Tianjin Dabei Buddist Temple, Tianjin, China
The final uploads from the temple, an amazing pace, blended in with the massive new buildings all around, and yet here was peace.
Wednesday.
I awoke at eight the next morning with a wooly head, I had just woken from 13 hours sleep! I was supposed to have met Anni for breakfast some half an hour before, so I quickly dressed and went downstairs to find she had tried to call me on my mobile and on the internal phone in my room, neither of which had stirred me.
So, after breakfast we decided to head out into the city and see what we could see. I had read little of Tianjin before travelling, so it came as a surprise to learn that the centre of the city was a half hour taxi ride away.
And so we hurtled off back down the motorway dodging from lane to lane, passing trucks on either side. Once again we lived to tell the tale. Once in the city, we went down wide and busy streets, until the driver pulled off a 180 degree turn scattering scooter riders and pedestrians in all directions before dumping us at the kerb.
Before us was a Chinese arch, and beyond the historic street, which we hoped would be at least photogenic. In the end it turned out to be hundreds of tourist tat shops, but the people and the stuff they sold were interesting. We wandered around, trying to avoid eye contact as the owners tried to sell us something gaudy. On reflection, buying some gaudy tat would have been good I think. Instead we walked on.
We had also decided to try to find and ride the Tianjin Eye, a huge Ferris Wheel, we had seen it as we rode across a bridge, so we walked along the river hoping to find it. As we walked under a bridge festooned with lions, there about a mile away was the Eye.
So, we walked in the bright sunshine, with the sun beating down, past pleasure boats, but mostly locals fishing and smoking. They seemed to catch stuff, which shows that the river was clean.
The wheel is built in the central reservation of a main highway in the middle of the bridge that carries the road over the river. And an impressive piece of engineering it looks to. It was seven quid to ride, which seemed fine to us, despite there being many empty pods, we were encouraged to enter one already occupied by a young couple. Oh well.
From the top we spied a temple complex near the bottom of the eye, so once off the wheel we walked across a not very busy road, through a small indoor market and to the gates of the tmple. Hmmm, tickets would be needed, lets see if I could go to the kiosk and buy a couple.
Using the old tactic of holding two fingers up and handing over loads of cash, I managed to buy two cheap tickets and get change back too. So we went in.
I guess its surprising to find that the Chinese are so religious, after decades of communist rule, and yet there were hundreds there, praying, lighting incense sticks and doing lots of bowing to statues. We wandered around, taking shots, just enjoying being there.
It was mid-afternoon, and we were hot, could we find a place to rest and get a drink? Well, it took a while, in the end we found our way back to the old town, we bought a couple of bottles of water, but were still thirsty. We found a fast food place and managed to order two Cokes, despite the waitress claiming not to have heard of it, there was even a soda fountain behind here. So with pointing and talking slower and louder, she got it, and brought us two cups of Coke, and we were happy.
Next we had to find our way back to the hotel, so we tried to get a taxi to take us back. The first couple refused, but the third seemed to know they way, yet took us a different route, but got us back in roughly the same amount of time.
Time then for a cold beer before dinner.
Cheers
Tianjin Dabei Buddist Temple, Tianjin, China
The final uploads from the temple, an amazing pace, blended in with the massive new buildings all around, and yet here was peace.
Wednesday.
I awoke at eight the next morning with a wooly head, I had just woken from 13 hours sleep! I was supposed to have met Anni for breakfast some half an hour before, so I quickly dressed and went downstairs to find she had tried to call me on my mobile and on the internal phone in my room, neither of which had stirred me.
So, after breakfast we decided to head out into the city and see what we could see. I had read little of Tianjin before travelling, so it came as a surprise to learn that the centre of the city was a half hour taxi ride away.
And so we hurtled off back down the motorway dodging from lane to lane, passing trucks on either side. Once again we lived to tell the tale. Once in the city, we went down wide and busy streets, until the driver pulled off a 180 degree turn scattering scooter riders and pedestrians in all directions before dumping us at the kerb.
Before us was a Chinese arch, and beyond the historic street, which we hoped would be at least photogenic. In the end it turned out to be hundreds of tourist tat shops, but the people and the stuff they sold were interesting. We wandered around, trying to avoid eye contact as the owners tried to sell us something gaudy. On reflection, buying some gaudy tat would have been good I think. Instead we walked on.
We had also decided to try to find and ride the Tianjin Eye, a huge Ferris Wheel, we had seen it as we rode across a bridge, so we walked along the river hoping to find it. As we walked under a bridge festooned with lions, there about a mile away was the Eye.
So, we walked in the bright sunshine, with the sun beating down, past pleasure boats, but mostly locals fishing and smoking. They seemed to catch stuff, which shows that the river was clean.
The wheel is built in the central reservation of a main highway in the middle of the bridge that carries the road over the river. And an impressive piece of engineering it looks to. It was seven quid to ride, which seemed fine to us, despite there being many empty pods, we were encouraged to enter one already occupied by a young couple. Oh well.
From the top we spied a temple complex near the bottom of the eye, so once off the wheel we walked across a not very busy road, through a small indoor market and to the gates of the tmple. Hmmm, tickets would be needed, lets see if I could go to the kiosk and buy a couple.
Using the old tactic of holding two fingers up and handing over loads of cash, I managed to buy two cheap tickets and get change back too. So we went in.
I guess its surprising to find that the Chinese are so religious, after decades of communist rule, and yet there were hundreds there, praying, lighting incense sticks and doing lots of bowing to statues. We wandered around, taking shots, just enjoying being there.
It was mid-afternoon, and we were hot, could we find a place to rest and get a drink? Well, it took a while, in the end we found our way back to the old town, we bought a couple of bottles of water, but were still thirsty. We found a fast food place and managed to order two Cokes, despite the waitress claiming not to have heard of it, there was even a soda fountain behind here. So with pointing and talking slower and louder, she got it, and brought us two cups of Coke, and we were happy.
Next we had to find our way back to the hotel, so we tried to get a taxi to take us back. The first couple refused, but the third seemed to know they way, yet took us a different route, but got us back in roughly the same amount of time.
Time then for a cold beer before dinner.
Cheers