Greetings all,
I feel like it's been a long time since I last wrote an update...and it has, over a month! I've been busy with work and no exciting trips, so, I guess it just starts to be "normal life" after 2.5 years here! One of the highlights of the last month was Rod and I running a 5k here in Shenyang. This was our first race in over 15 years...so we started with a good distance of 5k! The race was in a park here in Shenyang...a beautiful park...been here over 2 years and just now found this place! (Been working too much I think!)
Here are a few pictures of the park, our bicycle riding, running and just walking along the river here in Shenyang.
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| Rod & Sarah at the entrance to Wu Li He Park, here in Shenyang |
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| Rod in Wu Li He park..one of the quiet respites in the concrete jungle of 8 million people in Shenyang |
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| The San Hao Jia Qiao Bridge over the river here in Shenyang |
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| Fishermen in the park |
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| Rod and Sarah before the 5k Run in Shenyang |
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| Sarah is in there somewhere...at the starting line of the 5k |
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| Rod & Sarah after the 5k race..by the way, I'm sweating too..just a nylon shirt that doesn't show it! |
We were energized by finding a nice, quiet place to walk, run and ride our bikes...for our bikes...the ride to the park is not so peaceful...having to negotiate all the cars, busses, other bicycles, pedestrians and the non respect of general traffic laws does not make it an easy way to get started...but it sure makes one appreciate the park when you arrive!
One of the natural wonders of North East China is the delta of one of the rivers outside of the city of Pan Jin. It is called the red beach...you'll see why in the pictures below. I went there with our fellow Michelin expats and friends Tim, Julie , Matthew and Kristy and we had a nice day trip to Pan Jin.
Below are some of the photos from our Saturday outing. A big Thanks to Julie & Tim who gave me these photos...I forgot my camera and my phone battery didn't last long enough to get any! :-(
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| Matthew, Sarah, Kristy, Julie and Tim at the wetlands observation area (That is a concrete tree overhead) |
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| Sarah in front of the Red beach outside of Pan Jin |
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| A house in the middle of the red beach mud flat |
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| Up close, this is what the red beach looks like...just a mud flat with crabs and other critters. The red beach is actually just a sea grass that turns red in the fall. |
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| Boardwalk over the red beach |
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| As is the case with any tourist attraction, there was a market..this one specialized in selling crabs and rice..some crabs in a cage! |
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| After our road trip, we enjoyed a Chinese BBQ (cook it yourself at the table)..lots of yummy (and not so yummy) stuff...always a surprise to know what you actually ordered! |
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| No trip out of town (and some in town) is complete without getting lost...we were off the beaten path...way off...and came up on some cows, goats and other critters getting herded across the road! |
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| As the sun started to set...we were still on our way...good thing Tim had his GPS and led the driver to the main highway! |
So that's about it for the September version of the China Update. Fall is here in Shenyang...before we know it, Winter will be here too...again!
Hope everyone has a great day and thanks for your continued prayers and thoughts as we pass what we think will be our 1/2 way point on our expatriation here in China...one never really knows, but when we came, we said "yes" for 5 years...we'll see!
Rod & Sarah
