Sunny Day in Kunming

Saturday, July 19, 2008--Kunming

The free breakfast at the hotel was a typical Chinese one this morning. I skipped many of the items. I had a fried egg, pickled onion, and a steamed bun. For dessert, I had two pieces of banana bread and 3 pieces of fried bread with sugar (much like a churro).

I walked to the Green Lake Park which is in my neighborhood. The guidebook said it was nice to visit there early in the morning. It was filled with people. Many were exercising by either dancing, doing tai chi, or some other means. But most were just walking like me. I stayed there for at least 1 1/2 hours. The lake used to be part of the water supply here. Now they have built islands in the middle of it, so it is possible to wander from island to island seeing what is happening. I listened to singers, listened to musicians, watched children, etc.

I saw a blind massage clinic in my neighborhood when I left for the lake. It was closed then, but I looked for it again on my return. It was open, and the price was very reasonable--about $3.50 U.S. for an hour of massage. I took advantage of it. Unfortunately, they do not do the massage directly to the skin and, therefore, do not use any oils. They do it through the clothing or through a cloth which they put over any exposed skin. But the man was thorough. Every muscle I had that was tight, he found and dwelled on it. Therefore, the process was quite painful at times. But at the end I felt so relaxed and so good.

From the massage clinic, I headed for the nearby zoo. I wanted to wander among people. It's not much of a zoo. There are only a few animals. But it serves as a park and as an amusement park as well as a zoo. I saw a few of the animals, then I was drawn to some speakers. They have a performance at 2:30 with some of the animals who have been trained to do some tricks. Everyone seemed to be enjoying it. I stood in the back and watched what I could. People kept pushing to get in front of me. After the performance, I saw more animals and went to the amusement park. There are about 10 rides--5 for adults and 5 for children. Everyone was enjoying them, especially the most thrilling ride of them all--a wheel of spinning chairs that would turn upside down while the chairs were spinning over and over and over.

It was after 17:00 when I left the zoo. I walked up a small street near the university with local shops and restaurants. I was hungry and decided to have a tub of potatoes. They are chunks of potatoes that have been fried. Then they are stir-fried with peppers and vegetables, placed in a pint tub (about half a liter), and eaten with toothpicks to pick them up. They were tasty. And it was so much food I probably will not eat again tonight. The coating was salty, though, so I need to get something to drink when I get off the computer.

I may not be on the computer again until I am in Thailand. I fly out of here late tomorrow afternoon. I'll have to head to the airport around 15:30, so I'll just relax and read until time to go, I guess.