Animals and Speed Boats

It's a rare clear Saturday - my friends and I went to Beijing Zoo. We bought the 40 RMB ticket which includes entrance to the zoo and a one-way ride to Summer Palace (YiHe Yuan) by boat.

at the entrance

Our first stop is the place where they keep the pandas. Unlike my previous visit (early February 2007), I was able to see the pandas because the zoo people are cleaning their cages and they are out munching bamboo. I was able to take pictures - my last visit was in winter - no wonder they kept themselves inside.

a panda - back view

bamboo munchies

busy eating

We checked out these mongooses sunning themselves, some tapirs and this FHM material kangaroo. I was not included in most of the pictures because I was the designated tour guide and photographer (as usual, not that I'm complaining).

sunbathing mongooses (or is it mongeese?)

half and half

sexy

We had a lot of fun. These kids found animals they can play with. A stone kangaroo, a monstrous lion, and several stone elephants. Things are going quite well, everything going as planned, until they saw the speed boats...

I think Hazel is the one on the right...

lion or tiger?

yey! elephant!

elephant ride

eh ano ngayon kung mahirap bumaba?

Once they saw these speed boats, they lost interest on seeing the rest of the zoo. Never mind that we have only seen less than half of it and we're due on our boat ride to the Summer Palace at 11:30. They have to have a speed boat ride! So, what can I do? Off we went...

10 kuai speed boat ride

After the speed boat ride - we have to wait in line for the ferry going to the Summer Palace. We only have a one-way ticket because we'll be having lunch in WuDaoKou (which is another story). Jane decided not to come with us to the Summer Palace opting to go shopping at the place in front of the zoo instead (she's going home to the Philippines next week).







The boat ride was also a lot of fun (for us at least). We waved to everyone we saw along the banks of the river (feeling celebrity) who gamingly waved back to us. There was a tour guide on the ferry pointing out the sites along the way. The guide spoke in Chinese so I understood very little of it.

We have to change to another ferry to continue our journey to the Summer Palace (wow journey daw! hehehe). We stopped at this park (I think it's the Purple Bamboo Park or ZiZhuYuan, but I'm not sure), walked a little to the next dock and then we're off again.






We got off here then we took a cab to WuDaoKou... the kids were all hungry...

Black Books Season 1

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Manny's First Day
Episode 2

Manny: You said something about a job.
Bernard: What do I have to do?
Manny: No, I... in a bookshop...
Bernard: But I already work in a bookshop. Do you have anything in an aquarium?
Manny: No, for me.
Bernard: Oh, yes of course. Sorry.

***
Manny: You do know you've got mollusks in your pipes.
Bernard: What of it?
Manny: Well, it's just that tradionally they live in the sea.

***
Manny: Put in a few more standard lamps...
Bernard: Why didn't you just say you are gay?
Manny: What? But, but I am not.
Bernard: But you're interested in
Fran: lamps.
Manny (talking to Bernard): Yeah but I'm interested in women and lamps. I thought you are, actually. Gay, I mean.
Bernard: So did I, for a bit. Then I found out about the prohibitive standards of hygiene. And all that dancing!

***
Bernard: What do they want from me? Why can't they just leave me alone? I mean, what do they want from me?
Manny: Well they want to buy books.
Bernard: Yeah, but why me? Why do they come to me?
Manny: Because you sell books?
Bernard: Yeah, I know but @#$%$(*^$

***
Fran: Come on Bernard, you'll be crazy to let him go. You need someone normal around here.
Bernard: Normal? He's normal, is he? What am I then?
Fran: Well, you are a freak, Bernard You know that.
Bernard: Yes! I know. But I have rights!

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Cooking the Books
Episode 1

Bernard is a drunken Irish man who owns the bookstore - Black Books. Fran is his wacky next door neighbor. Manny is an accountant who swallowed the little book of calm which was assimilated into his system overnight.

***
Bernard: Yes, Dickens. The collected works of Charles Dickens.
Customer: Are they real leather?
Bernard: They're real Dickens.

Customer: I have to know if they're real leather because they have to go with the sofa. Everything in my house is real. Give you two hundred for them.

Bernard: Two hundred what?
Customer: Two-hundred pounds!
Bernard: Are they leather-bound pounds?
Customer: No.
Bernard: Sorry, I need leather-bound pounds to go with my wallet. Next!

***
Customer: I expect better service!.
Bernard: Well, expect away.

***
Fran: Bernard, do you want this? Buy this.
Bernarnd: What is it?
Fran: It's a thing.
Bernard: Is it?
Fran: Yes.
Bernard: What does it do?
Fran: It's very in.
Bernard: You don't know what it is, do you?
Fran: It, it's very now.

