The next day (24 Nov) neither of us is in any rush to get up.
I think we're playing that game where if I make no noise, the other person won't realise I'm awake.
Eventually, hunger gets the better of us & we talk of our plans for the day. Floating market & external battery for my phone is all I really want, plus food! :-)
Okay, we start with breakfast - some kind of dodgy toast with marmalade and no butter.
I swear, I don't know where all my "must haves" and "can't live withouts" have gone!
After which, Adrian says he's going to put the laundry on. Yay! I have some clothes. I put the stuff I've been carrying into his basket.
What about those that you wore he asks, pointing to items still lying on my bag. What, is he my mother now?
But fair call, I realise I may as well wash everything.
While we wait for the laundry, I type out my journal and...it starts to rain.
Doh! Why won't this rain leave me alone?? We could always take a chance and go to the market - it might not be raining there, he says.
Nah, we change our plans to visit the electronic market and have dinner instead.
As we're walking and trying to avoid the rain, we pass a satay stick vendor!
Ooh!! Can we have?? Just a small amount! We order six sticks of chicken satay and gobble up every one of them. Mmm...so delicious!
Again, my paranoia of getting sick is really playing no part on my intake of food. As we continue along, I see a guy selling corn cobs! Ooh!! Corn! We get one, cause as Adrian points out, it will be easier to eat it indoors than outside in the rain. Good point.
We wander around inside. I follow mainly 'cause I have no idea where we're going or what I should get! Adrian checks out a few kiosks and asks prices. There are four levels to this place and the higher up you go, the more authentic the product, and higher the price.
On a side note, the Thai sales assistants are fascinating to watch. They eat, preen, chat, all at their shop and will serve you if they are free, or while doing their make up if they must. It's quite fascinating.
Anyway, we decide on a battery, purchase it and head out to dinner. Din Tai Fung - one of my favourite dumpling places!
We're expecting a long wait and the restaurant, like all over the rest of the world, is quite busy, but we're called in after about 5 minutes. Having placed our order while outside (this place is the epitome of efficiency!) the food arrives quite quickly.
First there is Dan Noodles - thin long noodles that come in a kind of sesame paste concoction. The noodles are great, Im' not a massive fan of the sesame. Then - the dao miao - snow pea shoots with garlic. I love these! But they seem a little different here to the kind in Singapore. More stem, and just a touch stringy. Then my favourite - Xiao Ling Bao - steamed shanghai dumplings with soup inside. Mmm...I load up my spoon with ginger soaked in vinegar & put a dumpling on it. Next I nibble the dumpling skin to let the steam out, and then to suck out all the soup. I always do this 'cause if the soup is too hot, I'll inevitably burn my tongue. The soup is not too hot this time though, that's good. Then comes our final dish - steamed prawn & gourd dumplings. It's okay, but I wouldn't have it again. The skin of the dumpling is fine, the prawns delicious, but there's something about the gourd - reminds me of silverbeet, except crunchy, but with the same taste of sand. Nope, not a fan.
It's not that late, and we listen to a couple of businessmen on the next table talk about rockets an planes and how to arm them and set them off. Interesting!
It's been a relatively short day, but we're both recovering from the week we've had so decide to call it a night.
We head home & I write some more, and hope the weather will be better tomorrow.
