SIGHTSEEING IN BEIJING
Chapter 4
Pintsize awoke to hear that Alex and Abby had gone, with their mom and dad, to visit the pandas at the Beijing Zoo.
He startled when he heard them talking about the same accident Alex had with the turtles. Had he just been asleep for a few minutes. He was more confused than ever and rubbed his head.
“Look mom,” Abby called over her shoulder. “Look at those adorable bears. Can we play with them,” she cried as she ran toward the black and white baby pandas. They looked to her like teddy bears.
These adorable little cuties mesmerized everyone with their playful antics. They rolled down hills and wrapped themselves around tree branches. Many tourists gathered at mealtime to see the black and white bears feeding on their favourite meal of bamboo leaves.
The only thing that wasn’t too inviting was an overwhelmingly bad smell. The smell was something like wet fur sprayed by a skunk. It was time to move on to the Siberian Tigers.
After a lunch of rice and a yummy soup full of veggies and noodles, the travellers hailed a taxi. The cab sprayed water from the roadside as it pulled up for the family to enter. The yellow cab then swerved and bounced through the busy street suddenly stopping at a crowded outdoor market. Alex and Abby stared in amazement. Bustling rows of vendors’ shops displayed everything imaginable. Lights flickered from hanging cords and people yelled and shoved others aside at stalls trying to grab the fruits and produce.
The family tumbled out of the cab trying to avoid speeding scooters whizzing around them. They joined the swarming crowds of Chinese shoppers in the aisles of the market. Abby and Alex saw vendors selling live ducks, geese and turtles.
“Alex! Look on the ground by that little boy.” Abby said.
Alex looked over and saw some wire cages packed full of cute puppies and more cages with squealing pink piglets with curly tails. “Did you see the pets!” Abby squealed.
At another food stand they saw eggs wrapped in mud. Live mackerel and shrimp flopped around on a display table right beside hunks of beef and pork sausages. A man called to them in Chinese and waved his hand for them to come to him.
“Come here and see this,” Alex called, waving Abby over. One vendor was selling fried chicken feet on sticks. “Look, Abby, he’s trying to hand it to Dad. Hope Dad’s not going to try eating that thing.” More wrinkled, yellow-orange chicken feet hung from a rope overhanging the vendor’s stall. Live chickens clucked in cages on the dirt floor.
On nearby streets, cars, buses and taxis drove erratically. Horns blasted warnings to get out of the way. Toddlers and babies on scooters clung to their mothers who weaved about the aisles of the market. Teetering dangerously from the scooters sides, little kids tried to hang onto something safe while mom shopped. The busy streets were filled with danger, noise and the pungent scents that wafted from the food stands. The yummy, sweet smell of pastries made your mouth water. Mixed with the odours of roasting meat, onions, and some pretty bad stuff that they couldn't identify, Abby and Alex weaved their way through the outdoor marketplace. Their eyes bounced from one stall to the next.
“Stick close to us,” Mom warned.
Alex saw fire-spewing dragons with long spiked tails. The yellow-green, red and purple colours, on these bright carved and hand-painted serpents sparkled in the hot afternoon sunshine. Abby saw china dolls, red and yellow fans and dainty tea sets for sale.
“Can I use some of my money to buy a dragon?” Alex asked mom.
At the next stall, Alex again saw pails full of muddy water with fish, shrimp and eels trying to swim in the crowded water. Splashes from these packed pools had turned the ground into puddles. Alex tripped and his foot landed in a tub. He jumped and fell onto the muddy floor trying to save himself.
"Alex," Abby yelled and laughed. "You look hilarious."
"It's not funny, Abby. I almost lost a toe to those snapping turtles again," He tried to look mad but soon broke out laughing. "Don't tell anybody or you are dead," he warned Abby, smirking.
"Just so you know, there weren't any turtles in the tub this time. You just imagined them because of yesterday when you did almost lose a toe. I think you need to get checked out. You keep tripping," she advised.
"I'm fine. Just remember not to say anything," he warned his sister again.
"I won't say anything. But you better wipe that mud off your clothes or they will wonder what happened," she warned and turned away smiling.
“Look at those beautiful red, silk tops,” Mom called to Abby. "You would look adorable in that."
