Today was a day with relatively few plans, since we had been so booked yesterday. I spent a good chunk of the day finishing Kafka on the Shore. It was the first Murakami novel I'd read, but I've definitely been inspired to go through all of his works. He's an incredible writer, with really beautiful themes and ideas throughout the plot, and I loved his writing style. I don't want to give away anything about the actual plot...just give it a chance and read it! I highly recommend it and am still thinking about the ideas in Kafka.
I also got a chance to Skype with my mother, as well as my best friend Sam, who is also currently exploring a foreign country. She's in India, doing research in the field in Mumbai!! I'm so excited for her, and was so happy to catch up with her. It's monsoon season there, so hopefully she makes it out unscathed! If you want to check out her amazing cooking blog, it's whatwillicooktoday.wordpress.com!
The dinner plan was to eat out with my dad's half siblings and thier families. My grandfather had six children total, and they all get along really well. Before we went to the restaurant, we stopped for an hour or so at a massive park and garden nearby. We'd gone here during our last visit as well, and had so much fun on the two and three-person bikes they offered. When we came back this time, we also rented bikes and after some shaky starts, were off and running on a three-person bike!
Biking around the lake there and in the forests was so peaceful, beautiful, and breathtaking! There were dragon boat races going on that we saw, as well as the most beautiful buildings, views, and plants. I can't get enough of the amazing sights here, that's for sure!
We then had a nice dinner with our relatives, in which Jason and I downed coconut milk juice like shots (they'd ordered way too much for us and we weren't about to waste such yummy-ness), and I displayed my Indian and British accents for the entire group (my dad had mentioned my skill for languages and accents, since he's always been extremely amused with my Indian accent). It was a great night with family, as always. I'm so happy I've been getting the chance to see them all again!
The entrance to the park
A tea drink favored by countless Chinese...Jason and I love mimicking the dramatic commercials where they're seriously in love with these
Our three-person bike...before we tried and failed to ride it (feat. A very cranky and not-photo-ready Jason)
Dragon boats!!
A government official's building? So so pretty.
Gardens
Such a great view
Contrasting the old and the new
A cute little boy running down the bridge! Yeah, I'm a stalker.
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