zhangzhou

we said goodbye to the lovely white swan in the predawn hours. guangzhou was glowing pink in the sunrise, the colonial buildings looking soft and serene.

our short flight took us to xiamen fujian hazels home province. we were met by our guide and driver for the trip to zhangzhou. yunxiao county orphanage, hazels place, is technically in zhangzhou a large city that is very spread out. it would be as if her orphanage were located in eugene but it was considered to be portland. we arrived during a heat wave with the temperature hades hot, 32 or more degrees C with staggering humidity. our guide suggested that we rest in our hotel until late afternoon.

i went out to get some water and snacks. i decided not to cross any streets- the traffic here is like i remember bejing in 2003. all varieties of contraptions on the road: scooters carrying whole families, motorcycles, pedicab taxis, double decker buses, small cushman like trucks of ancient vintages . many piled high with things-produce, boxes holding who knows what, cardboard, i even saw one carrying windows. there is a separation in the middle of most streets for traffic to stay on its own side, but no one seems to pay attention. same goes for the bike /motorcycle lane. people also ride scooters on the sidewalk . so being a pedestrian here is a mind boggling exercise in alertness.

after resupplying with crackers , water and "peachy" ( a favorite drink) i was ready for our afternoon outing. we went to the nanchan temple. a buddist temple that was originally the home of a wealthy and powerful man in fujian. he gave the land to be a temple when some thought he was too powerful and threatened to kill him and his family.

despite that beginning , it was a lovely and serene place to walk spend some time. the paintings and carvings were exquisite. kevin, our guide is buddist so he helped the girls to understand that when you pray to buddah, its not like making a santa list but more like a general hope for the future. they took the lighting of the incense sticks very seriously and we all placed them at various alters around the temple.

after an dinner it was an early night for our tired crew. we are off to yunxiao in the morning.