Day 5 - Shantou

Eventhough this was the last second day of our trip to Shantou, it was the 'last' day as we had to check out of the hotel early to go to the airport to catch the noon flight the next day. So, there would not be much sight-seeing on Day 6.

On Day 5, we had 2 relatives visiting. The first one was to visit the uncle (my father's cousin) and his family. They brought us to Puning and also took us to many places in Shantou for sight-seeing. It is really nice of them. The second one was my brother-in-law's relatives, this time the family name is Phua.

On the way to Uncle's home, we discovered some local 'gems'. It was a little street that sells almost everything. This street leads to Uncle's home. It is definitely not touristy but a market street for the locals. We like to check out what locals sell and buy. It is also a great place for photography!

Firstly, we saw a cobbler along the street (see below). The customer was waiting for his shoes to be mended. The cobbler was equipped with a manual sewing machine.

Big juicy mandarin oranges (see below)

Big fresh caulliflower (see below)

Fried spring onion pancake (see below)

Baked-on-the spot 'Tao Sa Pia' (see below)

More fresh vegetables (see below)

Wow, a liquor shop in the market (see below)

Red Chilli. Not sure spicy or not (see below)

Another cobbler at work (see below)

Fish (see below)

Fresh eggs , yummy! (see below)

All kind of grains. Auntie helping mum to buy black sesame (see below)

Yummm....'You Tiao' or 'You Zha Kue'..(see below) One of my uncles could not resist and bought a bag to share with us.
Pork stall (see below)

See below, it is a crowded market street.

They even have a barber (see below)

Live bird on sale (see below)

Bamboo rice from Yunnan? (see below)

Ahh, finally, we reached Uncle and Auntie's house. It is a walk-up aparment. Below picture shows the entrance. We were quite shocked as it was dark, but we were humbled by the hospitability of our uncle and auntie.

When we were at Uncle's home, we were treated to the famoush 'Kang Hu Teh' or 'Kung Fu Cha' again (see below)

And some local sweets and cakes. Very special indeed (see below)..

Dad at the attic of Uncle's apartment (see below)

After visiting Uncle and Auntie, Auntie and her daughter brought us to the Shantou Pedestrian Street. (see below)

According to Auntie, it was not as crowded as she expected. There are many shops at both sides of the street. The things are quite cheap if you can compromise with quality. (see below)
One of my uncles buying 'Ping Tang Hu Loo' for his grandchildren. (see below)

Aren't they beautiful close-up? It is a kind of fruit coated with sugar. Sweet outside and sour inside (see below)

See, a row of bicycle with two seaters. We wished we could take one home. (see below)

After a nice stroll at the Pedestrian Street and our bags packed with new purchases, our stomachs were growling again. This time, Auntie brought us to a shop that sells all kinds of rice porridge (see below)

The porridge are boiled in little pots. You can choose what you want to be added to the porridge (see below)

We chose fish porridge, cuttle fish porridge, pork porridge, oh and what else, I cannot remember .....see below, our porridge is ready!

After a great lunch, we resumed with our visiting. This time, the Phua family. It took us quite long to study how this Phua family in Shantou is related to my brother in law. Until now, we are still not sure. We just know, many many years ago, they shared a same 'great ..(not sure now many great) grand father'.

We find that this family has the least tradition and most modern of all compared to those that we have visited. The gate of the home is made of stainless steels (see below)

The window grill is also stainless steel. It is definitely durable.

The Phua family (see below)

After leaving the Phua family, we headed to downtown. There is a big park by the river. It is a nice place for the children to run around, a chance for them to exhaust their energy. (see below)

Then, we headed to the river. Auntie said we could take the ferry for a ride, a quick 'river cruise'

This is the river, (see below). The background is actually the Queshi Bridge. It is a very nice and relaxing place for a group phota taken.

Then, we got into the ferry. The ferry is used by locals to cross the river. There were many school pupils as we were there about 6pm. They must be heading home after a day at school (see below)

Queshi Bridge in the background (see below)

More view at the river ...(see below)

It was indeed a great experience on board the ferry. We could not imagine how crowded it could be. We thought to hop down at the opposite side of the river for a walk and took the next ferry back, but we changed our mind immediately when we saw thousands of human beings dashing towards us and the ferry. So, we took the same ferry back.

After a nice 'final day', we had a sumptuos dinner.

We hope we can come back again to be immersed in a place where our grandparents (paternal and maternal) came from. It is just special!