6 Oct - Rest Day in Meizhou

Let's dispense with the complaint quickly... worst hotel so far... mouldy walls, wallpaper peeling, smelly bathroom, nowhere to put bags except on the floor... we've certainly been in worse, but too bad to have a tiny room in that kind of condition on a rest day when you're wanting to do some washing.

Okay... now the good... a great day in Meizhou, sunny and warm... highlight was visit to the Pagoda of a Thousand Buddhas, a beautiful Buddhist temple.

Some of the thousands of Buddhas...

 

marble turtle in the pool in front of the temple...

...and real turtles right behind it

 What made the visit memorable was meeting this gentleman whose English name is Melon, something to do with the NBA - this guy knows everything about the NBA, teams, players, history, etc.

Melon spent a couple of hours with us; he spoke good English, explained things about the temple (he is Buddhist), spoke of China, its economy and its environment which he saw as significant challenges.

He is an English and Business graduate, works on the business end of a driving school in Meizhou (he rides a bike himself), and he referees basketball games in his spare time. He gets paid a small honorarium for that which he spent to buy a bird (pigeon we think) in the market in order to set it free - he was offended by the conditions in which these birds are kept. He tried to show us it... he'd set it free near the pagoda, but it was too weak to fly.

the lady on the left is Walli, a tax accountant from
Burlington, Ontario

When we parted company, he wanted nothing but eventually accepted just enough money to buy another bird in the market. We exchanged email addresses and he said he'd send us a photo of the bird when he released it.

the Pagoda

sign of the day

We then went back downtown...

tree-lined boulevards

trees look like they've been there forever

markets in full swing as well as main street retail shops

fresh produce - these ladies just rode in at 4 p.m.

It's a family affair... when Mum's at work, so is the little one.

Every tree on the avenue is lighted as we head to the hotel
after dinner.

Back on the bikes tomorrow for four days of riding to the border at Hong Kong. Apparently you can't ride bikes across the border, so it is a bus trip into Hong Kong.