Creepy Crawly
I made the — perhaps — mistake of wearing just sandals for this
outing (please remember it’s always at least 30 Celsius here, and
always at least 80% humidity), even though I knew I planned to do some
walking. In this shot, you see what drew me back to the main trails.
I’d decided to explore a bit on some paths that aren’t well
maintained: overgrown with weeds and greenery, and with poor footing
where you often can’t see where your feet are. About 30 meters in, I
started wondering whether, in shorts, sandals and a tank top in a
region that I’m SURE houses plenty of venomous snakes and spiders,
this was really a good idea…considering especially there was really
no one else around in this section of the park to save me should some
green tree snake decide to take a bite. Then I saw this lovely little
critter scuttling by in front of me…and decided the beaten path
seemed pretty appealing just then.
An interesting aspect of this park is it seems to have been built with
more tourists in mind than it is currently attracting: though there
are plenty of tour groups, there are also a number of buildings and
structures that are being allowed to wither away. You’ll see examples
in the next two shots, “Buildings and Grounds.”
Foggy Mountain
My day ended a bit earlier than I’d hoped, when a huge thunderstorm
rolled in virtually out of nowhere. Dozens of us sheltered under the
dripping tin roof of a small restaurant near the entrance to the main
part of the park, then when the rain cleared I enjoyed the clouds of
fog scuttling over the mountains. It was very moody and scenic.
Laura and Francoise at the Market
A favorite spot for many people is the Bird and Flower Market, an
indoor/outdoor bazaar/flea market that sells plants, animals (pets or
meat?), flowers (cut, live, fabric, you name it) — and host of other
things from Little Red Books to antique ceramics and coins spread out
on blankets in the corners and back by the railroad tracks. These are
two of my colleagues and housemates on a trip there one Sunday.
Downtown Intersection
In this shot you see one of the main intersections in the heart of the
older part of town, with a back view of one of the big government
buildings. (Despite its rather odd pseudo-Aztec/zigurat look, it’s
rather a nice building with lovely gardens in the front.) The shots
immediately after it are all very close to this intersection. The
first two show different angles of the same intersection, which is
right next to a major bridge over our river, and also right next to
the biggest shopping district in town — complete with Wal-Mart, the
big movie theater, and several different department stores and
shopping centers. In two of the shots you’ll see, if you look
carefully, the logo of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Naturally the
games are a VERY big deal here in China, and even in Nanning — almost
as far south of Beijing (which means northern capital, of course) as
you can get and still be in China — you see the logo adorning ads for
any number of companies. (FYI, the shot with more building and less
street shows the building that houses Wal-Mart. The shot with more
street, where you see the guy pulling his cart behind him, gives you a
small inkling of the craziness of these streets: I just wish I’d been
able to get a shot of the donkey cart that passed through the
intersection a few minutes earlier…)
(so much world, so little time....) 