"I like the T-shirt with the turtle on it, better," Abby said. She looked all around her at all the action. Barefoot children played beside their mothers, some of whom sat at sewing machines stitching suits, dresses and tops. Bales of pretty green, yellow and red fabrics were scattered around the cubicles. Women and some men quickly stitched custom made clothing. A bride was trying on a magical, lacy, white wedding dress and she glowed as she swirled around on the dirt floor of the shop. Grandparents, minding little children, sat and bounced babies on their knees while moms and dads worked.
“Mom, why is everyone staring at me?” Abby asked.
A women selling birds in cages walked closer to Abby and her mom. She was with her little boy. They stared at Abby and her family. Abby felt like an animal that was being inspected. Grammy took a picture of the smiling woman and her grandson while they stood beside Abby. When grandma showed the picture to the Oriental mother, she looked at grammy with smiling eyes and nodded her thank you.
“Most Chinese people have never seen anyone with blond hair and light skin,” Mom explained.
Earlier, a vendor had tried to touch Abby’s hair. “It is considered good luck in China,” Mom had told her.
Crumbling apartment buildings lined the streets. Damp clothes blowing in the breeze hung from dangling ropes or electrical wires strung across the balconies on the upper floors of the market. The vendors lived here above their shops. Only a privacy curtain separated the living quarters from the outdoor store at street level.
On a rusty stove, one vendor had a huge, boiling pot full of vegetables and squirming fish. Abby watched as he poured a scoop of this mixture over a bowl of steaming noodles. He handed the bowl to an old man who had a pole over his shoulders with a shopping basket hanging from each end. The man began eating this meal with two sticks. Then he lifted the bowl to his mouth with a gnarled hand and drank the broth. He did all of this with one hand as he balanced the pole on his shoulders with the other.
“Did you see that old man eating soup with two sticks,” Abby said to Alex.
“I think everybody uses them here,” Alex said. “But I think I’d starve. There must be a trick to it. They are called chopsticks.”
“I saw Dad trying it out. He did OK. Let’s practice wrapping our noodles around the chopsticks at supper,” Abby giggled. "Come on, Alex. We better catch up. Mom said we'd be leaving soon. You don't want to get stuck here, do you?"
Pintsize took a breath of relief. When he listened carefully he realized Alex really had fallen into a bucket with fish and turtles two days in a row. Now he knew he wasn't losing his mind and he could sleep soundly in the morning.
He startled when he heard them talking about the same accident Alex had with the turtles. Had he just been asleep for a few minutes. He was more confused than ever and rubbed his head.
“Look mom,” Abby called over her shoulder. “Look at those adorable bears. Can we play with them,” she cried as she ran toward the black and white baby pandas. They looked to her like teddy bears.
These adorable little cuties mesmerized everyone with their playful antics. They rolled down hills and wrapped themselves around tree branches. Many tourists gathered at mealtime to see the black and white bears feeding on their favourite meal of bamboo leaves.
The only thing that wasn’t too inviting was an overwhelmingly bad smell. The smell was something like wet fur sprayed by a skunk. It was time to move on to the Siberian Tigers.
After a lunch of rice and a yummy soup full of veggies and noodles, the travellers hailed a taxi. The cab sprayed water from the roadside as it pulled up for the family to enter. The yellow cab then swerved and bounced through the busy street suddenly stopping at a crowded outdoor market. Alex and Abby stared in amazement. Bustling rows of vendors’ shops displayed everything imaginable. Lights flickered from hanging cords and people yelled and shoved others aside at stalls trying to grab the fruits and produce.
The family tumbled out of the cab trying to avoid speeding scooters whizzing around them. They joined the swarming crowds of Chinese shoppers in the aisles of the market. Abby and Alex saw vendors selling live ducks, geese and turtles.
“Alex! Look on the ground by that little boy.” Abby said.
Alex looked over and saw some wire cages packed full of cute puppies and more cages with squealing pink piglets with curly tails. “Did you see the pets!” Abby squealed.
At another food stand they saw eggs wrapped in mud. Live mackerel and shrimp flopped around on a display table right beside hunks of beef and pork sausages. A man called to them in Chinese and waved his hand for them to come to him.
“Come here and see this,” Alex called, waving Abby over. One vendor was selling fried chicken feet on sticks. “Look, Abby, he’s trying to hand it to Dad. Hope Dad’s not going to try eating that thing.” More wrinkled, yellow-orange chicken feet hung from a rope overhanging the vendor’s stall. Live chickens clucked in cages on the dirt floor.
