Xiamen

It seems that I haven't recorded our brief visit to Xiamen yet. I should make a note of it, just in case I develop dementia in the future and forget about the grand meal a classmate from Xiamen treated us to. He can find this and call me out on it. (Flipped through the photos, really didn't capture what we ate at the feast.) The first trip after the Spring Festival was to Xiamen. Why Xiamen? No particular reason, just that I had hoarded several hotel group purchase deals and chose one to use. Spending the weekend, no need to be too deliberate. The weather wasn't good when we went, it rained every day. But the rain in Xiamen is not like the plum rain season in Chongqing, which is endless and non-stop. I don't know if Xiamen has times when it rains incessantly, but during those days it would rain for a while and then stop, and the roads were very clean, so it felt okay. However, when buying ferry tickets to Gulangyu, you can't just buy a plain ticket; you have to buy it with some bundled packages, which felt somewhat helpless. There are many places on Gulangyu that require admission tickets, which we didn't visit. Only spent money to go to Sunlight Rock, looked over the cityscape of Xiamen from there, and it was, well, okay. People in Xiamen really know how to make money. Can't they learn to be more people-friendly like Rongjiang, Zibo, and Tianshui? I like gardening, so I went to the botanical garden. For someone like me, I go there to see which plants I don't recognize, rather than which ones I do. There are so many flowers and plants in the south, and those who like flora usually pay attention and recognize many varieties, many of which I have grown myself. The rainforest area in the botanical garden is very photogenic. Since a classmate treated us to a big meal, we didn't go to the Eighth Market to browse the seafood stores. Such a trip is just about going out to see. There are beautiful sights everywhere in China, as long as you are willing to step out. Will I go to Xiamen again? I haven't been to Jimei, Xiamen University, Binhai, or Zhongshan Road yet, maybe one day I'll see a flight and hotel deal and fly over again? Going out for fun, it doesn't matter where you go. If you're with the right person, even walking around the neighborhood can be joyful.