Blissfully slower pace today than the last few. Woke up, had some coffee and some duck for breakfast and waited for my aunt to come home at 11. When she arrived we headed out the door to go to Yu Yuan market. All I really knew about this place is there is a pearl market there and a chinese garden. We get out of the taxi and it actually looked like we were in china for once, not in new york or something with an asian twist. Its all totally contived, but very cool. There was so many people (mostly locals suprisingly enough) in this big courtyard surrounded by about 20 house sized buildings with the peaked rooves and so on. It was built to look like an old village set around a pond with 100's of fish in it. Again there was lots of "old" stuff right beside new. Think McDonalds (under a little sloped roof) beside a guy who looked about 150 selling dumplings out of a cart.

We made our way (slowly because of the number of people on the bridge and constant attempts to sell us "hellowatchbagages") to the gardens and went in. It was supposed to be like an old palace. Lots and lots of little building with one room where they had displayes of opium dens, bedrooms etc. All the bridges are crooked (evil spirits can only walk in straight lines) and there were different statues at all the door ways to protect you. They had a chinese sismograph thing (although no sign telling you what it was) on one of the roofs. Basically its a big dragon, with the body going down the length of one of the inner gates, about 200 feet I would guess with a ball in its open mouth. Under the mouth is a little frog. If the frog gets crushed, there is an earthquake. The other thing there was a lot of in there (besides really cool looking trees) was big rock formations. Apparently a display of wealth.

We managed to find our way out of the garden and head to the shops. Most of them all have the same old crap in each stall, but having the whole street in the old style building was so cool. I did pick up a tibean prayer bowl thing, our names in chinese and a few little gifts for people.

Then onto the pearl market. Huge (again) 3 floors every floor with little stores selling jewlery. Every building on that street was jewlery stores. On the third floor is their pearl place. Strings and strings of all kinds of pearls, round and flat in every color and three girls and one guy jammed into this stall. You pick the type of pearl you want (round, flat, oval) color and quality they will make you whatever you want right there. I bought two necklaces with a pearl pendant and a set of earrings for 60 yuan, so under 10 bucks.

We were both getting sick of batteling crowds so we headed back to "jin chow jelly foo" or some spelling like that which is where they live. I had time for a walk around the area (I went to a new neighborhood called beverly hills. Massive massive homes, all westeren style) before my massage. I had a chinese massage on my back and I'm thinking today or tomorrow I'll go for foot massage. My feet are killing me from all the walking I've been doing.

We all sat around for a home cooked meal of ribs and watched a movie then headed to bed. Lazy day. Tomorrow will be busy though, so it was good to slow down.