Nice weekend
Well we went on that trip. The thing is, the Chinese people are almost always vague on details. Originally I was led to believe that this trip was only for us foreign teachers. Then I was led to believe that it was for the English department. Come to find out, it is the entire teaching roster including teachers from the branch school. A whole 4 buses full of teachers. In addition to that I was led to believe that we would be staying at the hot springs resort. Come to find out, we’re actually spending Friday night at some hotel in a city and then going to a mountain and then after that going to the hot springs resort to only use their facilities for a few hours. Anyway, this is how the weekend broke down.
Friday around 2pm we were on our way. Three hours later we stopped at a hotel and had dinner. Then drove around for another couple hours and landed at another hotel. To my surprise, this hotel wasn’t the hot spring resort and was actually where we were going to spend the night. Well it was around 8pm and none of us foreign teachers wanted to turn in for the night, so we walked the streets trying to find a pub or a bar that we could get a couple of drinks at.
The city was a very nice one. I don’t know the name but it was on a river, was very clean and was probably a quarter of the population of Wuhan. Maybe even less. It almost had an uptown Toronto feel to it. Anyway, Russell and Nick had started their drinking on the bus, so by the time we got to the pub, Nick especially was pretty drunk. Anyway we had a few drinks but the place was barren so we didn’t stay long. We picked up some beers on the way back to the hotel and stayed in Matt and Russell’s room for a bit. After a while Annaick bailed. Twenty minutes after that Nick bailed and then maybe half an hour after that I bailed.
We got up the next morning and had a Chinese breakfast. Annaick and Matt were complaining about the breakfast “I don’t like Chinese breakfast. Who eats this stuff?” I’m not a huge fan of Chinese breakfast either but I had no clue when our next meal was going to be, so I was going to take advantage of this now and eat whatever was edible and move on. Anyway, we left the hotel and drove some more. The city we were in was quite beautiful and you could tell that it was a more “financially advantaged” kind of town. Anyway after that we headed to the mountain. It wasn’t like climbing a raw mountain there was a path and all that. The scenery was quite nice and the mountains were truly beautiful. I got some great pics. After a while I had had enough and decided to head back down and wait till everyone showed up. After about 10-15 minutes, Nick showed up and we chatted for a while. Then after maybe 45 minutes or an hour, everyone else showed up and then it started to rain.
So we left the mountain and headed out to the resort. When we first got there, it was a huge “hurry up and wait” situation but eventually we got our keys and were on our ways to the change rooms for an afternoon of relaxation. I was expecting the hot springs (as the name suggests) to be natural springs that are naturally hot, but alas, what was I thinking? That would make WAY too much sense but nonetheless it was very nice and to be fair it wasn’t just a field of hot tubs either. It’s a little difficult to explain but some of them are like hot tubs with bubbles and all that and others are like hot tubs without bubbles. They all have different looks. Some are very big, others are small. Some are square and made of marble and others have fake stone and a more “natural” appearance. Then there was also a heated indoor pool, which was very nice. It was something I was looking forward to since we left the school (when I thought we would be actually staying at the resort). I simply adore swimming and I was in heaven once I was in that pool. Anyway, when we started we tried to go into the pool that registered at 45 degrees C but found that it was too hot. We figured out after, that we have to start at a low temperature one. Maybe 30 degrees C and slowly work our way up. We also spent some time in the tea bath and that was very nice. It did wonders for our skin and made us feel pretty good too. Then Annaick and I decided that now was a good time to get messages. She got a back massage and I got a foot massage. Now, had this been 2 years ago, they wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near my feet because I hated my feet being touched (except if it was my mom) and I hated other peoples’ feet touching me. Now I’m over that and found that it was well worth it. That massage felt so amazing. The man had magic fingers. Plus the massage house was quiet and beautiful and we lay on these heated marble floors. That was very nice. Anyway, by the time we got our massages, it was the end of the day, so after a rinse and we got ready to go. Annaick and I were feeling amazing and were so happy to be there but the Chinese girls, like my friend Winnie were just like “Yeah, it was ok.” I’m thinking “Just ok? I had a blast and I feel fantastic.” Then she gave me the excuse that I found it to be so great because I’m a foreigner but if I was Chinese I wouldn’t feel the same way. I told her that if this place were in Canada I would feel the exact same way.
Anyway, after another 45 minutes of “hurry up and wait” time, we left. Then we headed to a restaurant for dinner. This place didn’t look great and even the guide said that even though it didn’t look great, the food was good. Well first things first, the place was near a sketchy river and when we walked in, there are women selling fish right at the front door begging you to buy some. We sit at the table and come to find that the dishes are from the local river and not the greatest. According to Annaick and Roy, the frog was the best thing on the table but there was no way in hell I was going to eat that. I found another dish that I knew and pretty much stuck to that and rice. I knew that when I got home, I would have to eat something at Blue Sky. Anyway, after dinner, we headed back home. The trip back home didn’t take as long as it took to get to the place but whatever.
