Taxis and Tattoos

Our last Saturday in China. Mum wanted a day of rest so after a lovely sleep in I went down town to Jimo Rd markets with Chris from Australia and Lu Lu from Peurto Rico. It was freezing!! Luckily inside the markets it was quite warm. The pressure was on to get the last of the shopping done and cross the final items off the list (not that there's any room left in our luggage). Feeling euphoric that it was almost over and I would almost have my children in my arms, the sun on my face, my own bed and hot water I was easily persuaded into getting a tattoo.

I know, insane. We stumbled onto Lianyuciqing a very handsome and famous tattoo artist. His work was quite exquisite (http://lianyuciqing70.51.com). So in a room no bigger than a telephone booth with a man that spoke no English, two of us got beautiful tattoos. For 100RMB ($16) I am a very happy lady. While mum has her Chinese stem cell which will always live on inside her, I can also take a precious symbol of my Chinese adventure with me wherever I go.

By the time we had sat for our tattoos and completed our shopping it was 5 pm. Oh oh, taxi shift change time. The three of us spent over an hour in the icy wind and darkness trying to hail a taxi. We were so grateful for the driver that eventually stopped that we could have kissed him. After having to stop for petrol and then swing by another driver's home so they could change shifts, we were finally on our way home. There were some anxious mothers and a very concerned wife waiting for us when we staggered in after 7pm. Not a good time to mention the tattoos.

Mum tucked in early and some of us went back to the Paradise Club. I was on my best behaviour of course after last weekends night of debauchery. We were entertained by some sort of Chinese Pantomime and a man with a whip who shredded a piece of newspaper. He followed that act by throwing meat cleavers at targets around a man's head and then blew nails out of a mouthpiece to pop balloons placed around the man's head.