The Skinny on China

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家庭和朋友 (Family & Friends),

Booze Before Dinner:

After spending roughly a week in Chongqing, while limited, I feel that my experiences gave me a taste of the city and its people. As a traveler you can only skim the surface, as opposed to a resident, whom can dive deeper into the surrounding culture. Still, the theme of my understanding was three fold: people, pollution, and hot pot. Each holding its own place within the city, for better or worse. Regardless of which, each is true to the experience and what separates modern China from the stereotype.

Everywhere I have been in China the people have been largely, accepting and genuine. Whether it be asking for help with the menu or having dinner with local families, for the most part everyone has been accommodating. Point in case, one night we were taken out by group of doctors and their families to one of the nicer restaurants in the city. As a spread of duck, fish, vegetables, and who knows what else was laid before us, it seemed that my reputation as a drinker had preceded me. Since I was the only one in my party that drank, the Chinese at the table took pleasure in reciting gamba (bottoms up), one after another, with shots of some ungodly tasting alcoholic elixir. It was brown in color and each shot tasted like ass. Still, I smiled and lapped it up as if it was mother’s milk. By the end of the night, the conversation was joyous and entertaining, but my pallet cried for relief.

While the people have tolerated me, there numbers are staggering. There are close to 33 million in the Chongqing municipality alone. You cannot throw a rock without hitting someone. This, along with china’s factories, is the main cause of pollution. The thick smog in the air stems from the fact that China is now going through its industrial revolution. Much as Britain and the U.S. did a century ago, China is consuming large quantities of natural resources yet does not have the laws or regulations to deal with the environmental waste and byproducts.

Even tough the pollution within the cities is heavy; the countryside is lush and green. This area has such fertile soil that there are farms littering the landscape. Driving down the road you can see workers in the fields tending crops that feed the inner city masses. Such dishes as lotus root, duck, chicken, cabbage, beef, etc. are all common to the area and a local dish known as hotpot.

Food is one of the best ways to become acquainted with a culture and unique to this area of China is a dish known as hotpot. Basically this dish is just what it sounds like. A hot pot is put in the middle of the table and a fire is lit underneath it. Oil, broth, spices, and who knows what else is poured into the pot and brought to a boil. Then a smoregous board (to your choosing) of raw dishes is brought out. Each piece is then selected and individually lowered down into the pot to cook. Once cooked you can dip it into any sauce of your liking and consume. Note that there is a learning curve because this is all done with chopsticks. I lost several pieces to the hot pot and burned myself several time in the process. Still, I have loved the food and the environment in which I eat it.

Chongqing was the starting block, but it was definitely time to move on. China is such a large country that I wanted to see as much as I could while I was here. The next leg of my journey would take me to China’s capital Beijing.

Check out other adventures at our new site Ultra Expeditions and see what we are up to.

Quote:

"There is no such thing as bad whiskey. Some whiskeys just happen to be better than others. But a man shouldn’t fool with booze until he’s fifty; then he’s a damn fool if he doesn’t."
— William Faulkner

The Plan:

Fly into Beijing where I will run a series of races, explore the city, and meet up with Aaron.

最好的 (Best),
Jason

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