SUNDAY, MAY 24th - BEIJING

Geri in adult park


Guard at Phil's condo

Lunch with Phil's nurse and her husband

Lunch with Phil's nurse and her husband

Lunch with Phil's nurse and her husband

Lunch with Phil's nurse and her husband

Lunch with Phil's nurse and her husband

Lunch with Phil's nurse and her husband

In the park

Also in the park

In the park

Kungfu Show

Kungfu Show

Dirt market

Dirt market

Dirt market

Dirt market

Dirt market

Dirt market

Dirt market my tea pot

SUNDAY, MAY 24th - BEIJING

Today, we had a very wonderful fun day with Phil and Astri. We first went to what the local ex-pats call the "DIRT MARKET" which is really a huge flea market with everything from art gallery stores, pottery shops, outdoor places that sell huge garden statuary and pots, places that sell high quality furniture and then an outdoor area with people who set up their shops for the day with old stuff just like our flea markets. Lenny once again had his chance to use his finely honed bargaining skills. Since seeing how tea was grown and then carefully brewed, he decided that he was going to become a tea drinker and that he should buy a tea pot from China. He haggled quite well and now we are carrying home a pottery tea pot. I am going to make sure that he uses it at home.We then caught a cab to a restaurant where we had been invited for lunch by Phil's nurse, Guangjun and her husband, Xiao Zhen Dong. Guangjun said that he goes by the English name of Jack but he doesn't look like a Jack at all. He is a urology cancer surgeon at a large Chinese hospital but he practices in the western style. He doesn't speak but a few words of English. The restaurant was in the embassy of the Yun Nan province and we were taken to a secluded private table in an area that made it look like we were in an outside garden. It was really very beautiful. As soon as we arrived, we realized that Guangjun and Xiao had already ordered for us. Xiao poured us rice wine from a long interesting wooden decanter that looked like a horn and then the food just kept coming. They knew that Lenny is a vegetarian who eats fish and seafood so most of the dishes were ordered with him in mind. For us, it was one of the most unusual meals we have had this trip and the meal began with a chicken soup and ended with a huge bowl of noodles in broth with vegetables. We were so full we could hardly move from the table. After the meal, Guangjun and Xiao presented Astri and Phil and Lenny and I with a series of gifts including a very pretty apron and a bottle of wine. Guangjun said that Phil had already changed her life by having her as his oncology nurse. I know that Phil thinks that she is very special and that he is grateful that she is working for him. After lunch, we went to Long Tan Park where we watched people exercise on the most amazing exercise equipment, kids fishing in a blow up pond with real goldfish, people sitting and just talking with each other in groups, families picnicking and just having fun. We also found a table and sat and played some cards. As usual the guys are beating the girls. We then went to see the Legend of KungFu and this was a very beautiful show which told how a young child was selected to become a Monk who would be groomed to be a chief warrior and eventually the head spiritual leader. He meets a beautiful woman and goes astray but then realizes that he has to make amends and come back to his true mission in life. He has to make many sacrifices and prove himself in order to be accepted back as the valued Monk Warrier. The play ends when the old leader dies and the warrior becomes the leader. The last scene shows him beginning the training of a young boy who will some day take his place. The acrobatics and kungfu moves were awesome and so was the staging. We all enjoyed it.We finished the evening back at the apartment and had a lovely Nicoise Salad which Astri made. It was the first western type salad we had in about 6.5 weeks and it was deliciious.