On nearby streets, cars, buses and taxis drove erratically. Horns blasted warnings to get out of the way. Toddlers and babies on scooters clung to their mothers who weaved about the aisles of the market. Teetering dangerously from the scooters sides, little kids tried to hang onto something safe while mom shopped. The busy streets were filled with danger, noise and the pungent scents that wafted from the food stands. The yummy, sweet smell of pastries made your mouth water. Mixed with the odours of roasting meat, onions, and some pretty bad stuff that they couldn't identify, Abby and Alex weaved their way through the outdoor marketplace. Their eyes bounced from one stall to the next.
“Stick close to us,” Mom warned.
Alex saw fire-spewing dragons with long spiked tails. The yellow-green, red and purple colours, on these bright carved and hand-painted serpents sparkled in the hot afternoon sunshine. Abby saw china dolls, red and yellow fans and dainty tea sets for sale.
“Can I use some of my money to buy a dragon?” Alex asked mom.
At the next stall, Alex again saw pails full of muddy water with fish, shrimp and eels trying to swim in the crowded water. Splashes from these packed pools had turned the ground into puddles. Alex tripped and his foot landed in a tub. He jumped and fell onto the muddy floor trying to save himself.
"Alex," Abby yelled and laughed. "You look hilarious."
"It's not funny, Abby. I almost lost a toe to those snapping turtles again," He tried to look mad but soon broke out laughing. "Don't tell anybody or you are dead," he warned Abby, smirking.
"Just so you know, there weren't any turtles in the tub this time. You just imagined them because of yesterday when you did almost lose a toe. I think you need to get checked out. You keep tripping," she advised.
"I'm fine. Just remember not to say anything," he warned his sister again.
"I won't say anything. But you better wipe that mud off your clothes or they will wonder what happened," she warned and turned away smiling.
“Look at those beautiful red, silk tops,” Mom called to Abby. "You would look adorable in that."
"I like the T-shirt with the turtle on it, better," Abby said. She looked all around her at all the action. Barefoot children played beside their mothers, some of whom sat at sewing machines stitching suits, dresses and tops. Bales of pretty green, yellow and red fabrics were scattered around the cubicles. Women and some men quickly stitched custom made clothing. A bride was trying on a magical, lacy, white wedding dress and she glowed as she swirled around on the dirt floor of the shop. Grandparents, minding little children, sat and bounced babies on their knees while moms and dads worked.
“Mom, why is everyone staring at me?” Abby asked.
A women selling birds in cages walked closer to Abby and her mom. She was with her little boy. They stared at Abby and her family. Abby felt like an animal that was being inspected. Grammy took a picture of the smiling woman and her grandson while they stood beside Abby. When grandma showed the picture to the Oriental mother, she looked at grammy with smiling eyes and nodded her thank you.
“Most Chinese people have never seen anyone with blond hair and light skin,” Mom explained.
Earlier, a vendor had tried to touch Abby’s hair. “It is considered good luck in China,” Mom had told her.
Crumbling apartment buildings lined the streets. Damp clothes blowing in the breeze hung from dangling ropes or electrical wires strung across the balconies on the upper floors of the market. The vendors lived here above their shops. Only a privacy curtain separated the living quarters from the outdoor store at street level.
On a rusty stove, one vendor had a huge, boiling pot full of vegetables and squirming fish. Abby watched as he poured a scoop of this mixture over a bowl of steaming noodles. He handed the bowl to an old man who had a pole over his shoulders with a shopping basket hanging from each end. The man began eating this meal with two sticks. Then he lifted the bowl to his mouth with a gnarled hand and drank the broth. He did all of this with one hand as he balanced the pole on his shoulders with the other.
“Did you see that old man eating soup with two sticks,” Abby said to Alex.
“I think everybody uses them here,” Alex said. “But I think I’d starve. There must be a trick to it. They are called chopsticks.”
“I saw Dad trying it out. He did OK. Let’s practice wrapping our noodles around the chopsticks at supper,” Abby giggled. "Come on, Alex. We better catch up. Mom said we'd be leaving soon. You don't want to get stuck here, do you?"
Pintsize took a breath of relief. When he listened carefully he realized Alex really had fallen into a bucket with fish and turtles two days in a row. Now he knew he wasn't losing his mind and he could sleep soundly in the morning.
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