Bill and I went to a new shopping area called "Victory Plaza" It has some restaurants on the top, like Pizza Hut, KFC, and traditional Chinese ones. It's a really pretty area that reminds me of San Francisco's Pier 39. Well, the actual shopping area is underground, so we took the escaltor down, which was amazing that they even had one. When we got down there we couldn't believe the set-up. There were 4 more floors down and each level probably had a couple of hundred shops in there going each direction. It was like a city within a city. How is this possible you might ask? In China, their businesses are about 20'x20' areas, with multiple shops rt next to each other. Like on the streets, you might have 20 businesses in one block. It seems most people have their own income source. Now, there are the regular types of stores also, but a lot less of these.
After browsing we tried to leave but couldn't find the escaltor, so it took us about 20" to figure out where it was. I didn't want to climb 4 steep flights of stairs at 8 at night. It wasn't like I hadn't already climbed a thousand of more steps during my day!
We ate at Pizza Hut for dinner. It looked like a fancy restaurant, not the kick back style we're used to. I really wanted a pizza so it sounded like a good bet. If you think you're going to get western food, think again. They don't even have the most common topping....pepperoni!!!! We finally settled on Hawaiin since it seemed a safe bet. It was good, but I had the runs later, so whatever!!! However, I was impressed with the restroom facilities. It was the cleanest I have encountered in China other than our hotel room in Beijing! It had a western toilet with a seat on it......toilet paper!!!!!!.....soap to wash my hands.....and a hand dryer!!!! Miracles never cease. I went twice just to remember what it was like back home....lol. The only negative aspect, was that when I opened the door to go into the restroom from the restaurant, I almost fell on my face! Immediately, you had to step up before entering. I think the Chinese believe it is unlucky to enter anywhere without multiple steps and stairs!!!
Finally it was time to take the bus home for the night. Bill and I have learned that 8am and 5pm are times to avoid buses due to the crowds. So we figured it would be good at this time. How mistaken we were! By the time we had gone 2 blocks, the bus was packed beyond capacity. There were about 120 people on our 1 bus. I couldn't believe it until I started counting. I actually tried to take a photo, but I couldn't raise my arm to do it. We were packed like sardines. The whole ride I was butt cheek to butt cheek with a stranger. Bill lifted his leg once cause it was cramping and when he tried to put it down again, there were four feet in his place. He just stepped on them to get them to move. It was actually sorta amusing just looking at the absurdity of the situation. In America, if we saw a bus that crowded, we would wait for another one. But not here!
Since I'm having problems posting my photos, they'll go up on FB. Sorry!
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