Hey Hey and a Big G'Day to ya

After a great day yesterday spent with friends walking around the streets of Shaowu window shopping we headed out for a huge good bye feast put on by the school. Daniel, Alexa and myself then boarded the 10:00 sleeper train that took us from the green mountains of Shaowu to the coastal city of Xiamen.
 
I was woken at 4:30 by the young mother next to me waking her two year old son to feed him. OK I thought, he was asleep so why wake him, this can't be a good thing! And it wasn't. After the food the little bugger wouldn't fall back to sleep. She tried to settle him and to sleep herself but he wouldn't stop singing and chirpping to himself. Soon daylight filled our birth and I was still laying awake and the kid still happily singing. I wasn't too happy but thought 'Hey, I'm on holidays, Rock N Roll! I decided to rise early and sat for bread and fruit. Daniel and Alexa rose soon after and we all gave in and began singing the ABC Song with the kid.
 
We arrived in Xiamen around 11:00am. It actually took thirteen hours from Shaowu which surprised me.
 
ACCOMMODATION: We were met by some 'You Stay You Stay' peoples and when we got one down to a price we were happy with we ventured off for a look. All was well so we ended up staying at the Yingxiang Guest House which is just down the road from the Train Station. When you leave the station you will have Wallmart on your left, turn right and walk along Xiahe Road until the next road which is a T Intersection. Walk past the Department store and walk down the little lane beside it. Walk to the end and you find a little hotel beside a lighting store. Nice rooms, very clean and the staff are great fun once you get to know them.
 
Its not at the water front but thats what you have feet for.
 
After a shower we headed back down Xiahe Road towards the blue on the map. The Xiamen Port Area. Alexa begn to get blisters on her heels so we ended up catching a bus the rest of the way. You can catch almost any bus heading in that direction. Some will turn off not long before but buses 31, 50, 85, 28, 96 and 71 will take you to the ferry terminal. We got off at Lundu Wharf which is the name of the wharf that the ferry departs from that takes you to Gulang Yu.
 
Instead of catching the ferry straight away we chatted to some 'You Do You Do' girls and decided on grabbing a ride on a fast boat around the island. The price for this is pretty much fixed as they have their own ticket booth and an endless supply of peoples wanting a bit of action so don't even try to get the price down unless its raining. As none of us had been in a speed boat for uncountable years we forked over the 30 Yuan a head and donned the life jackets and with the smell of boat fuel and salt water we sped around the island of Gulang Yu.
 
The trip only lasts around ten minutes but it is a great time and it gives you a fair idea of the size of the island and how beautiful it is. I wouldn't do it again but its worth one go. You pay at the little white ticket booth to the left of the ferry terminal. Some 'You Do You do' girls can speak a little English. If you need information try the 'You Do You Do' Girls in Blue.
 
After our little 'petrol head' fix we decided on some food before grabbing the ferry. We made our way accross the main road via the underpass and found a 'Lasagne/Pasta' Eatery owned by an actual guy from Italy who lives here with his young Chinese wife. If you do want Pizza or Pasta for lunch, its not opened during the day so we took the little road to the left and found a heap of little Chinese eateries. We dediced on the Music Cafe. Comfortable and clean but strangely no music was playing. The menu was pretty cool and in English.      
 
All around this area you will find heaps of little alleyways filled with normal Chinese daily goings on. Markets fill the streets. On each side you will find fresh sea food, live animals (named Lunch or Dinner) and colourul fresh vegietables. One of the 'You Do You Do' girls mentioned something about a little cruiser that takes you pretty much near Tiawan so we spent the next hour trying to find out more information on that. We were told to head dopwn to Heping Wharf which is further down Lujiang Road (Main Road along the port area).
 
If your told to go down there, don't bother it doesn't leave from there.      
 
Anyhow, the sun had left our sky by now and we decided to leave Gulang Yu until the following day. It was pretty easy to decide on what to do next, when the question was asked Alexa simply pointed to the Pizza Hut resteraunt at the top of the Pizza Hut builidng. I think there are about twenty or twenty five floors and the glass elevator runs up and down the outside of the building. The ride up was beautiful and the window seats give a great view, I only wished we had gone for lunch instead.
 
To get a seat you do have to leave your name and they give you a number and you then have to wait for people to finish eating. So no the elevator is not a play thing which really is a bugger for everyone. The food is far too expensive and the salads etc are much too small for their price. I can't eat pizza due to the amount of cheese on it here in China but they are pretty much the same as back home.
 
I guess you can weigh up whether the views are worth the price, expecially if you don't eat pizza!
 
By now we were all feeling pretty tired from the lack of sleep on the train jounrey. Daniel was feeling pretty dizzy and ready to pass out from his shocker of as head cold so we decided on heading back to the hotel. To get to the station from the wharf area, grab bus number 3, it goes the long way at night time so you also get a little tour of the city.
 
So ended as most awesome first day in beautiful Xiamen City.
 
Beers N Noodles to ya....Shane

The soundtrack to this entry was the Aussie band 'The Angels' and their most awesome 80's album 'Watch The Red'. Brings back alot of memories from my early teens. Friends and adventures! It was a great time.