Corn

It was an interesting day today. My anticipated trip to the Shaolin Temple was a complete bust. I have NO idea where it is. According to Google and Google Maps, I ended up at the right bus stop and in the right place but there was no temple and no monks.

Anyways, there was a very small town there so I just walked around it taking pictures. The main road in was like a mall, with stores on either side so I walked down there. Almost the entire square was covered in corn. These ladies are stripping the corn from the husks with a machine. Just beyond them, I saw one lady who was doing the same thing but she was using a screw driver and then another doing the same thing but using her thumb.

I walked all the way through the town and looked around. The corn fields were on the other side and I wanted to go in but a lady said I wasn't allowed. One guy spotted me and came to shake my hand saying he'd never met a foreigner before.

I jumped back on the bus and headed back to the hotel and then went to a huge park about a 30 minute walk away. Unexpectedly, the park had a zoo. I am not a fan of zoos in general and was hoping that this one would be better than others I have been to in China but it wasn't. Cages too small and animals looking very underfed. It seems though that they are expanding and are making a genuine effort to make enclosures bigger and better suited to the animals.

It was however, the first time (that I can remember) seeing a rhinoceros and they had two and also three zebra. I have never seen them either.

I stopped for a crappy dinner on the way home and then went back to the hotel. I had a nice chat with my girl. I miss her heaps.