September 21st Is life back to normal? Almost, the nurse wouldn’t let me wear my boots today; she said the skin was still too soft! However casual shoes were fine so we set off for a Changhao countryside walk. The weather was perfect for it and almost immediately we spotted some friends. Isn’t it amazing how they seem to know exactly where they are going?
This route used to be very dusty and noisy but once the roads were finished and they had completed the highway access and exit ramps it quietened down a lot. In fact once we pass the exit ramp it becomes a really nice walk, enough shade and great views.
Passing the driver training ground I ‘guided’ Huan inside and then towards where I had spotted a group of people chatting. I explained to them that I could drive and that it would be so much better for me if Huan could drive too. The man in the group caught on quickly saying that we could drive to Sanya, party on, and then Huan could drive me home!
When Huan caught me up, (I was walking very slowly), I asked what she had learnt. It seems you have to pass the computer test, like our highway code but with a higher pass mark, and have fourteen hours of practice before you can enter for a test. Three times in the past fourteen years I have given Huan the amount of money needed to do this. Each time she has either banked it or used it for something else. The price has now doubled, it is ¥6,000.00 and of course there is no guarantee that you will pass first time. Perhaps I’ll have enough in the bank for her Christmas present and then who knows, she may even go for it.
Before long Caoban village called and we headed further into the countryside. This walk really is one of our favourites, quiet, pleasant and for the most part shaded until we meet up with the main road again. Not a lot of wildlife showed up today though, just one butterfly.
Finally, back on the main road with my eyes peeled for lizards, birds, worms, snakes or anything else, all I could come up with was an empty snail house. Mind you, the owner must have been a pretty big snail when he was in residence.
Our walk was almost ten kilometres today, the first long(ish) one for a while. It left me fairly worn out so one of those OAP naps beckoned me after lunch. Superwoman stayed awake! Today was my turn to be the kitchen boss so for a change it was a ‘sort of roast’. First I popped two whole potatoes, one large bisected carrot, one large bisected onion and a whole garlic each and let them roast for an hour or so. I then added half a precooked duck with some chicken stock and dried orange peel poured over it and left it all for another hour or so. The Royal Party was most impressed and I have to say I was too, maybe next time we’ll take pictures!
September 22nd I’m writing this with the office
door closed; there is some loud caterwauling coming from the living room! Huan
is practicing her singing. The ladies had a hulusi practice today for their
upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival show so I walked them up to the
With the weather looking rather ominous I stuck to the riverside, there appears to have been some kind of show happening over the last night or two. As usual we knew nothing about it but there were beer adverts everywhere and decorations between the trees.
Some of you may not be aware that we live in the rainforest part of Hainan, a lot of the central region is covered with it and as we enter Wuzhishan from Haikou there is a sign welcoming us to ‘the rainforest park’. What it means for us is that we see clouds being formed on the mountains and ascending into the sky. That’s one reason the weather was worrying today, I could feel drops on my skin even when it wasn’t raining.
Finally for today a couple of four legged friends. The first is one that will come and say hello and allow itself to be tickled but has recently found its voice so likes to bark too. The second one is an unusual one, cats usually steer well clear of us but I think this one must have been hungry. I did wonder if it belonged to Bapman and his wife and of course they are still away.
Walking back through the riverside market I spotted some older ladies practicing deportment. Checking with the choreographer there was going to be another show tonight. Unfortunately, or perhaps not, the rain kept us indoors again.
September 23rd The rainforest really came into its own today confining me to barracks. Huan still had to go out, singing lessons. When she came home she insisted on taking photos to show you the rain, something that’s not easy to show when you use the camera on auto.
Huan did try a closer one too, in that one you can see some rain, unfortunately with a little glare too. She was outside on the balcony so where the glare came from I have no idea.
That’s the sum total of today’s photos apart from an empty box which is for Huan’s birthday. If the rest comes before her birthday then I’ll show you the box and its contents.
