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Published: November 30th 2009
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So it's been a while. Like I said, I'm not a blogger. So I'll pretend the first part of this was written a long time ago.
Last Wednesday morning found both Zak and I on buses headed to the Shenzhen airport to begin almost a week of exploring the provinces of Sichuan and Chongqing. It was a welcome break from teaching for us both and neither of us had yet visited this particular area of China. We flew first into Chongqing, the capital city being of the same name as the province. Upon arrival it was clearly evident how spoiled we are to live in a city of Shenzhen's size and be subjected to relatively little smog. Chongqing was a hazy, smoggy expanse of concrete jungle but we happily took to the streets for a bit of exploring. Riding the monorail amid chants of "monorail! monorail! monorail!" and the entirety of the monorail song from the Simpsons under our breath, we cruised into a more central area of the city. We wound up at the Independence Tower, built to commemorate the Japanese invasion when Chongqing was set up as China's wartime capital. Originally the tallest structure when it was built,
in true Chinese fashion it is now dwarfed by the 4 and 5 story neon lit shopping buildings, KFC's, and McDonald's surrounding it. After posing for a picture with a small Chinese boy, who told his mother to protect him, apparently we're very scary laowai, we began to wander down towards the waterfront.
Chongqing is built on a peninsula that the point of which marks where the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers converge. Sounds boring but was actually very cool as you could physically see the waters mingling and mixing together, the Yangtze being a dirty brown color and the Jialing being as close to blue as you'll find a river can be in a major city in China. Zak and I each got a beer and watched the comings and goings of various tourists and the requisite Chinese trying to sell them maps and shoe shines. The latter of which I partook of for the first time. Apparently my converse were quite filthy. That evening we ate in a street hot pot stall where all the skewers were only 3 mao and there was an adorable puppy on a stool behind me. Needless to say we ate like kings
and I was happy about the proximity of cute canines.
Our second day we made our way to a neighboring city called Dazu to peruse the buddhist cliff carvings found there. Dazu was much smaller and much more of a provincial Chinese town. Not much to say about the town but the carvings were impressive to say the least and Zak and I had fun with the panoramic setting on my camera. We turn into huge idiots when we travel together I've realized. After Dazu we headed over to Chengdu in Sichuan. Chengdu was an instant hit with me. Sometimes you can just feel the city's vibe and Chengdu was certainly giving me a good one. It's full of things to see and do and it would have been nice to have an extra day to get in the various temples we hadn't the time for. While there we did go visit the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center which was cool if a little repetitive. Turns out pandas like eating bamboo and sleeping. Not much else. We did see some baby pandas though, about 2-3 months old each and I have to admit they are some of the
cutest things I've laid eyes on (don't tell the dog).
We also trekked it out to the nearby town of Leshan where we were able to lay eyes on the largest buddha in the world. Pretty impressive to say the least but absolutely packed with Chinese tourists doing the slow walk. On our way back to the main bus station we sat in front of a delightful 3 year old Chinese girl who thought Zak was the funniest person in the entire world. How wrong children can be at such a young age. The rest of our time in Chengdu was whiled away in tea houses and the streets of the Tibetan neighborhood where I managed to score some sweet deals while Zak patiently waited. The only hitch in the trip came at the very end when our flight was delayed 5 hours due to some pretty extreme fog, unlike anything I'd ever encountered before. Couldn't see 3 feet in front of you at one point. But every cloud has its silver lining and this came in the form of missing my afternoon classes so I got an extra day off. All in all it was a well needed
break from teaching, SZ, and westerners. However, I am anxious once again to get moving and the upcoming New Year break at the end of January cannot come fast enough. Stagnation is still stagnation no matter where you are in the world.
Not that Shenzhen is terrible. Quite the opposite in fact. It's still a vibrant city with something new to offer each week. Lately that has been evident in the weather. It is FINALLY and BLISSFULLY cool now, the normal temperature being in the mid 60s to mid 70s. I've managed to score a sweet hoodie covered with random birds that could not be more awesome and am enjoying more time outdoors now that it's comfortable to do so. Most afternoons I'll head to one of the 5 parks near my school and watch the dogs that gather to play and are inevitably chased off by the young boys when they get out of school and claim the park for themselves. Sometimes I'll try to talk to them and they are completely awestruck that a laowai like myself can say anything in Mandarin. But life is pretty normal here. Feels just like anywhere else and doesn't seem so
Pander
greedy little feller different anymore. I have a feeling that when I eventually return home it'll be quite the transition. It's easy to imagine yourself as being Asian when those are the only faces you ever see (well mostly). In the rare instance I find myself in the proximity of a group of foreigners that I don't know it's begun to make me slightly uncomfortable and wary of what they are doing in my neighborhood. That is until I see someone staring at me and realize once again that, oh yes, I am a waiguoren as well. Sometimes even the most basic of facts can slip your mind.
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Zak
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Who is that handsome golden-haired devil in your pictures? I bet the Chinese LOVE him. Good to see this up, feels like it was ages past.