Wed 16th
New arrivals! Jeremy had left and Dan and Lousie (Lou) turned up. Both from York - the first to identifiy me from Kent, I was impressed,
"You sound just like Aunt Tracy." Ah that'd be it then.
They had travelled a hell of a lot - South America, South Africa, Thailand and India. Good for future travel tips.
A full dorm four men and four women. Yay I'm in a half and not a minority! Egalitarianism here! Now we can ALL walk around in just our pants and - well ok maybe not.
Anyway, off to the Bird Market, not many birds there, but lots of vegetables though. I got a new sun hat as my previous wide brimmed one got too floppy and annoying. Really really, visually imparing annoying. Through the market led to Lianhu Park. More karaoke all out of tune and more dancing. It also had amusements for kids - bumper cars, roller disco, a pool hall etc. Kids being at school made it very quiet. We ventured back through the Muslim Quarter, in and out of tiny[ but packed roads, trying not to get run over. Smells of boiling offal, frying and baking filled the air (along with the occasional whiff of stinky tofu!). Amongst the stalls of silks, art work, tea trinkets and souvenirs we got ourselves a magnet (the first lady we went too was asleep!). Frank had his first barter for a pair of sunglasses. Identical to the ones he already has (from poundland) he paid ¥10 after haggling down from ¥30 (£3). Out of the quarter and down the main street. A strong smell of insense caught our nostrils. China has a background smell, if you will, of insense, usally coming from Temples and Shrines. Sure enough this was coming from the 'Temple of God'. Why not? A walk away from the traffic along more shop stall fronts we found the temple. A very quiet and tranquil place with only a few visitors. We stopped here for a little while. Drinking in the peacfullness.
Ambling back up to the main road we bought some coloured beaded bracelets,
"An early birthday present for you darling." Frank offered. He's a love.
Relaxing abit more at Hang Tang Inn's rootop lounge. The staff there were friendly as were the people staying there too. Coffee at our hostel and Sasha (manager) was there with her 18 month old son James and her mum. James was very friendly offering us his mung beans, even feeding me some. What a cutie. Other staff were there to meet him too - Wendy, and Jason who picked us up and who we had since bumped into a few times during our stay. In our hostel there was a dumpling making session in the evening. Our names were down, as were Dan and Lou's. There were seven of us in total. Danielle from Melbourne and Olivia and Maddy from London. Manuel and the hostel chef were our tutors. The dumpling making was a bit of a struggle due to lack of table room and rolling pins, and near enough every Chinese person (Granny and Lele) joining in showing how it was to be done. That's without the poor technique executed by the budding chefs, there were some of us that didn't quite take it seriously! A 'ghost dumpling' was one piece of handy work. 15 minutes later the dumplings were boiled and we greedily chowed down. Good work.
Dan revealed he had innocently blocked the toilet with tissue he'd dried his hands with. They had just arrived in China not knowing paper has to go in a bin (like in Cyprus). He got a key for another room for us to use as it couldn't be fixed until morning. Nevermind.
Over the course of our stay Lele had spotted Frank tuning/playing the hostel's guitar. She asked if he would play (on the hostel website it says you can get free accommodation if you play a gig) our accomadation was done so a gig for free beer was on the cards, 20% off of my drinks too! So once the dumplings were cleaned up, guitar in tune, we settled in for an accoustic 'session'.
Frank started with 'Livin on a prayer', then into a Beatles medley and then some Irish songs. Frank dedicated 'Wonderful Tonight' to Dan and Lou (they had got newly engaged in India), 'Hotel California' and before long Olivia, Maddy and Danielle were calling out suggestions (I looked up the lyrics/cords). 'Don't stop believing', 'Status Quo', then Alison walked in and said to Frank,
"American country music is very big here. Do you know John Denver 'Country Roads'?" And with that the night took off, everyone from the upstairs bar came down. All the staff came out, Western and Chinese alike were in full sing-a-long form. Into 'Sweet Caroline', 'Take it Easy' and 'Sweet home Alabama'. We were at fever pitch with '500 miles' - banging the tables, call and reponse, back and forth - "Da da da daa!" "Da da da daa!"
Olivia and I sang 'Edge of Seventeen' (Olivia took the lead thankfully), 'Stairway To Heaven' before rounding off the night with Foo Fighters - 'Times Like These' and Guns 'n' Roses 'Sweet Child of Mine' for the finale. Laughs, smiles, praise and applause filled the room. Midnight - bedtime. Everyone skipped off to bed buzzing. We stayed and chatted to the late staff for a little while, helping clear up.
Night everyone. What a cool evening that was.

Later, on the stairs, I overheard Dan say to Louise "that was the best night ever!"