Guangzhou Day 2 - Nov 1

Guangzhou Day 2 – Nov 1
Today was a sightseeing day so after a very expensive breakfast (the buffet is not included in my hotel package) we all boarded a van to the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum. I had been there before on Isabel’s adoption trip but Keith and Jodi had not and I enjoyed the architecture the last time so we decided to go there.

It was as beautiful and peaceful (if you get there early enough) as before. One really nice benefit to only having 2 families in a travel group (and flexible guide) is that we have some choices on what we want to see and do.

After the museum we stopped at a Carrefour Supermarket for diapers, baby food, formula and other stuff. I really enjoy wandering around and looking at the products (ie Lay’s chips with Beef flavor); it’s really one of my favorite things to do.

Next stop we went to the wholesale Pearl Market. I bought Isabel, Nora and myself nice stud earrings. The girls won’t get them until they’re 12 or 13 but I thought it would be a nice thing to get them (and me). I also got some other sparkly things. Needless to say I’m shopping a lot more than I did in 2006.

In the evening we walked back to Shamian Island for dinner at Lucy’s, a main stay for many families visiting Guangzhou. Lucy serves both Chinese and American menu. As a mentioned before to get to the Island you need to walk about 3 city blocks to the pedestrian bridge.
And those city blocks offer yet another view of China. The three blocks between our hotel and the bridge to the Island is called the Qin Ping Dong Medicine and Pet Market. We’ve all been told that in China they eat dogs etc… well from what I can tell they must be dressing them with spiderman costumes and giving them little cozy houses before deciding to have Fido for dinner.

The pet market makes up about half of the three block market and the medicine part makes up the balance. This little girl was going home with 2 pet squirrels.

I’ve seen kittens, puppies, hamsters, squirrels, turtles, and fish. With all the accessory items needed for a very happy pet including the above mentioned dog and cat beds, dress up clothes and wide selection of foods.

The medicine market is made up of mostly died stuff that frankly I don’t want to know what it is. I could identify mushrooms but there are also dried snake, what looked like tiger paw and that’s just enough for me to know.