Thursday, July 19, 2012

A Chinese miracle in Fuijian


Our sleeper bus arrived in Xiamen at 4am in the morning. After another sleepless night, my energy level remained high during our hotel search which consisted of walking a couple blocks and entering an expensive government run hotel which recommended a cheaper hotel down the street. Xiamen is made up of several islands and is a popular tourist destination for the Chinese. Just a few days ago Dan's girlfriend flew here with a friend for a few days of vacationing. She wrote down a few suggestions on a piece of paper that we carried around with us. These destination spots receive little to no attention in American travel guides.



The first thing Christy suggested was to take a ferry to Gulong yu, a smaller island within Xiamen. We grabbed some street food for breakfast, a churro like stick of fried dough, and steamed rice buns with black sugar and some with meat. We also bought some odd looking fruit that looked like a pink dreidel. The ferry ride was very scenic and provided great photo opportunities. I also offered some of the fruit to a family and their cute daughter with my phrase of the day "ne awe ma" to receive several polite "bu yao's" no thank yous. The island was beautiful, quaint like streets reminiscent of Jerusalem. We went for a quick swim and had all the water to ourselves as the Chinese wear bathing suits but rarely venture into the water. It was to our advantage that we didn't sleep the previous night because come afternoon the island became packed with Chinese tourists and lost much of its original appeal and resembled a Chinese Key West of sorts.



Lunch was a real highlight. Ivy suggested a meal of ocean food which Dan politely explained in called seafood. I prefer ocean food or shells. Nonetheless I had the opportunity to personally select each critter we mealed on. The fu wu yuan scooped them out of pales and offered preparation techniques for each delicacy. The humidity combined with the near constant lack of sleep had gotten to and we attempted to make a quick exit off the island that was easier said them done. Fortunately the crew of the ferry remarkably found Desi's wallet which she somehow managed to drop on the side of the boat. She ecstatically received it upon our return. It was a Chinese miracle.

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