March 31 Xiamen

After skipping Sanya, this is our first arrival in China proper.  Hong Kong doesn't count, since the "one country, two systems" means that HK does things its own way.  We exited the ship, were driven 300 feet by shuttle bus where we entered the cruise terminal, walked several hundred yards and entered the familiar immigration queue for a face-to-face meeting with the immigration officer.  The process was painless -- scan passport, glance at us, stamp, stamp and hand it back.

We opted for the ancient city of Quanzhou tour, since it was the beginning of the Silk Road way back in the 8th century.  After a bus ride of 1.5 hours, including a rest stop, we arrived at the Kaiyuam Temple, a large Buddhist temple.

Towers at the east and west gates

 Monks in contemplative phone surfing

Buddhist burning of prayers and supplications

Turtle island, a pond in the temple grounds

We had an authentic Chinese lunch at the Overseas Chinese Hotel.  The dishes were similar in name to the ones you get at P. F. Chang, but the ingredients, presentation and level of spicy heat were definitely different.  The did serve Coke or the local beer for your beverage.  Our choice:

 After lunch we walked down Tumen street to yet another Buddhist temple before returning to the hotel, boarding the bus and driving back to the ship.

 Worshipper

 The bus stop next to the temple