Impromptu

The other day a group of us decided to take a random trip into town to see what we could find. We just wanted to find out what this “little” city of ours has to hide. So we hopped on our favorite bus the 302 and headed towards downtown. We got off by the Tesco we had seen before and began our journey wandering around this little mall across the street. We were surprised to see that it was almost completely dead. It was the middle of the day on a weekend and there was hardly a person in sight. We soon decided that the mall must not be officially open yet because it looked as if some store were still moving stuff in, but there were a few random places open.

We came to a big courtyard and were quick to find the most random thing to do. Ride around on some animal toy things that you could wheel around. Oh the simple joys haha.

Then as we explored some more we were pleased to discover an arcade. However the greatest treat was at the top where we stumbled upon a truly joyous sight: a legit roller rink. We’re talking the four wheeled skates with the big chunky brakes on the front and everything. No. Joke. I was in heaven. And apparently were a couple of the Chinese girls there too because when they saw us they screamed and ran over and motioned (they spoke no English of course) for us to come out on the floor. This is apparently where all the people were. It was three levels and as we rode up to each one we made some cool discoveries such as bowling lanes a basketball court and pool tables.

It took all of 3.5 seconds for Dayna and I to run over to the counter pay our 15 yuan and strap on those babies. Soon after Kareena and Kelli followed while everyone else waited and watched. The girls we had met helped us around the rink until we got into the groove and then we had the time of our lives.

I think we may have cause a bit of chaos with our stumbling around but everyone seemed tickled pink that us four white girls were at their rink. It has been so long since I’d been to a roller rink but by the time we left I had gotten back into my old ways. I can assure you, more trips shall follow ;)

The rest of the day consisted of us finding the beautiful Hong Mei City Park, which is a huge park with lakes and trees and hills you can climb for spectacular views. It was so relaxing and peaceful.

We even discovered where you can rent peddle boats. Unfortunately the ticket office was closed so we opted to go back another day. We walked through the park and then started in the direction we thought the train station was. We ended up down a sketchy back alley where there was people with old air conditioners and fridges and people cutting big slabs of meat. It was a totally Chinese non-tourist thing that was a little unnerving but as we popped out the other end and looked left we were greeted by the lovely sight of the train station and the bus we needed to take home.

It was definitely a day to remember!