May 2- Dalian, China

On Wednesday, Jessie and I planned to do our own thing (without a tour) to explore the town of Dalian, China.  We had a nice breakfast and then made our way off of the ship.  Prior to departing, we had watched an information lecture on the port and had a few ideas on where we wanted to spend our day.

Our plan was to start at Xinghai Park and explore that for a bit, then go to a museum and finally spend a few hours at the zoo.  We didn’t have a map with us, but we had a vague idea of where we wanted to go and we thought we’d just wing it.

We took a complimentary shuttle into town and were dropped off at a local shopping centre.  From there, we got onto a local bus that would take us to Xinghai Park.  The problem was that the bus stops didn’t have any numbers or names on them so we had no idea where we were supposed to get off.  Most people didn’t speak English but we finally found a woman who did, and she was able to help us (along with offering us both teaching jobs at her language institute).  Within about 40 minutes, we arrived at the park and went in. 

One of the first sights we saw upon arrival was a group of older Chinese men jumping around in a very graceful manner slapping whips made out of metal and leather.  This was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before because the way they moved was like a dance, but their whips were quite ferocious. 

Another interesting sight was the old Chinese ladies who would step on two small skateboard-like shoes and zoom around the whole area.  They were like old roller-skates except the wheels went the other way. 

Jessie and I spent quite a while walking around and absorbing the beauty in this sea side park.  There was also a carnival nearby and we walked through that and enjoyed the children running around.  Jessie and I considered riding the spinning swing ride but then declined after we questioned the safety regulations in China (they’re probably not up to standard with North America). 

A short while later, we found a hotel and asked how much time it would take to walk to the zoo (the museum was written off already because we were behind schedule).  The man laughed and said that it was at least a 30 minute cab ride, and it was not possible to walk there.  Apparently we didn’t know the area as much as we thought.

Instead of wasting time in cabs etc. we decided to just stay at the park and enjoy the surrounding areas some more.  We packed a little picnic from the ship and sat down and people watched for a bit. 

At one point there was a middle aged woman who decided to climb a tree.  This was quite amusing for Jessie and I because we imagined our mother in this situation (who would never, EVER decided to climb a tree out of her own will).  This woman climber right to the top and then hollered for her friends to come and take pictures of her.  It was quite funny.  I thought that she would surely fall out, but she got down without a hitch.   Impressive!

We saw everyone walking around with these tall ice cream cones and so Jessie and I decided to buy some.  They looked delicious, but when we tasted them, our mouths were assaulted by the foul taste.  I’m not sure why these were so popular because the ones we had tasted like old plastic.  They found happy homes in a nearby garbage can. 

Jessie and I also spent some time doing a bit of souvenir shopping (with the money we were intending on spending at the zoo).  We found a woman who made jewelry out of grains of rice, where she would write your name, and then put it inside of a glass vile.  It was something that was quite unique and will make for a nice keepsake. 

At around 3pm, Jessie and I began to make our way back to the shuttle area.   We were picked up and returned back to our floating home in no time.  We had a great day in Dalian.