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MeznG. In the air, on the road, river or sea again
Well the weather didn't disappoint. There was a typhoon overnight apparently which dumped a lot of rain on Shanghai and it's set to continue today. Our first stop today is the Silk Museum. It's an interesting walk through the process from the silkworm to the fibre becoming fabric or filling for a doona. Of course it ends with the sales pitch and we like most others purchased a silk quilt for a good price. The silk covers on the other hand were quite expensive so we didn't go that far. The good thing about our purchase us that they will send it to our last hotel in Beijing so we don't have to carry it around with us. Thère is a large retail store as part of this complex selling all things silk and I think our group contributed nicely to the economy here. Back on the bus and it's lunchtime and then after lunch we go to visit a traditional Chinese private garden. The garden design is over 400 years old and some of the trees and pavilions are original but a lot of it had to be reestablished and rebuilt after being destroyed during the war. It's very interesting with the numerous pavilions and ponds and the beliefs of the traditional Chinese. Feng shui is very important in the layout of the garden. It's raining quite steadily but we have some free time to spend in the garden or wander through part of the old town that adjoins it. It's a busy place and there are many hawkers that we had been warned about trying to sell fake watches and hand bags etc. the idea is that they take you to their showroom which involves you following them up and down these little alleys with the intention of getting you lost then either stealing your valuables or making you pay big money to be shown back to your group. There is shop after shop after shop all selling much the same things. After Chinatown we drive across to the French Concession. It's a small European looking pocket which was established by the French originally. It's quite different to all the other parts of the city we have seen and in the square at the centre, you could almost imagine you are in any European city with the restaurants, coffee shop and pubs. It's happy hour so a few stopped to take advantage of this and escape the rain. What started as 6 of us soon grew to over half the group and the deal was buy one beer or any alcoholic drink and get a free refill. Would have been expensive paying those prices for 1 drink but seeing as we got 2 each it was not too bad. 2 beers and 2 gin and tonics for $25. From here we go back to freshen up before dinner which again is a banquet style meal. After dinner we are doing the cruise along the Huong Po River . It's still raining but we are prepared with jackets and brollies. It's not at all cold though. The lights along the river bank on the buildings us quite a show. If it wasn't for the rain it would have been spectacular. Back to the hotel to pack and prepare for our flight to Guilin tomorrow.
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