Monday

Monday:

I know what day it is but have completely lost track of the dates....

My sister had to work. I woke up after she had left. Went to Coffee Bean (didn't that used to be called Gloria Jean's Coffee Bean?) for a coffee and muffin and headed off to see the Yu Garden. This is in the old part of town. The garden itself is behind walls and the area is full of older buildings with shops (tourist type place). There were a lot of people looking for some business.

The architecture was interesting. I eventually found my way to the garden



The gardens were not as crowded as the area outside (almost 1/4 of the crowd) and was interesting to see. I just meandered about and took lots of pictures. There is little in the way of historical information/facts, which is fine as it probably would have been in madarin. I enjoyed the time here, it was a nice break from all the shopping hustlers (lady you want bag, watches, t-shirt, I give you good price). I was actually a bit annoyed with the constant bombarding by the people trying to sell you something but I guess they're just trying to make a living.




http://picasaweb.google.com/v.in.the.fog/ChinaTrip2008/photo#5194591498447458642



There are some cats that live in the garden. I was busy with the camera taking a shot and out of no where a cat jumps down and leisurely walks away, I followed him and we walked up by the little pond and hiked up to an area where there was a little pond he could drink from, after he was done he went back.



A side note - I've noticed pretty black butterflies (or moths) - they are pretty and fly by day, so I assume they are butterflies but when they sit still, their wings are downwards, like a moth. I've seen them at the Yu garden and in the little park downstairs of my sisters apartment.





The exit of the garden takes you right back into the shopping area. Amongst other stores, they have a Dairy Queen and a Starbucks here. Outside of a teashop is a huge fountain(i guess it's called a fountain) teapot and cup - I had to take a picture for S.



The shops continue but as you get away from the main area, the stores get a little more interesting. More regional things, less agressive sales people, and they're just happy to see you appreciate their work. I walked about in a frame store, a statuary, little places with antique type things.

I decided I was going to go back to the apartment for a break and lunch so I started walking in the direction of the main street where it would be easier to find a cab. I've noticed that in this town, the trash is collected in small dumpsters hitched to the back of bicycles. As I was approaching the main street, I heard two cats incessantly meowing and I started looking around to see where they were. I finally noticed, as did others, that there were kittens in the dumpster. I could clearly see one guy struggling to get out. As I looked into the dumpster, I noticed that there were 3 cats, one was dead, the other was laying there meowing and the third guy was trying to get out of the dumpster. The whole scene just got to me, no one was doing anything, just looking at the meowing cats and then stepping back. I saw a box in the side alley and went and got it, used an empty plastic bag and got the kitten into the box. The other cat had died by the time I went to get him. The guy I got was furiously trying to climb out of the box, too. I found a convenience store right there and bought some milk. People were giving me strange looks and I had a crowd surround me as I tried to put some milk in a cup for the guy. He was tiny but not new born, i wasn't sure if he could see so I didn't know how to get him to get the milk, so I put some on him, so he could just lick the milk off. At this point, I was getting distraught by all that I had seen. I went back to some of the nicer store keepers, hoping they would take in the kitten but it was tough with the language and they were just shaking their heads.



So I brought the cat back to my sisters apartment. I cleaned him up a bit, feed him some milk with a straw - he was still very agitated but eventually calmed down and fell asleep. I wrapped up in a towel and put him in a shoe box. I went to work online looking for a shelter in Shanghai, there are no such things! I found two links for rescues but only one link lead to an actual site. I spoke to them and with a donation, they would take the kitten in and care for it until it's adopted. So after the lady got off work, I took the kitten there. I visited with the lady for a bit and then headed back.

Met up with my sister for dinner and had thai food, it was soo good. After dinner, she headed back to get some work done and I walked around a bit before returning. As I was heading back, a young lady came up to me and wanted to walk and talk with me so she could practise her english, I was a bit reluctant at first but all she did was talk, she wanted to know if she should listen to english music to improve her accent etc. Nice girl, it made for a nice walk.