It was after 11pm when we got home and we were all pretty tired so we all just headed to bed. Matt and I went to Blue Sky yesterday and that was awesome and very satisfying.
So that was my weekend. Ultimately I had a great time despite the fact that it was properly planned and I was given info half assed and by the way.
TTFN
Friday around 2pm we were on our way. Three hours later we stopped at a hotel and had dinner. Then drove around for another couple hours and landed at another hotel. To my surprise, this hotel wasn’t the hot spring resort and was actually where we were going to spend the night. Well it was around 8pm and none of us foreign teachers wanted to turn in for the night, so we walked the streets trying to find a pub or a bar that we could get a couple of drinks at.
The city was a very nice one. I don’t know the name but it was on a river, was very clean and was probably a quarter of the population of Wuhan. Maybe even less. It almost had an uptown Toronto feel to it. Anyway, Russell and Nick had started their drinking on the bus, so by the time we got to the pub, Nick especially was pretty drunk. Anyway we had a few drinks but the place was barren so we didn’t stay long. We picked up some beers on the way back to the hotel and stayed in Matt and Russell’s room for a bit. After a while Annaick bailed. Twenty minutes after that Nick bailed and then maybe half an hour after that I bailed.
We got up the next morning and had a Chinese breakfast. Annaick and Matt were complaining about the breakfast “I don’t like Chinese breakfast. Who eats this stuff?” I’m not a huge fan of Chinese breakfast either but I had no clue when our next meal was going to be, so I was going to take advantage of this now and eat whatever was edible and move on. Anyway, we left the hotel and drove some more. The city we were in was quite beautiful and you could tell that it was a more “financially advantaged” kind of town. Anyway after that we headed to the mountain. It wasn’t like climbing a raw mountain there was a path and all that. The scenery was quite nice and the mountains were truly beautiful. I got some great pics. After a while I had had enough and decided to head back down and wait till everyone showed up. After about 10-15 minutes, Nick showed up and we chatted for a while. Then after maybe 45 minutes or an hour, everyone else showed up and then it started to rain.
So we left the mountain and headed out to the resort. When we first got there, it was a huge “hurry up and wait” situation but eventually we got our keys and were on our ways to the change rooms for an afternoon of relaxation. I was expecting the hot springs (as the name suggests) to be natural springs that are naturally hot, but alas, what was I thinking? That would make WAY too much sense but nonetheless it was very nice and to be fair it wasn’t just a field of hot tubs either. It’s a little difficult to explain but some of them are like hot tubs with bubbles and all that and others are like hot tubs without bubbles. They all have different looks. Some are very big, others are small. Some are square and made of marble and others have fake stone and a more “natural” appearance. Then there was also a heated indoor pool, which was very nice. It was something I was looking forward to since we left the school (when I thought we would be actually staying at the resort). I simply adore swimming and I was in heaven once I was in that pool. Anyway, when we started we tried to go into the pool that registered at 45 degrees C but found that it was too hot. We figured out after, that we have to start at a low temperature one. Maybe 30 degrees C and slowly work our way up. We also spent some time in the tea bath and that was very nice. It did wonders for our skin and made us feel pretty good too. Then Annaick and I decided that now was a good time to get messages. She got a back massage and I got a foot massage. Now, had this been 2 years ago, they wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near my feet because I hated my feet being touched (except if it was my mom) and I hated other peoples’ feet touching me. Now I’m over that and found that it was well worth it. That massage felt so amazing. The man had magic fingers. Plus the massage house was quiet and beautiful and we lay on these heated marble floors. That was very nice. Anyway, by the time we got our massages, it was the end of the day, so after a rinse and we got ready to go. Annaick and I were feeling amazing and were so happy to be there but the Chinese girls, like my friend Winnie were just like “Yeah, it was ok.” I’m thinking “Just ok? I had a blast and I feel fantastic.” Then she gave me the excuse that I found it to be so great because I’m a foreigner but if I was Chinese I wouldn’t feel the same way. I told her that if this place were in Canada I would feel the exact same way.
Anyway, after another 45 minutes of “hurry up and wait” time, we left. Then we headed to a restaurant for dinner. This place didn’t look great and even the guide said that even though it didn’t look great, the food was good. Well first things first, the place was near a sketchy river and when we walked in, there are women selling fish right at the front door begging you to buy some. We sit at the table and come to find that the dishes are from the local river and not the greatest. According to Annaick and Roy, the frog was the best thing on the table but there was no way in hell I was going to eat that. I found another dish that I knew and pretty much stuck to that and rice. I knew that when I got home, I would have to eat something at Blue Sky. Anyway, after dinner, we headed back home. The trip back home didn’t take as long as it took to get to the place but whatever.
It was after 11pm when we got home and we were all pretty tired so we all just headed to bed. Matt and I went to Blue Sky yesterday and that was awesome and very satisfying.
So that was my weekend. Ultimately I had a great time despite the fact that it was properly planned and I was given info half assed and by the way.
TTFN
posted by Tish at 9:44 p.m.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home