UFO Park

Sunday, January 24, 2010

There’s a park behind our apartment complex. Shannon calls it the UFO Park. We’re going to check it out today, since it’s another bright sunny day in Dalian.

At the top of the park is an observation tower built to look like a UFO. As tacky as that sounds, the park is actually quite beautiful.

We’ll save the hike to the top for another day; today we’ll just explore. Lots of people have decided to take advantage of the nice weather and we see couples and families and older people here.

Even in winter the path through the woods is beautiful. If we were here in summer I’d want to walk this regularly.

The view of Kaifaqu’s skyline is spectacular. New buildings abound, and cranes are everywhere.

We climb a steep hill to a small lake where, despite the obvious cracks in the ice, children, with parents, are chair sledding. There’s a large shelter here and some people are sitting at tables.

We cross the bridge and make our way down the hill on the other side. Again the woods path is very pretty. As we near the bottom I see a young woman in a bridal gown alongside a man in a tuxedo. A group of friends surround them and a photographer is taking pictures.

Aha! Another in our Bridal Series. We’ve taken photos of brides we’ve run across in London, Niagara Falls, France, and now, China.

This bride is wearing red pants and tennis shoes under her gown. I would, too, if I were outside in the middle of winter.

Bernie gets some great shots.

Just as we’re about to leave, another bride and groom appears. The two couples stand side by side, the photographer snaps a few more shots and Bernie gets another nice one.

We assume at first that the two couples are together, but as they part it’s clear this was a chance encounter. What a great photo-op.

Tonight we’re taking Shannon’s recommendation for dinner-Osho (The Pig). We’re newbies, and we know if it’s on Shannon’s list, we’ll get both picture and English menus so we can just point to our choices.

It’s dark and Sunday night, but downtown Kaifaqu is still going strong. Take the opening scene of Blade Runner, remove the rain and you get some idea of the crowds, the noise, the flashing lights. China is an experience.

Despite the smoking ban in China, anybody who wants to smoke does, anywhere he pleases. So it is in Osho. I order spiced cabbage and pork, Bernie gets beef and green peppers.

We have chopsticks. Bernie, fearing that I won’t get anything to eat if I have to use them (hey, that could work-the chopsticks diet), asks for a fork for me. The message doesn’t come across, but with some trial and error the waitress finally comes up with a fork

However, I am determined to eat with the chopsticks. Bernie gives me a quick lesson on how to hold and manipulate them. I try this and can’t do anything. I fall back into my intuitive mode and make them work for me.

Who wants to be a catered-to, western sissy. When in Rome….