Walking back from the park

a man selling baby chicks

the equivalent of the magic slicer/dicer at the State Fair - she had examples of differently sliced veggies on her little mat

baby seat bungied to a scooter

you can buy the odd little apron with attached mits to wear while you ride your scooter - for sun shade according to our guide?

Went to the People's Park this morning early before the heat ("feels like" rating of 105°F.)  What an interesting place.   Different music coming from every corner.   Waltzing couples, small groups doing tai chi, a woman dancing (sort of) with a sword, elderly people all by themselves doing some exercise to get the chi flowing or hanging from trees (stretching out their bodies I guess).  It is a beautiful garden and a nice reprieve from the city. 

Andrew was kicking a soccer ball around which of course ended up in the lake.   Dave and the kids finally rented a little boat to retrieve it at which point it quickly floated in to shore to me.  

We found some play equipment.  Actually I think it is for adults to do some exercises.   There are some odd ones. The kids like the one where you hang on to a bar and put each foot on a swinging platform and then swing your legs back and forth.  It makes your legs feel funny when you get off. 

After a pizza lunch in a somewhat air conditioned space, the kids and Dave set off to find a ride back (see Dave's post) after pointing me in the right direction.   Actually I think Dave was a little unsure I would make it back without getting lost.   I did take some screen shots of his map on the phone.   

I was on a mission to find the big market I remembered from our last trip.   Walking alone was actually nice - no need to worry about a kid getting run over! The street is a place of sensory overload.   Each little shop is blasting their own music or advertising.   The ground is totally uneven.  There is construction dust everywhere.  There are people everywhere.   Odd smells jump out now and again.   You can cool off  by catching a blast of cool air from the nicer shops - or if you walk under the drip line of the drying laundry above.   

And then it transitioned into this other place which is partially shown by these photos.   No fancy shops or booming music.  Little stands all along the street which eventually become even more dense and form the 3 story market across several buildings, which are connected in an open air sort of way.    There must be hundreds of little shops in there.   It is quite crowded and the shops are arranged in little districts - areas for shoes, umbrellas, kitchen goods, bedding, toys, art supplies, underwear, luggage, makeup, nails, fake eyelashes and hair extensions, and lots of clothing. Families shopping all around, kids darting in and out of little aisles. I find this place fascinating.   But it intimidates me to shop there.  I bought a few party decorations and a little fan.   I used to think those pretty little fans were just cute and for show.   They are actually quite necessary with this incredibly humid heat.   

Back to the pool to cool off again! I hope we find a pool in Guilin!