Yesterday was my last day in China. I spent most of the day exploring a series of markets with Sara. We went to the pearl market and the silk market (both were about 8 stories tall and jammed with everything from silks to teas, to pottery, to pashminas, to strange toys). We mastered the art of bargaining and befriended some jewelry makers at the pearl market. We also hung out at an interesting park by the Temple of Heaven for part of the afternoon. The park was a vibrant collection of locals and tourists alike. Locals had singing contests, friends gathered in circles to play an interesting version of hackisac, and older men congregated to play poker. Tourists marvelled at the melodies belted by men with accordians and the dance steps of accapella-singing women. After a long day of shopping we got foot massages and pedicures at the silk market. Then we ended the night with a trip to a lake where we had a few drinks with a few of our hostelmates (a prof from Cornell, a girl getting her TEFL certification from Australia, and a Canadian who just got off a ferry from Korea) beside the water and watched a Eurocup game on a big screen TV. Pretty sweet ending to China.
Then this afternoon, I made it safely to country #2 on my itinerary. It was a painful morning waking at 4:20 AM to make it to my 8 AM flight (especially after staying out until about 2 am the night before). But the flight itself was fine and I slept most of it. After finding my way to my hostel, I spent the entire afternoon until it got dark wandering my area. Bangkok is a sprawled out city and it was more difficult to navigate than Beijing (with its convenient subway system). But it was good to get lost and see what local streets are like. Thank goodness I have a pretty good sense of direction and can get myself back on track eventually. A few shots from my walk:
Tomorrow I'll do all the touristy things in Bangkok and then I head out of the city for 2 days to do things like ride elephants, see waterfalls in a national park, and sleep on a river. My life rocks.
I put a few of the highlights from China in a facebook album. Follow this link to check them out:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2108577&l=f71e3&id=4702163
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