Day 3 - The Summer Palace, Dim Sum & Silk Street Pt 2

Okay. Day 2's not out yet but here's some stuff from Day 3.

I'm kinda tired and not realy in the frame of mind to write even though I have much to write about from today. I saw a lot of stuff, and had a few new experiences (like walking on a frozen lake) and interesting encounters (like witnessing illegal clam harvesting).

Anyway, a picture paints a thousand words.. So here are a few..

Taxi Paranoia: Many taxis have similar defences against.. the drivers or passengers? Yes, you can never be too safe.

Butt cheeks?: These are phone booths.

Poetry in motion: Upon hearing that we were from Singapore, a street calligraphy artist wrote "xin jia po", which is "Singapore" in Chinese. The amazing thing is, he wrote it laterally inverted (ie. mirror image). He went on to write "lee xian long" (Lee Hsien Loong), our Prime Minister's name.

Prosperity and Health for the family: My family with the calligrapher.

Slack Season: 1 November - 31 March isn't slack season for us second-year Medical Students though.

Pavilion: Two ladies taking a break at one of the pavilions along the passageway which stretches hundreds of metres along the Kunming lake.

There were many cute little Chinese children running around:

Walk on (frozen) water: My dad, walking on ice. Mom didn't object this time. Surprisingly, it wasn't as slippery as I'd expected. A layer of frost forms on the surface, giving it a sort of grip. I didn't get a picture taken of myself, though my dad did offer to go down again for a photo. But I didn't want to risk anything happening!

Fishing: This man walks on the ice surface, pounding it with his hammer. He is probably looking for fish and/or clams. He gets lucky and finds a single fish, frozen in the ice. See the fish in his left hand.

Illegal Clam Harvesting: I really should be a photojournalist. Here, some of the locals illegally harvest clams from the frozen Kunming Lake. A dodgy operation they carry out under the cover of the bridge. The man forces open the clams and empties the contents into the plastic bag the lady is holding. The first thing he told me when I went over to him was "Don't take photos of us," in Mandarin. I went on to ask them (in Mandarin!) how many clams he collected a day, before subtly releasing the shutter. "About 60," the lady replied.

Bridge in the Summer Palace: The majestic bridge is one of many that crosses over the frozen Kunming Lake.