When I was a child I never had any ambitions to travel. This didn't change when I became an adult. Even people who travelled on package holidays I held in high esteem as if they were a higher species.
Then my daughter emigrated and before I knew it I was applying for visas booking flights and packing my bags.
Arriving in China for my seventh visit our travel continued, we were off on the bullet train to Tianshui in Gansu province.
Our quest was to find the school where our granddaughter was found abandoned when she was just a few days old. We found the school in a poor town near Tianshui it looked particularly bleak in the torrential rain and there seemed little to do but move on.
Our next travels were to take us to some of the sights that the area is famous for.
Visiting some of the old temples involved quite a lot of climbing. There were hundreds of gods modelled in terracotta but we weren't allowed to take photos. There was the 'blue buddha' with his blue moustash.
Back near Xian there is a modern buddha. This is the three headed buddha.
One thing we found is that where ever we travel children are just the same. When our granddaughters came across another child playing with bubbles they didn't wait to be asked but just joined in the fun.
Grand temples are all very well but one of the most fascinating things in China is park life. You can spend all day there and there will be an ever changing parade of activities to entertain you. ( and of course no one minds if you join in)!
Another wonderful thing in China is their street food. In every street and on almost every street corner there will be people cooking. This man was making pancakes and filling them with egg and vegetables before rolling them up for breakfast. These people probably do the same food every day and look really skilled and all the food looks and tastes delicious.
One last image, not a huge statue but a small one sat inside a temple garden in Xian. I think I will be taking inspiration from this, maybe a sgraffito cat.
