xiamen. fujian. china. april 2nd – 4th. 2009

With much effort on Stephens part we arrive in Xiamen the weekend of Chinese National Holiday (some of you will understand…) the hostel is quiet, far from the airport, so again I leave it up to Stephen to figure out what bus will get us there. I am surprised that we are driven through a city of modern high rises, a raised freeway. A 45 min  bus ride to arrive at our connection! For some reason I am stressed and we take a cab the rest of the way. It is dark now, we came through a tunnel to get here and are now in a small quiet street off the main. It is the right place though. I think we warmed to it as we descended the stairs to the building and garden and were greeted by the resident dog and her puppy. The staff is laid back, the space is beautiful, our room small but airy. The other guests we meet on the same page. We don’t wander far for food tonight, but we don’t have to, there are two vegetarian restaurants, fruit stands and a street of restaurants for Stephen within a 5 min walk. We wander our neighborhood in daylight, arrange travel to Yongding, walk along the waterfront, but mostly enjoy the common space of the hostel, our conversations with  Stephen (staff) and Jenny (guest) and the dvds. This neighborhood is really nice too, it is an older part of town near the university, out of the chaos  and modern aesthetic of the core, but still an urban environment. We are hard pressed to leave, but the Hakka Earth Houses are calling, and after arranging a few nights again at this hostel, we make our trip to Yongding.

laurel's xiamen photos on flickr

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