gulangyu island

gulangyu island is located a quick ferry ride from mainland china and xiamen. it is an amazing place of colonial architecture - restored and unrestored. huge trees tower over some of the homes which line the small narrow pathways. there are no cars here, just carts to haul things along with the occasional small battery powered vehicle- think golf cart. gulangyu has changed a lot since i was here 5 years ago. always a tourist destination, it now boasts lots of coffee shops, and small guest houses. we're staying at the yangtao guest house which is a small place tucked away on a narrow alley. the shaded courtyard makes a nice place for sitting.

hot yoga has nothing on gulangyu this trip. yesterday the heat index was 116 degrees, today it is supposed to be even hotter. we arrived on the island in the late morning. after a stop to see the chinese version of seaworld here on the island we were able to check into our room. we had a little rest time to await the cooler part of the day before exploring. we had read about a "great vegetarian" place that was located on a hill top and was "a bit hard to find". we needed a change of food choices so decided that we are hearty souls and can read a map so off we went. we were all gleaming with sweat and our clothing was soaked within minutes of leaving the cool interior of our room. both the kids have parasols so off we marched. after about 30 minutes it appeared that we were lost, yes, lost on an island. ruby was our translator and we asked for directions several times each time taking us a bit closer to our desitnation. finally a policeman gave us the essential info and we were able to locate our "great vegetarian resturant".

we arrived red faced and sweaty to the 7th day adventist retreat center, we created quite a stir since there were no other westerners there. the very gracious hostess was a bit flustered but soon led us to our "feast". prison fare would have been more appetizing! i think we managed to eat enough to appear polite before we left. everyone was very sweet and it was a lovely view and an interesting walk home- as we say in our family, it was an adventure. despite the heat, the sweat , the bugs , and the late hour the kids were troopers . they dove right in to the plates of fries and chicken nuggets we ordered at the hotel.

with the heat its been a bit challenging to keep everyone happy so mrs fu lee made an appearance. she's always good for a laugh or two.