Another province visited in China
Whilst in Liaoning Province last year, my friend Jon and I went to Benxi Water Caves for a visit. These caves are about an hour’s drive from the capital Shenyang so again using a trusty guide and driver, off we went. 
The caves are located in Benxi National Park and our guide told us they are the longest underground water-filled caves found in the world and that they contain the world’s longest underground river at 5.8 kilometres. Of this, only 2.8 kilometres are accessible by boat. I never think our guides are untruthful, however I have heard many [many] times during my travels around China that some structure is either the oldest/biggest/longest/tallest so I am not sure of the accuracy of this statement.
My photos are not great [or even good] as I only had my mobile telephone with me in the caves which were quite dark. The ride in small boats took about forty-five minutes and wearing too small life jackets we boarded and then on occasions we had to duck our heads as the stalactites were quite low. Was a fun time though with the usual bright and colourful lights highlighting the cave.
Little bit of interesting information on how to remember which are stalactites and which are stalagmites…the word stalactite has a ‘c’ for ‘ceiling’ and the word stalagmite has a ‘g’ for ‘ground’…an easy way to remember I think..
After our visit we hopped off the boat and took a short walk through part of the cave where at the exit we were met by our driver and taken to lunch. We arrived at a typical Chinese looking building with basic interior but enjoyed an ok lunch[I say ‘ok’ as it was not some of the best food I have had in China] consisting of several Chinese dishes including an egg dish, rice, a meat dish for Jon and the usual eggplant dish for me.
Before returning to our hotel we took a quick tour of Shenyang city; not an awful lot to see but we got out of the car to look around and seeing as it was very warm, got a good spray of water from the fountain in the city centre.
Then back to our hotel after another great day in China!
And so many other little gardens areas as well as a pond with a few goldfish…
We spend most of our time on the super comfortable lounge downstairs overlooking the pool – its sort of inside/outside (ie no doors or windows but covered overhead). There is also an air-conditioned television room but we have not put the tv on once since arriving.
I have been getting up early to ensure I exercise so I walk through the tree lined streets then the shopping area down to the beach which is about an hour walk there and back – important for to get my 12,000 steps in ‘most’ days. On the way I feed the street dogs and try not to get run over by the mad scooter riders.
There are so many amazing restaurants in Seminyak and last night I chose an Italian restaurant called Ultimo. It’s so easy to travel in Seminyak, we booked a taxi and five minutes and $2 later we arrived!
This turned out to be an excellent choice as the food was truly delicious. Ambience and service was top notch also. I chose the Penne All’ Arabiana; a dish of penne pasta with fresh chilli and fresh tomato sauce with basil – wow this was good!
My brother chose the three pasta dish which had spaghetti pomodoro, penne formagi and fussili pesto. He couldn’t eat it all. My nephew chose the Fettuccini Alla Carbonara which like all our meals was delicious and huge; he is not a really big eater so he took half of it back home to our villa.
It was an early night which was good as we still have several nights here in Seminyak and we are returning to Seasalt restaurant tonight to enjoy great food and watch the sunset. Can’t wait!
After a relaxing evening, early the next morning Jon and I were picked up by our tour guide and driver and taken to Jinyue Lake Forest National Park. The park covers an area of 200 square kilometres, with over 4.3 square kilometres water surface and 80 square kilometres planted forest. We told our guide we wanted to walk quite a distance within the park so our driver dropped us off at the main entrance. Firstly to see as much as we could and secondly to ensure we reached our 12,000+ steps for the day.
The park also had some cartoon character statues – no idea why they were there but I have come to enjoy seeing these statues in many places around China!! Pepa Pig and family were first to greet us followed by some other characters I didn’t know and then Mr Fox and Ms Rabbit…
Although after about four hours, we were a little tired and rather hungry so we cheated a little and had our driver pick us up from another entry/exit point to/from the park. A great day out to enjoy China’s surprisingly beautiful bright blue sky.
The next day we visited Museum of the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo. 
The palace was the official residence created by the Imperial Japanese Army for China’s last emperor of the Qing dynasty, Puyi. It was where Puyi lived as part of his role as Emperor of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. The Chinese refer to the museum as the Puppet Emperor’s Palace & Exhibition Hall and are not particularly complimentary about Puyi with his ‘defection’ to Japan.
HISTORY – [source: Wikepedia] In 1931, the Japanese took control of the Northeast of China, the area of modern-day Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, which were historically known as Manchuria. The Japanese created an officially independent state in Manchuria which they named Manchukuo which was in reality a puppet state of Japan. In an attempt to lend legitimacy to Manchukuo, the Japanese installed Puyi as Emperor of Manchukuo.
Finally, in 1945, the Second World War was brought to an end and the Japanese surrendered to China. At the same time, the Manchukuo ceased to exist and Puyi returned to the status of an ordinary citizen.
But back to the palace – it was designed as a miniature version of the Forbidden City in Beijing and is divided into an inner court and outer court. The outer or front court was used for administrative purposes and the inner or rear court as the royal residence. Both the front and rear court were maintained beautifully and the furniture was stunning. You can imagine an emperor living there…
The palace grounds cover an area of 43,000 square meters. We spent most of our time in the royal residence but also took a short stroll around the grounds.
But back to our dinner… Bicicletta Restaurant serves locally sourced food and its menu has several vegetarian and vegan options. In this location, there are several restaurants and a few residential complexes who share a communal vegetable and herb garden. I loved this little area; so beautifully maintained also with an ‘interesting’ statue and small gardens and pathways for local residents to enjoy.
We sat outside in the courtyard with a view inside the restaurant through large windows.
The courtyard is great for the warmer months with lush greenery and coloured chairs and umbrellas. In late Autumn and Winter, blankets are supplied to keep your legs warm.
I loved the look of two vegan items on the menu so decided to try both an entree and main course. I chose the eggplant dish for entree which was deep fried with a balsamic glaze, polenta chips and a small amount of rocket. This was an incredibly delicious meal…really too big for an entree but I was not complaining. I loved it!
My friends shared the Pane, Olio E Balsamico which was a selection of breads; sourdough, baguette and brioche served with butter, aged balsamic reduction and extra virgin olive oil [forgot to take a photo].
One of my friends also ordered the gnocchi but hers included a topping of crumbed goats cheese.
Also the Ravioli Di Maiale Arrosto; house made ravioli stuffed with roast pork, apple, potato and thyme in a creamy apple, rhubarb and white wine sauce finished with rocket, toasted walnuts and aged balsamic. 
And finally the daily risotto dish with wild mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, rocket and freshly shaved parmesan. 
I thought all the meals looked so appetising and were beautifully displayed. But in relation to our friendship, no matter how different our lives are now, this group of friends is still very special to me and I always enjoy catching up with them over a meal.