Baiyun Mountain, etc

Not sure what they're talking about - but I didn't do it:

Today started at 9 AM with reading the TB test, which came back negative, as expected. So we are still on schedule - no delays expected.

After we all got our results, Holt arranged for us to all go to Baiyun Mountain - an area on the north side of the city - glad we went there, as the zoo would have been hot and humid. (Well, lets just say that the heat and humidity extend up the side of this hill.) A remarkable number of people were walking up it for exercise. We lazy Americans rode up in golf carts. We explained we were Canadian, eh?

Baiyun means "White Cloud" - which must have something to do with how literal clouds interact with the mountain, as there's precious little of anything having to do with White Cloud in the public restrooms anywhere in China. Even so, the park itself is stunningly beautiful. No much for views of the city though - due to haze.

About 2/3rds of the way up there is a bird area (more like a zoo than a sanctuary) and a show. A very pretty area to walk through, some small valleys - and the show was cute (even if the handler appeared to be bored out of his mind.) At the end they had some parrots trained to fly for currency - and they could distinguish between denominations of RMB. We tried American dollars, and they preferred those even over 10 yuan notes - which are more valuable. Go figure.

We returned and had lunch - then went to a seven eleven on the island for ice cream. MeiLi chose frozen cherries on a stick, which she enjoyed. The ladies shopped while I napped - then we all went to the pool. Dinner, more shopping, and that was our day. A

A cornerstone on the island:

Tomorrow starts early with our consulate appointment - we leave at 7:10.