Sunday, March 10, 2013

June 27; were singing/dancing/walking/riding in the rain with tea.

Day 143
The great downpour didn't stop us from all the outdoor activities this morning.
umbrella-ella parade
We started off our day with a boat ride on the West River. The rain wasn't too much of a vibe kill -- the fog was actually pretty enchanting. The only vibe kill was the bloody tour guide who kept on pestering us about watching the damn special Chinese acrobatic show (with an extra fee for 200 RMB, about $25). I've watched quite a few of these shows already back at home and personally, they're cool and all but it's not my thing. I understand that these performers pour their heart and soul into these performances and practices. I applaud their work however, it is not something that I can truly enjoy and appreciate.  Kinda like how people appreciate and acknowledge the hard work of teachers, but are not interested in going into the profession themselves. Anyways, the view from the boat:
Temple of Yuefei
(pretty close to my naaame!)
We went for cover in the tea house museum where we sampled tea and listened to all the health benefits.

They put iodine in the water to represent the toxins in our body. After they added the tea leaves, the colour changed, which represents the tea's ability to eliminate toxins. Magic.
got bored and crushed the tea leaves into little pieces....

 
After lunch we headed back to Shanghai (yay) but once we reached, the tour took us to ANOTHER jade store where we were served tea (boooo). I would have rather sat on the bus and sang songs with the dad sitting in front of us for 2 hours. It wasn't completely a waste of time though. I ended up researching things to do in Shanghai and Hong Kong as the man was going on and on about jade. I will never return to another jade store again. 

We were on our own for dinner and the rest of the evening. The tour guide gave us 30 RMB back for dinner. As the rest of the tour group were watching the Chinese circus, we wandered around the shopping area happily. The tour guide clearly did not know what he was talking about when he said there was "nothing to do".
We had Korean foood then DQ for dessert! Yummm.
Nameyeong and ddeokkbokki 
Dairy Queen Blizzards are served upside down or else it's free! I thought that was pretty cool - wish Toronto did something fun like that. I tried the green tea blizzard for its Asian authenticity and it was quite nice. It's something I'm glad I tried, but I won't miss.
On the final trip on the bus, we were given an evaluation form. Oh did we have things to say...
 
Back at the hotel, our tour friend helped us plan our Japan trip and helped me brush up on my Japanese. Which brings me to my final thoughts: I'm soooooooo ready for Japan. And oh no, last night with all the girlies :(

Something I'll miss: the cool Chinese familes we met and the girlies!!!!
Something I won't miss: the tour guide.

1 comment:

  1. They do do that in Toronto. I remember the one on Kennedy would do that everytime. I haven't been to DQ in a long time though. :/

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