To our disappointment the traffic in Nanjing isn't any quiet-er than that of Beijing, both in the number of cars (and electric bikes, which are apparently the thing to have in China) and the sound level. Honking is used to signal pretty much everything, and do people have much to say!
English signs are much fewer, which is to be expected, but the spelling hasn't improved since Beijing. The funniest sings are the ones that have clearly been translated by a computer, with no regard for the context the words are in ("slip and fall carefully" = caution, slippery floor, "the green grass is afraid of your feet" = don't walk on the grass, "sehll" = shell, "love in the Paris" = the name of a wedding store, "drirking" and "oceries" = signs in a food market). But don't get us wrong, we do appreciate that they try!
We've had some trouble finding a good restaurant, but loads of snacks are for sale everywhere. This led to us wanting to have a picnic at a nearby lake, to try out all the interesting looking foods (everything from sugar glaced fruits to pastry like buns with cabbage(?) inside). We do LOVE to be food tourists. But our picnic plans were interrupted by rain. So we had lunch on Ruut's bed instead (she announced that anyone who spilled something would be killed), trying out all the foods we'd bought, no matter how weird looking. An orange cone formed thing I thought was a sweet potato turned out to be made of some sort of rice, and quite tasty.
The Hostel we're staying at is called "Sunflower International Youth Hostel" and is located near a shopping district. Just around the corner there are streets upon streets of small shops selling everything from clothes, tourist junk and food, to animals (in terrible conditions, dozens of turtles in one glass jar, just laying on top of each other and rabbits in so small cages that they can't move... It just makes you sick to see). There's a metro station about 5 minutes walk away and a big food market (like a tiny Prisma) across the street. But if you want toilet paper to be included you should look elsewhere for lodgings. Otherwise we're quite happy, not counting the overprized food upstairs in the hostel's restaurant. This place is quite similar to our Happy Dragon, the biggest difference being that there are more Chinese tourists here than at Happy Dragon.
Though the weather hasn't improved much since Beijing, it's been raining all day, the temperature is much warmer. We've been able to keep our window open and walk around wearing only one layer! But still, we'll continue to wish for sunshine and rain-free days.
//Sophia
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