September 18 2011
Tourists for a day
Today was a good day to go local to be a tourist to stand out from the crowd. Instead of following the American teachers into the weekend forays into Dalian or Kaifaqu we took the 3rd way out toward Jiuli. The light rail covers the Zhongshan District, Xigang District, Shahekou District, Ganjingzi District, and of course Kaifaqu where we get our driver (Jack) to take us to and fro from Campus Village. Of course the fact of the matter is that we carry the name of our school and home on a business card with us because we won’t know one district from another. The light rail ride is great, we aren’t worrying about how cars pass on both sides without putting on their indicators or go very fast to run a light and how drivers are constantly talking on their phones – we are just enjoying the view. The view is great, country, hills, water, villages and cities all within the half hour ride between our local stop at Jinshitan and Kaifaqu. Today we took the other train going out to Jiuli and on the way saw a large shopping area. That was enough for us to hop off and go exploring. We did not see another western for the day and we seemed to be the entertainment of others. From going to a restaurant and having a hot pot – our new favorite way to eat; a large bowl of seasoned water on a burner, then a variety of plates of food is brought and we dump it into the boiling stew.
along the Dongbei Road, through Quanshui District and Dalian Bay finally to Kaifaqu, and west to national tourist resorts---Golden Pebble Beach. The light rail covers Zhongshan District, Xigang District, Shahekou District, Ganjingzi District, Kaifaqu.