South China Tour Day III Part I

Day III began with Breakfast at the White Swan. Having missed out on the Parma Ham the first morning, I literally pigged out on the ham and smoked Salmon. We all decided that since we ate so much in the last few days, we would skip lunch this afternoon. But just in case some of us needed a filler, Raven, our tour co-ordinator decided to sneak a few tubs of yoghurt into that huge bag of hers. 

Breakfast with Yew Pun and Doreen, if you look close enough, you can seen the heap of smoked salmon on my plate.

Today, we are off to Jiangman, stopping by Kaiping and a few tourist sites. So after checking out of the hotel, we were all loaded into the mini-bus for what proved to be a long journey in the rain. Part of the journey was through an unpaved road which was disintegrating badly (known locally as the Massage Road), so much so that we were terrified that the mini-bus would get stuck. Not a great prospect, as it was really bucketing it down. Thank God it didn't and we made it to the "Stone Chamber Buildings". As it was still bucketing it down, we stayed in the mini-van until the rain eased off and umbrellas were bought from a budding entrepreneur.

Restored and rehabilitated, this site is registered in UNESCO's heritage list. This part of the world went through a period of turmoil, where because of desire of Western traders to establish a foothold in China, the rule of law was disrupted and anarchy ruled. Many of the homes built during this time were thus mini fortresses. Because of the strong influence of the West during this time, some of the building designs and especially the design of the furniture was Sino-Western. Much to my chagrin, as I have much nicer examples in my flat. Frankly, if you were looking for Sino-Western influence, there are much better examples in Malacca and Penang. However of much greater interest, is the defensive features built into the homes due to the background of banditry during the turn of the 19th to 20th centuries. 

  

The UNESCO listed "Stone Chamber Buildings"                                                                                            

Reinforced Window Design to ward off bandits

To be cotinued....