Day 9 - Yiwu back to Hami

Our morning breakfast in Yiwu at the Government Villa was a disaster. Ladies from the villa restaurant knocked on our doors to make sure we were prompt for breakfast. They seated us in two different rooms and brought us plates of food. What we didn't know was Dulkun and the tour company had set us up for the cheaper breakfast buffet. The Villa staff "Shanghiaed" us into the table seating and charged us more. Dulkun argued profusely, but there is no arguing with the government. We had a little time to walk the city streets before getting on the bus. We stopped the bus at a spot with a beautiful view of the Steppe near the bee keepers. A few of us walked down to the bee keepers hut and sampled and bought some of their honey. We stopped again in a small village that had a small street market. We could view the entire process of slaughtering, skinning, and selling of goats at the street intersection. It was one of the most fascinating markets we visited even though it was the smallest. Dulkin explained to Dave Makepeace that he was very curious to the Chinese because he wore a goatee and shaved head. As well as he wore an earring. In their culture an earring on a man is the sign of a "girly-man". I saw a flock of quail and a bald eagle while driving through the mountains back to Hami. What I call the Steppe is the beautifully green and lush high plains with the herds of sheep and goats with sheppards on foot and horseback. It was one of my highlights of the trip. I could visuallize Genghis Khan and his hordes galloping across the land there. We had lunch back at the Hami hotel. In the afternoon we visited a Tang Dynasty Pagoda. On the bus Dulkun explained that all youth in his village learned how to make their adobe bricks. He was expected to be proficient enough to make 500 in one day. His expression for "brainwashing" was to have a "washed brain". His expression for being bald was "your hairs are off". Next we visited the Hami Melon Fields. There we had a sit down melon sampling session. We were able to sample six different Hami melons. Hami's melons are known all over asia. They are very sweet and delicious. Better than any melons we can get here in the US. From the melon tasting we rode donkey carts out to an ancient pagoda with a tiny natural spring. Back at the hotel for dinner they served an outstanding duck dish.