Monks can talk on cell phones, too!

*Monks are allowed to talk on cell phones, but they're too shy to have their picture taken, and don't want any Oreos.*
This weekend was absolutely amazing. Jacky took us to some islands off the coast near Hangzhou-- about 2.5 hours driving and 1.5 hours on a ferry. When we got there on Friday night, we were all very tired, but hungry. We ate outdoors, basically in the road, across from our hotel. There were blocks upon blocks of restaurants set up under tents with lights, running water, grills, etc. at the water's edge that were completely taken down by morning. It was as if they had never been there! At night, they are all set up with seafood sitting on ice or in tanks under bright lights so taht people going by can see what they have (it's the menu!). We ate lite because we were all so tired.
I have to comment, though, that mussels plus alcohol, plus a tired and semi-homesick Tess does not equal a good time. I discovered that back in 1995 when I was in Italy and had mussels and a little bit of wine after a day at the beach, and I discovered it again on San Jianmen.... that was the only not-so-fun part of my weekend... but I recovered quickly!
Saturday morning, we woke up early to take a boat to Putuo to see a lot of sights-- mostly Buddhist temples. It was really crowded because that night/Sunday morning was Buddah's birthday (one of four Buddah has every year!), so many people were there to worship. It was interesting to see how another religion functions, especially on a holiday. Even the temples were loud and bustling and people were pushing (like normal). We first hiked up to a gigantic statue of the "patron saint" of complaints (or the "patron saint of whiners," as I like to call it).
Then we took a bus and a cable car up to the top of the mountain to see another temple. It was really neat to see monks all over the place, but they were not at all what I expected. They were all smiles and were really interested in looking at us foreigners. We were staring at each other so much, that finally we all just started laughing. And just then, Jacky pulled out a package of Oreos! Can you just imagine what we looked like to a bunch of monks, standing there outside their temple eating cookies? It was pretty funny. But they didn't want any...
Then we went to this gorgeous cliff, but got yelled at because it happened to be a military look-out point and they didn't seem to like a group of Americans with cameras hanging around there. Needless to say, I hurried back down the mountain. Of course Jacky just said "No problem!"
After lunch, we went up to another temple (this one had female monks!). We also got to look out over the ocean and loko down on a Chinese military base. The sign said, "Do not use military equipment as background for photos." I obeyed, so I won't be showing you any pictures from that viewpoint... sorry! We also got yelled at for climbing up on this rock that is a tourist attraction. There are signs in English, even, saying not to, but Jacky said, "Try, try, see!" We got a quick picture before the guy with the megaphone made us get down.
Then we saw the largest temple on the island, which was beautiful, but crowded. I'm not sure I could worship in a place like that. I could on a day where it wasn't crowded, but I certainly wouldn't want to be down on my knees praying that I don't get trampled by the hoardes of people trying to leave donations... just interesting to watch, really. The monks there were talking on cell phones and staring at us, too...
After that, we went to a beach. (I didn't swim, because it was the ocean!!!) That made Molly really happy. And I got asked to pose for a picture with some Chinese teenagers (so weird!). Oh, but let me tell you that the way to experience a different culture in all its glory is to see a locker room. I thought Chinese women were known for their modesty! Yikes! (That's all I have to say about that!)
We headed back to our island, which was an adventure in itself! We couldn't get a direct boat back to the island (San Jianmen, I think), so we had to take a boat to a different island, then bus across the bridge to ours. Well, we didn't trample anyone, so we didn't get a seat on the boat (we stood), then we got trampled, and almost didn't get Molly on the bus. That was honestly quite frightening. I've heard about mob mentality in psychology books, but I've never seen it before that night. Or maybe it was that I'd never seen a group of people so completely focused only on their individual wants and needs. (Seems to be the general way of things here.)
Then, once we were all safely on board and across the bridge, the bus stopped and had to wait for some policemen who had been called because a man said his cell phone had been stolen. They boarded the bus and searched a bit. No one besides the 6 of us seemed nervous about it in the least! Of course we were fine, but it was nerve-racking at the time, especially because we didn't have our passports!
The big dinner at the open-air take-down restaurant (after a quick and life-threatening pedi-cab ride!) was definitely welcomed. It was so much fun drinking wine, laughing, watching people and boats, and eating things I never dreamt I would touch, let alone put in my mouth! Eel and octopus, to name just a couple!
Sunday we left the islands and went to visit Ning Bo, Lois' birthplace. We at an amazing lunch in a really cool-looking restaurant. We had shrimp with seaweed (you can eat the whole shrimp because they're babies!), and nian gao (spelling?), whcih is a large rice-noodle. So good!
And it only gets better: Jacky then suggested that we go next door for a foot massage!!!!!! I was so excited! (You are all going to be SO JEALOUS!) For 50 yuan each (the equivalent of only SIX AMERICAN DOLLARS), we got a private room for the 7 of us, watermelon slices and tea for each of us, and an HOUR AND A HALF foot massage!!! It also included a little bit of a leg, arm, and back massage, too! It was awesome and so welcomed. A little awkward at times because of the language barrier, but it felt great.
I'm very satisfied by the whole weekend. The weather was great, the company was good, the sights were awe-inspiring, the food was spectacular, the hotel was sketchy (just the way I like it-- kidding-- I slept on a plank!!!), the treatment was celebrity-style... I couldn't ask for more... and I'm in China!!!
It's all downhill from here...