September 24th Rain stopped
play again but this time we can’t blame the rainforest. Instead we can blame
typhoon Dianmu which is nowhere near us, in fact it’s heading into
Huan still had hulusi class this morning so instead of walking her and Yú to Yefeng, I was the unpaid taxi driver. (I prefer to think of myself as the very professional chauffeur.) They did walk home for lunch though; the rain eased off enough for them to do that. Huan came in with the balance of yesterday’s Taobao, the main part of her birthday present. Her birthday is tomorrow but we had to check everything today so that we could let the supplier know that all had been received. Here she is holding her recorder, something to play now and then when she needs a rest from what’s in the box. What’s in there? There are five bamboo flutes, one each in the keys of C, D, E, F and G. I must be a real glutton for punishment!
September 25th Another lazy morning for yours truly and I can’t even blame the rain today. By the time I woke up Huan had already gone out for her hulusi practice, I hadn’t heard her moving around or making a noise at all. Once breakfast and coffee was done with it was too late to really go anywhere so binged more Fast & Furious.
The weather was supposed to deteriorate after lunch but I went out
for a walk anyway. Being the weekend I had to buy the lottery tickets and I
fancied some more moon cakes. On the way to town I decided to try a couple of
macro shots with the phone, I’d left the
When I reached the outdoor gymnasium nobody was around, a good time for a walk it seems, so I had a little bit of extra exercise. The outdoor treadmill was fine, doing ‘the twist’ wasn’t so bad, pulling the chain went well enough; I skipped the sit-ups and then discovered that I couldn’t even do one pull-up. Since I did my wrist in with the guitar I haven’t been doing any weight training exercises at all, I think I may have to start again, slowly.
Me being me, I did manage to get caught in the rain before I got home but as I hadn’t strayed far from town it wasn’t too big a problem. We were out in the evening again to celebrate Huan’s birthday, no I won’t tell you how old she is! For a change we visited our one and only Western style restaurant in Wuzhishan, you can see more here - https://youtu.be/IbkQhAKd20M
September 26th Ooops, I did it again! The bed didn’t let me out until after nine o’clock this morning, I have no idea why. Huan was still home but just like yesterday, by the time breakfast and coffee was over and done with it was too late for walkies. Never mind, I cooked our two day weekend stew instead and we planned an afternoon walk.
Would you believe it, rain stopped play in the afternoon! Luckily it went away after dinner so we were able to have quite a pleasant walk but only around the river.
On our way across to the island park we almost stopped of for a Jacuzzi!
Then I almost became a murderer
but my eyes redirected my feet at the last minute. For some reason I was
reminded of being a child in
We haven’t seen any ‘secret’ cars for a while but we found this one hiding down a side street today. The camouflage is pretty good but it doesn’t hide the red flash down the bonnet and they forgot to remove the logo from the front wheel. It is another 红旗Hóngqí or ‘Red Flag.
From secret cars we move to car shows. I spotted this little group of cars as we were walking down the main street so of course had to drag Huan, kicking and screaming, across the road for a look. We only had a close look at one, the one on the left, made by BYD. It is a hybrid so range anxiety is not a problem at all, in fact it can do 1,200 kilometres on a full tank and charge. That is more than enough for us to get to the cheese shop and back! Huan told me to dream on…
September 27th The bodyguard had a day off today, Huan and Yú had a rehearsal this morning but they started very early, before eight. That meant a nice pleasant solo walk for me, nice weather, smiling locals, good feeling. I tried one of those elusive birds again.
My route took me across the island park so I took a couple of views that you haven’t seen before.
The sky was nice and clear so I also tried a couple of moon shots.
Walking along the riverside I spotted the local fire service. Their full name is Fire and Rescue and today they were obviously practicing the rescue part.
On my way home I spotted one of our feathered friends again. One of these days I’ll get close enough for you to see more details.
On the final stretch I had to stop and chat with one of my four legged friends. She was lazy today and came and sat by my side and immediately rolled over for a tummy tickle.
That was it for my day, Huan was out again in the afternoon for another rehearsal, an OAP nap and the rain kept me in. Another week comes to an end, not a very exciting week I’m afraid. With a little luck the weather will improve next week, Huan will be less busy, I might be allowed to wear my boots and we may get out into the countryside again. Until the next time, it’s goodbye from both of us, take care all.
No comments:
Post a Comment