Gulangyu

Gulangyu is an island just off of Xiamen; you hop on a little ferry and you're there before you have time to get seasick! It's an adorable little place where there are no motor vehicles aside from the little shuttle/trolleys that tote around tourists. Something about how they don't want pollution, I believe.

During my first hour on the island, I saw no less than five blushing brides, having photo shoots. Apparently it's the place to get married, especially given the holiday! I stopped counting brides after I hit two dozen, mostly because I was starting to think that I was re-counting some of them as they were moving around a lot. There’s also the fact that Chinese women often have three wedding dresses, changing throughout the day. I’ve been fascinated by this ever since my cousin got married a few years back, in her three dresses.

Two brides in one shot! Not actually a difficult accomplishment.

I was really disappointed when I couldn't find postcards on the island of Xaimen, but the abundance of them in Gulangyu made up for it! There were shops everywhere; the center of the island is basically tourist central.

They sell passion fruits with straws in them all along the street and delicious mango ice creams with sliced mango, condensed milk, and some sort of mango syrup drizzled on top. On my second day in Gulangyu, I had two scoops of watermelon ice cream accompanied by a scoop of passion fruit (I always forget that I don't really enjoy passion fruit flavored things; sorry, Lorenzo). Twenty minutes later, I followed with coconut soft-serve.

I think the cone, if you can call it that, was made of some sort of corn chip. Regardless, the limited capacity of my stomach did not allow me to finish it.

And still later, I had another of those mango concoctions, this time without the shaved ice at the bottom. And that was my lunch for the day! Try not to judge too much.

I also purchased the most adorable little straw hat that I have ever had the fortune of seeing. It started falling apart a few hours later, but it only cost about $3.50 American, so I didn't expect too much. Not to mention that old stereotype about items made in China.

I kept trying to find a cute journal for Sandy, but every time I opened a book that looked like a journal, it turned out to be a memory book. It appears that they don't actually sell journals, or at least, I didn't see any. However, about half the street vendors sell memory books full of all the businesses in the area. So when you go to a cafe or shop, you can get a stamp in your memory book on your way out.

I saw loads of people stamping their books outside random shops. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

From afar, I thought these people were sitting around some sort of campfire on the beach, but it turns out they’re actually fishermen selling their catches. So you buy your seafood from these fishermen, take it over to a boat to have it steamed, and then eat it over on those little plastic tables and chairs. 

Final note: Shandong Airline's safety video is one of the silliest I have ever seen; there was a joke about arbitrarily parachuting out of the plane and it was weirdly affectionate ("dear, don't do this"). Or maybe it didn't translate well.