***
Boss; Manny, what's that you're eating? Soup?
Manny: Yes... It's extra chunky.
Boss: What's in it?
Manny: Chunks.

Trembling Knees (A Weekend in Shidu, Part 2)

Breakfast is scheduled at 8:00 and we are supposed to be off to GuShanZhai at 8:30. I woke up at 7:00 and suffered through the freezing shower like I did last night. The weather looks promising.

early Sunday morning

We didn't eat that much last night, so we are all expecting a very heavy breakfast (we are going to hike today after all and we will need the fuel). Well, life is indeed full of disappointments... only hard-boiled eggs and mantou are the ones I recognized, other than those, it's a fair game.

breakfast guessing game

It took us 30 minutes to GuShanZhai (Susy said it means Lonely Hill). The place is amazing! Entrance tickets cost 30 RMB and another 20 RMB to cross the hanging bridge. If you want to save 20 kuai, I think swimming is another option to cross to the other side, we opted to stay dry, though.

GuShanZhai (tickets cost 30 RMB)

GuShanZhai

Hanging Bridge to the park (costs 20 RMB to cross)

From the other end of the hanging bridge, we walked a kilometre to another ticket check area. I'm not sure if this cost us extra because all the tickets are included in our package (280 RMB, all meals, hotel, and tickets). If you want to conserve energy, you can ride a horse - we didn't ask for how much because the horses really do smell...

parang Mindoro lang...

horseback riding

Souvenir shops and ice cream vendors has set up stalls along the way (yes, even along the river, and cliff edges). You can buy small dolls, slingshots (tirador), walking sticks, cowboy hats and different flavored ice-creams (actually, ice-drop yung tinitinda nila).

there's no mountain high enough

We walked and walked and walked... I lost track of how many streams we passed (or is it one continuous stream???) and how many steps we climbed. My knees started trembling whenever I stop walking, I lost my breath several steps ago and I still don't know where we are supposed to go (lagi pa akong nagpapahinga sa lilim sa lagay na 'to).

cold, refreshing water (but no, it's not for drinking)

We passed by several mini waterfalls on the way, the sound of water is very relaxing but I kept thinking how far I'll have to walk to get back to our bus...

Then there it was, a real big waterfalls (well, not that big, I just said it's big because it was supposed to be the highlight of the hike). I felt all the exhaustion draining away for a chance to play under the falls (to take pictures, really...). The water's cold pero sulit 'yung nilakad kong pagkahaba-haba!

I thought that was it. We'll be going back now... but no, signs for the "Thin Crack in the Sky" started appearing on the way. I'm not sure what that is but they said that we should go see it since we are already there. Okay... up we went. We walked at the edges of the cliff, followed the signs, climbed several flights of stone steps, followed the signs again, rested a bit, climbed a lot of flights of stone steps again until we saw the very steep climb to the actual place. (I felt my lungs burning, I swear I am going to sleep for several days the minute I got back to the city).

very steep climb

Thin Crack in the Sky or Yi Xian Tian (literally, a strip of heaven) is crack in the mountain top about a meter wide which is so cool! My friends said it's like a place from the new Indiana Jones movie - Kingdom of the Crystal skull.

thin crack in the sky (worth the steep climb)

Watch out for these areas where jokers put twigs on the sides of the cliff. It really looked like the twigs are holding up the mountain!

twigs holding the mountain up (kaya nyo yan?)

After the Susy and Mario climbed the Mountain of Solitude (Mel and I rested and tried to catch our breaths five minutes from the top) we walked our way back. We stopped at this stall that sells de-stinged (or is it de-fanged?) scorpions, which would make really weird but rather unique souvenirs. I thought of buying them for presents but I can't figure out how to wrap them...

live souvenirs

We also took several pictures while on the hanging bridge. We're not able to take photos earlier because people are running when we crossed and they made the bridge sway.

pitong bundok

waterfalls near the hanging bridge

they have bigger rafts here and larger space to play

After the hike, we went back to our hotel for lunch. Unlike the previous three meals, they went all out. The food was very delicious. We had around ten different dishes to choose from. They even served freshly caught fish!

sumptuous lunch (reward for the very long walk)

After the meal, people from the group exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and business cards. I stayed true to my antisocial self and took pictures of drying laundry outside. (I don't have business cards, anyway.)

commercial ng Tide

And then we are off to the city. Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to it. I missed my hot water shower...

one last look and we're off