HK&C: Day 4: Yongzhou, PRC

Pork Buns for Breakfast

This morning started off with more tasty food from the street, specifically more pork buns, a fried pancaky thing, and a bits of bread which reminded me of eating fried wontons, only they weren't crunchy, all which we enjoyed while taking the bus into Yongzhou city.

Our first stop was an old temple, which had been closed for safety reasons; although a simple offer to pay for access allowed us to go exploring. We aren't sure what the temple was for, as is the case with many places visited in Yongzhou, because there's not much English about the place and neither of us speak enough Mandarin to understand the question if asked.

After that, we wandered into the city area, where I got to not only try out the frogger game that is crossing the streets. It really is a bit of a free for all, especially as cars don't always stay on their side of the road. I also got to visit not one but two supermarkets. I saw lots of fun stuff qualifying for the Engrish Roundup, to be published later.

Business Town!!

After that, we headed over to an area that Kiely calls, Business Town, which is basically a large, stalled, indoor market selling all sorts of stuff, a lot of which is counterfeit. There were lots of Engrish shirts, Skin products made by “Oily” instead of “Olay”, etc. We also found a book stall where we picked up some books for me to use in my Mandarin lessons back in London.

We headed back to the bus stop to return to Lingling for a dumpling lunch, a bit of quiet time, and a nice nap.

On Campus

After nap time, we headed out for my tour of campus, which unfortunately couldn't include seeing a classroom today because all sophomore students were taking a standardized English test called CET4, which all students must pass to graduate. It looks like the exam is broadcast over radio from a van, and the students have these small radios on their desks (no headphones) over which to hear exam instructions and questions.

University Tour completed, we headed back for showers and a bit more downtime before heading out for dinner with Albright, at yesterday's place of awesome cabbage and chicken head. Tonight, there was more cabbage (my request), spicy beef served on a sizzling iron plate, and on the walk home, a really delicious egg roll from the street, which was rather like a burrito.

Look out, mosquitos!

We headed back home to repeat last night's agenda of beer + porch, only enhanced by the addition of mosquito tennis.

This tennis racket-looking thing is actually a bug zapper, not unlike the sort you hang on a porch, only it runs off two rechargeable AA batteries. You wave it in the air, and mosquitoes and gnats that actually come between the gratings get zapped in sizzling, dramatic fashion.

The rains started to fall heavily, and we headed in. Kiely and I decided to play one of our favorite old games, Bust a Move. I got my ass handed to me. I will make a comeback tomorrow, surely. I can't keep making my little dragon cry, and given the rains, the outdoors will not be easily faced.