27 April 2018
I have succumbed
The amazing view of Chongqing
Now I am part of the problem. I have a cold. I guess it was inevitable. The last cold I got was Japan last year. On that occasion I was ok again in 2 days time. I hope for a similar recovery this time. I blame the children on the train from yesterday. I use only short sentences. I have actually been surprised at the lack of really sick people. The last really sick people were the French in Beijing. I cant get the flu because I had a flu shot. I am very careful to avoid coughers and sneezers. Clearly not careful enough. Now I do not need to worry for the remainder of this trip. They can cough on me all they want. I have already succumbed.
At least I dont have another long train ride for a couple of days, my train to Wuhan is not until Monday, by then I will either be so sick I cant move, or better. I actually suspected I was getting sick a couple of days ago, my legs were much sorer than I thought they should be after climbing Huashan, and remain sore until now. This is usually a sure sign for me that I am getting sick. I didnt really have any big activities planned for Chongqing, just to experience Chongqing and its madness, that I can probably do while I have a cold, it will mean more visits to cafes and a few rests each day, but I will make sure I still reach my minimum step goal of 30k!
Since getting here I have already washed all my clothes, they survived, I was not electrocuted, and all my socks found their partner. It was doubtful at first, the washing machine was leaking badly through the door! But thankfully it didnt flood the room, and it was able to add more water fast enough to compensate for the amount it was leaking.
Now for some amazing pics which will clearly show why I like to wander around Chongqing.
This is the view from my hotel window. You can open one small window in the corner but its not the best angle, so this one was taken through glass. I have been hanging an epic moon for hours.
When last I was here, this bridge was under construction, I stood and pondered how amazingly large it was, and how far down it was. Now I can do that again, gawking at the finished bridge. The subway runs along the hidden lower deck. Its a train sandwich.
Amazingly, you can walk across the bridge, and theres no blocking screen! Happy times.
Part way along looking back at the main part of the city, the previous photo is not the main part of the city, its just the suburbs.
This is what 30 million people looks like. Except the view in the other direction behind me is also similar.
Another wider view of the central business district. I will have to go back out over the bridge one night when its dark.
Who photographs the photographers? I photograph the photographers.
This is looking back down a pedestrian street towards my hotel. The big building on the left is fully animated at night, and just outside my hotel window.
Chongqing has lots and lots of street food. Too much, the places were not busy enough for a friday night.
This is a new one to me, a fresh flower vending machine. It is quite common to see florists still open at midnight across China for no known good reason. I guess the owner of this florist was tired of that concept and invented a new one.
If you want something a bit different, theres a salad bar surrounded by boiling cauldrons of chilli in the street.
When you buy things on sticks, you first roll them in chilli powder, or paint more on with a provided house paint brush, then shove them in a bucket. Generally they are sprayed with oil to ensure enough chilli powder sticks on.
For my dinner, I had dumplings in extra spicy oil/soup. Very invigorating.
However because my dinner was unhealthy, I had to balance that out with some really really excellent fruit salad, which cost more than my dinner. This being China, tomato is fruit salad.