Wednesday

Today we met in the lobby at 9:30 so we could go to the famous "monkey park".  The road there would have been considered impassible in the states - no pavement, no gravel, no nothing.  I wouldn't have even considered it a road, but down it we went.  Then the car stopped next to this little old man sitting on a bucket and Vickie says "I'm going to get tickets".  All I could then of was tickets?  to what???  I don't see anything but the little old man.  I guess I expected an entrance of sorts but alas, nothing but a little old man.  Vickie game back and asked if I wanted the ticket stubs for souveniers and low and behold she actually had ticket stubs.  I was beginning to think the monkey park was going to be more infamous as opposed to famous.   I must say was wrong. Once we got to the actual park, it was beautiful with a manmade lake surrounded by the mountains.  People were swimming and paddle boating in the lake while on land they were doing morning excercises which consisted of Tai Chi, various dances (I swear one was Bali wood), badmitten, tennis, and some whip/spinning top thing I had never seen. I told Vickie that this type of community is very rare in the states.  she seemed shocked and showed me the various age groups and who would be doing what.  Because it was children's day in China, there were children everywhere.  Which, as an aside, I would like to point out that I have seen more girls and multichildren family than I have any where else in China.  Vickie says it is because now minorities are allowed to have more than one child and since Guizhou is made up of the majority of minorities, there are more multichildren families.    After viewing the different activities, we began walking up what I will refer to as the Monkey Road.  Here is where we saw monkeys everywhere and I do mean everywhere including on top of a woman's head because she did not give it something to eat.  These animals are fed daily by both visitors and government workers.  They eat candy and other sweets as well as fruits.  It is very add to see animals who should be wild so domesticated.  I did love seeing all of the little baby monkeys however with their big eyes and their hands that looked, well, like hands.  It was a lot of fun. We ended the day by eating at this fabulous rice noodle restaurant which was the best $10 bucks (yep $10 bucks for the two of us) I have ever spent.  they are call bridge noodles because you mix the rice noodles, meat, and veggies in very hot pot of soup (much like a hot pot) and then move the noodles with chop sticks over to your smaller bowl making a bridge.  It was wonderful.   Tomorrow we go to the provincial museum then on to Guangzhou on Friday.  I can't wait to see my boys!! Sheila