Out in the country

Alex and our driver arrived around 10：00 and we took off for a day in the country。 Our destination was Ｗater Ｔown。　Founded in about 1050，it is a tourist attraction of sorts，but as Alex noted， many people still live within its ancient walls。 It seemed so strange to be out of the city， having lived these past few weeks where you see only buildings。 As Alex noted， the air was cleaner and as our driver stopped at various toll booths to pay our passage， Alex and I talked about our sights。

I remarked how this four lane highway， which wandered through several farming communities， reminded me of the Interstate 5 at home when driving from Portland to Salem。 Tree nurseries，rice fields， other plant farms including fresh water oyster， crab， and　fish dotted the landscape。 Ｔhe road narrowed to two lanes and our driver expertly wove the van in and out of the pedestrian traffic until we arrived at our destination。

We decided to have lunch first and the three of us walked into a restaurant in the main drag of the entrance to water town。 Alex ordered a profusion of food including：BBQ pork ribs， pork on the bone， fish and tofu soup， tofu and egg， pork and chili with ginger， Chinese cabbage and fungus， thinly sliced water buffalo， pork kidneys and peppers。。。and a few other items that escape my memory。 needless to say， we had leftovers！

Our driver stayed with the car and Alex and Ｉ took off to explore Ｗater Ｔown。 according to my ticket，Ｃhina has several Ｗater Ｔowns but this one is considered #1 in the country。 I can see why。 it‘s incredible！ Ｗe wandered in and out through the arts and crafts merchants—I found a couple of very unique items—and Alex did a great job negotiating for me。 Ｗith small bridges over water routes that cut through the ancient rock and brick buildings， here and there you could hear the boat drivers singing Chinese songs to the few tourists who took a ride。

Ａs we wandered through the very large town， Alex made certain we stopped and had our tickets punched so we could enter and see the artifacts collected from the Ming and other dynasties when this was primarily a town。 Ｓome amazing items greeted us that Ｉ thought equaled those found in some areas of the Ｓhanghai Ｍuseum I had visited the previous day。Ｉn one of the areas Ｉ spied my first and only visit with a cat！ I was so excited I took its picture！！ It was very cat-like， unimpressed with my activities。

By about 3：00 we started back to the van and just as we arrived it began raining。 Ｗe both felt very fortunate the sky had waited until we were done。 Ｏn the ride home I told Alex it seemed fitting that this was the first time it had rained while Ｉ visited Ｃhina and that I took it as a welcome mat from my state of Oregon， since it is known for liquid sunshine as well。

Tomorrow I head home。 Ｉt‘s been a wonderful visit here in Ｃhina。 I‘ve made a number of new friends， learned a tremendous amount about 　Ｃhina， its culture， its people， its future。 Ｉ look forward to returning， but for now。。。I’m looking forward to seeing my family and friends！ Ｉ‘m homeward bound！

see you all soon！
Tyler