We stayed in a nice apartment which overlooked the famous Seven Stars Lake (七星湖). The residential area was very quiet as most of the flats around us were empty. The best part was that we could spend some time daily to make small improvements to the van as it was conveniently parked downstairs.
Zhaoqing was a good break after the hectic work and traveling in the past two weeks in Panyu and Guangzhou. The city is very developed and we were startled by all the high rise residential buildings which we found quite overwhelming. When we strolled along the promenade of the lake, there was this rather weird contrast of densely populated modern looking apartments on one side and then the tranquil lake on the other side with herons and serene reflection of the hills.
We lived very slowly, and to our surprise, the city has a good selection of high quality vegetarian restaurants. On the third day, we stumbled upon a small local salon and both of us had raw ginger shampoo and I also had a haircut. The haircut costs RMB 8, probably the cheapest ever in my adult life. The raw ginger was freshly blended and boiled and all natural. We asked the lady why the locals like ginger shampoo and she explained that it is good for curing minor colds or when you feel tired. Akie felt her head tingling followed by a warm sensation when the lady piled the ginger on her forehead and massaged the neck. It was quite refreshing.
We left Zhaoqing after spending five quiet days there. We travelled back to Guangzhou to attend a wedding banquet of my ex-colleague’s son. I hope we can come back soon to spend more time around the lake.
