Chengde, and back to Beijing. Some old friends from the train!

Day 3

Cold night, and how to describe breakfast, well indescribable. Gruel pot contained watery yellow thin porridge, actually rather good. The most appetising-looking food, chunks of stuff in red paste, turned out to be unswallowable. Late info tells me the red stuff was fermented bean curd, honestly yuk.

The Mountain Villa resort was unmissable on a cold almost frosty morning.

The entrance was a large open area, with a huge group of people taking a dance class. Drummers, bands, fan dancing. Men playing games in close and concentrated groups. Tai chi and all sorts of activities (even whip cracking groups) in all areas. Music from all quarters, no-one hearing anyone else so a great cacophony of sound, but all enjoying it.

The lake and walkways stunningly beautiful, small bridges, pavilions and boats all round - a gorgeous walk around the edges and across the causeways and bridges.

Relaxing on a bench when who should arrive but my fellow train travellers, happy to meet up, handshakes, nihaos and bye byes, and a couple of great photos.

My feet causing a great deal of interest, clearly bare legs and sandals beneath mid-calf trousers are not often seen. Some laugh, all stare, and one elderly lady even stopped in her tracks to sit down beside me and tell me (as I understood it) that it was not good for me to be wearing winter clothes on top without long trousers and socks on my legs. She and her two lady friends joined me on the bench to a chat, and left with warm handshakes and bye byes. A man on the train also very worried about bare feet and legs, again pointed out socks! He was happier when I promised I would wear them tomorrow!

Lunch near the railway station, started with tea and hot peanuts, then moved on to lunch. A bit of pot luck, since I think I got the items one above the ones I'd selected! Salty cold  spicy greens, a plate of sweet nuts coated in sesame seeds, and the coup de grace a large bowl of hot (very) and sour pork. Tongue-numbing and well worth writing home about!!!

And back to the train. Smartly uniformed station guards lining the platform, arms by sides with flags pointed down at Chengde and at every station en route.

And for this journey, autumn has arrived! The cold night has turned the leaves, making for a stunning panorama from the window. Finally dinner with Tim near the bridge over the Houhai Lake, a brisk stroll through the hutongs. He ordered good food in a masterful fashion, in Mandarin.

And even more finally, bed in another beautiful room.

PS the fruit outside the windows here are persimmons.