Tourism

Yesterday was a very touristy day. I can't say that I haven't had a day yet that didn't feel touristy, but yesterday was designed that way. We went to the ruins of some battlements, and then the Sea war museum. I can't really say what impressed me more, the piercing shrillness of the Chinese through the bus amplifier from our tour guide, or the amazing humidity and heat of every place we visited. I got some really nice photos from the visit. Mangrove roots are the best.

Tour guide:
So we decided after breakfast that it would be our best bet to get on the second bus. The first bus always fills up, so we figured the second bus would give us more elbow room. We were right, until the second bus filled at our first stop to pick up the rest of the people to go on the tour. Fortunately, the strength of the AC in the bus kept the temperature down to about 24 degrees C in the bus most of the time. Fair enough.

After the water bottles and yellow caps were passed out, one of the women who has arranged all the plans for the gathering stood up and announced that English speakers might want to get on the other bus, since the tour guide on there spoke English. We were not convinced to move. We saw how packed the other bus was, and were cetain that we weren't getting into that mess.

Sadly, we may have enjoyed it slightly more if we had.

The tour guide, as soon as the bus was on the road, stood up and started speaking loudly, shrilly, and with too many of those notes that just make your ear drum want to pop. I don't think that I would have enjoyed that even if I could have understood it.

You call that AIR?!!:
So, typically when you have been on a bus for an hour and a half, you are anxious to get out and stretch your legs. I was ready for Houston humidity when we reached the bay that the battlements were on... prepared with my usual gusto... but nothing could have prepared me for this....

Stepping out of the bus was a smack of heavy air... just like Houston...and some heat... and both just continued to multiply. The more I walked the more the sticky air just caked me... the more I sweated... the more ick gathered on my flesh... uncomfortable...

The water was about as clean as any you would find near a fishing pier in Galveston or Matagorda. A straw and a bit of debris was about all I spotted. Not too bad.

The next stop was the museum...the same air... the same feeling of intense ick...

then luch... ick.. into very cool AC... then ick again....

The next 2 stops... total ick.

The Museum:
As far as war museums go, this one was ok. It appeared to be well cared for, and the exhibits of old war bits were nice. There were "spitting" cannon balls. Cullen's speculation was that they spewed fire... to cause more havoc. Sounds good to me. Spitting fire can prove useful against wooden boats, and wooden houses. Made enough sense for me to move on.

In all fairness, the exhibits were about the opium war, so the last exhibit we looked at was warranted I suppose. It was the extreme anti-drug Chinese message. They had 3 fetuses in jars in this exhibit. That is all I will say.


Scenery:
Though the trip was uncomfortable, it was amazingly beautiful. There were so many industrial things, contrasting so sharply with such primitive and inventive technology. There is a man who drives a tiller around with a cart behind it. It's really such a clever idea. Yet there is very little chance you will see something like that on the streets of any town in the United states.

At the battlements were Huge mangrove trees whose roots took over there buildings in some places. There were loads of bugs and butterflies. It was so beautiful and green with splashes of such vibrant colors. The flowers are so rich and beautiful.

It was another exercise in learning to stay out of the humidity and heat. We should have know better, being from Houston and all.

It was worth the trip, if only to see the scenery.