We succeeded in making it to the Summer Palace today even though we didn’t get up any earlier than yesterday. After stopping by our favourite breakfast place for a rolled omelette/pancake thing and some vegetable pakora-type balls, we took the subway over to the giant park and wandered for a few hours, stopping only for a game of chess.
When we finished there, we took the subway over to the zoo market so that my dad could experience real Chinese shopping. I had to explain that it is called the zoo market because it is near the zoo and not because it is a zoo! Picture thousands of stalls crowded together while shoppers drag huge carts and bundles in the aisles. It is a wholesale market so practically nobody buys just one piece. On the upside though, you don’t really need to bargain. I bought a great pair of red cords and my dad got a top and a jacket – I hope he didn’t get them just to get us out of there!
By the time we finished there it was around 4 pm and we were getting quite hungry, since we hadn’t had lunch. So we headed back into the now very crowded subway and over to my favourite hot pot chain – Xiabu Xiabu. They have no English or pictures on their menu, however, so if you recall, I had had Tana write down an order for us ahead of time so I could just hand the waitress a piece of paper and get our food. Our server found this hilarious – and had to show all her friends – but it worked like a charm! We each got our own pot of broth (spicy for my dad, not for me), a huge plate of different types of lettuce and a few other veggies, mushrooms, xiao jiaozi (tiny dumplings), lamb, peanut, coriander and green onion sauce, a mango drink for me and a beer for Ter. I’m not sure I can remember the last time I was so full!
Instead of taking our chances on the subway, we decided to walk back to the hostel. After a quick nap we played another couple of games of chess and now we are making plans for our last day tomorrow!
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