I woke up around 6 but didn't get up until 7 then I showered and was almost ready when the doorbell went. There was someone asleep on the couch but I decided to open the door and a young guy came in speaking English and said its a shame he was in bed yesterday when I arrived. He said he could show me where to get breakfast but I needed to get a few things and after that he was already gone. I went out and did pick up a steamed bun for 2 yuan and got some regular buns and some water as well. I went to the tube and took it as far as Haizu square and from there I walked across a bridge and walked to a temple and monastery. It was ok and fairly old with some ancestor halls as well as the temple and unlike other Counties so far I didn't need to take my shoes off. I left and walked back north over a different bridge to get to a cathedral of the sacred heart which is the only carved Gothic stone cathedral in Asia. It was nice on the outside but a bit plain inside. I left and headed west to the cultural gardens which were mostly a stone garden. They had a water feature and also a museum to 13 Hongs which I was interested in as I'd gone to school with a Hong. The museum though was shut as it was Monday (an auspicious day). Having seen the park I went north and came to a pedestrianised road where I looked for food as I was hungry and I got a small tub of noodles for 5 yuan I didn't think was worth it. I went to see what a shopping mall there was like and it was quiet and empty and sold mainly jewelry. I walked out and found that there was a big road to cross so I had to walk back to the pedestrian area. Then I went to another temple which was also pretty old and had a few buildings the largest of which had corridors of gold Buddhas and was impressive. I tried out a photo function with my phone camera called virtual tour but I have yet to understand what to do with the results. I left and found construction work diverted me so that I ended up going through alleyways but at least they were clean with only a few bikes or motorbikes and no dead ends. There was also nobody selling things, was this really Asia? I got through to the road and there was a church opposite and soon I was at another temple called Guangxiou which had a 5 yuan fee. I paid and walked around and it was ok but not special although it was quite old. I got some rice with a nut sauce for 6 yuan and stored it, then went to a park which had the sun yat-sen memorial. The memorial hall looked ok and I wanted to sit and eat my rice but the benches were taken so I paid the 10 yuan entry and went round the memorial hall which had a bit on Guangzhou history and then Sun yat-sen and finally a lot on the memorial hall and its construction which was pretty boring. I went up the hill from there to see the memorial and stopped halfway to eat the rice. The memorial allowed you inside but only half way and the views were ok. I left and was going to go one way but changed my plans as it was 3pm and the museums might shut soon so I went there first. I went around the back of part of the old city wall and came to the art museum which was 10 yuan to enter and might include the other museum as well. As it was Monday however it was shut. I went towards the other museum and up a small hill where there was a pavilion for seamen and a monument for the people of Hong Kong who gad helped make the revolution succeed. The museum was also shut so I went to the 5 ram statue the symbol of the city which had lots of people taking pictures there. I went down from the statue to a monument that wasn't worth seeing and a drab lake, they were on the map of the park so I thought they might be worth a look but weren't. I went back from there to the city walls where quite a few people were in the way as there was a narrow path and most people were in groups. I got to the water tower which was up steps but closed so I headed back down and left the park. There was a museum across a main road but nowhere to cross. I jumped up onto the pavement and managed to rip my bag. It was the left arm which had been ripped before so I had one strap or the handle to hold it now. I managed to cross the road and the museum was about the Nanyte who were there before China was unified. I went in and it was 12 yuan entry and there were 2 of the first 3 exhibitions closed and the other was on ceramic pillows. I thought of asking for my money back but the next area was the tomb of a king/emperor they'd discovered and then they had a room with the treasures found as it had been undisturbed. It was like an Egyptian tomb except the bodies had not been preserved as well. I spent a while there before leaving to get a train ticket and picked up an ice cream and cake to eat. I got to the train station and had to divert to crossed the main road, then there were barriers and I found that I was at the wrong entrance so had to go all the way around to a different area to get a ticket. I queued up and the line got closed so I had to move to another line and then a new line opened and everyone rushed there a bit like at a supermarket. I got a ticket for the night train leaving at 6.48pm the next day and left. I had a look for a mall or shops but couldn't see any for a suitcase and I went in a small park nearby. After that I headed back to the bigger parks north entrance and then messed around with my directions and didn't choose a good route. There was a lake, and most things were not worth seeing people playing table tennis, a small hill with an Arsenal symbol and a broadcast tower nearby that I didn't get a picture of until later. I left the park past a small funfair and a lake and on the road found a trousers shop that looked ok with trousers for 100 yuan, but I needed suitcase so I didn't get anything. I took the tube back to the hostel apartment and went to a couple of shops getting some tomatoes and a pot noodle which I ate at the flat. I sewed my bag strap back wile others were playing uno, it looked like a fun place and a few people spoke English. One of them asked me to help her with her English homework which was to translate quite a difficult passage from a story. I tried to get my phone system working in China and downloaded a Msn app for hotmail but the vpns didn't work then I did an interview for another persons English homework and had a picture taken with the host as I was his first English guest (hope I don't get the place shut down) I did a few more things and it was late so I went to sleep
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