Soon after arriving I went exploring to get my bearings around this wonderful walled city. On arrival it was surprisingly cold and cloudy. Hadnt planned to do any touristy stuff today but ended up going up the Bell and Drum Towers which are in the middle of the city and from which you can get some views. They were ok but I am not so sure I would go up again but both had little music performances on which were pretty good. That said the Drum Tower had some wonderful ornate furniture on display and I know a former furniture maker nerd friend of mine whom I know would have loved it. I noticed that the Chinese like their kites and it was quite spectaculour watching so many being flown from an elevated position. The real highlight for me was wondering around this Muslim Quarter which is made up for winding little streets full of street vendors. It had a real buzz to it and some of the goods and food being sold were lovely. I bought some dried bananas and kiwis - a lot of stalls were selling dried fruit and I took some pictures as they were so colourful. There was a Mosque which the Guidebook said was a tourist attraction but I didnt fancy it and refrained from going - I was just enjoying wondering around as the sun was setting. There was one disturbing moment however when I saw 2 chaps chained up and who had clearly been beaten up. They were on display literally on the street for all to see. This must have been some sort of normal practice or punishment as although clearly hurt, neither was crying for help. My tour guide the next day told me that it may have been because they were unable to resolve a dispute amongst themselves?
I had visions of me and an employer sitting outside our workplace because we couldnt resolve a pay rise - made me chuckle after as I needed some light humour after seeing that disturbing spectacle.
I also had a wonder along to a local Mall where outside was a little market (with stalls). Just along side there were some other street vendors sat on the floor selling clothes, food etc. All of a sudden I heard a police siren and quite literally quick as a flash they all disappeared. I'd never seen anything like it and they were quite obviously used to packing up in a minute. I caught the eye of one or two as I chuckled and they gave me knowing smiles.
I headed on home as it was dark and getting quite late. Lesson learnt today: always unpack your jim jams toothbrush etc before dumping your stuff and heading out so as to avoid disturbing your dorm mates trying to scratch around in the dark as I did!
