Salt air! - Blogabond

We had traveled by bus, train, subway, several types of motorized pedicabs, taxi, bench seat bike, foot and now ferry. It was a slow ride to the island that was faded in polluted-view but not far off shore. I mistakenly purchased the all inclusive ticket which would take us by bus around the island to three sites of interest to Buddhists and sinophiles. Though RJ leans towards the former, for him one old red tile-roofed building looks like all the other old red tile-roofed buildings. We skip the pre-paid tour and take the advice of an Aussie dude and his companions suggested: a small fishing village on a small beach. The pre-paid tour does get us the short distance to the other side of the island on the local bus. A very short walk brings us to the shore. The fishing vessels look heavily weathered as if abandoned but apparently not as we see several in active use. Then I spot a old favorite: rocks along the shore perfect for climbing on. We pass locals gouging oyster-like mollusks, dislodging the top shell, harvesting the meat and leaving the bottom glued barnacle-like to the rocks. Low tide is what reveals their quarry. The un-seaworthy looking boats put on the water make a pretty sight with their red Chinese flags flapping in the breeze.

We climb the bank towards a road when we are surprised by a donkey. Or did we surprise it? Its ears were standing straight up as it stared intently at us. Is it tethered? Is it territorial? We're to far to determine the former and too cautious to test the latter. We proceed slowly with jackets in hand to swing at it if necessary. But not necessary. We follow the road back to the village and are pleasantly surprised to find a restaurant overlooking the little bay. Seafood with a view!

It's not tropical Philippines. It's not primitive Borneo. It's not fascinating Kenyan coast. It's not picturesque Bali. It's not perfect Thailand. It's not gorgeous Samoa. But it is a nice day trip off the gray, dusty mainland.

Now if only we had a cart to hitch to that donkey to add to our list of transports...

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written by

prrrrl on October 3, 2013 from Xingcheng, China

from the travel blog: Beijing, 2010 or Liaoning, 2013. They are appear to be mixed up!

tagged Fishing, View, Donkey and Transports

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nice blog

written by justinarther on October 4, 2013

nice blog

written by justinarther on October 4, 2013

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