplyDeleteshe had an afro and accidently dropped her pick down the hole. faced with the dilemna of several months of ratted hair, she rescued her pick. I would have used chopsticks, salad forks or spaghetti spoons as a makeshift pick before I would have plunged my hand down in that crap