To the Sichuan basin - almost a pea souper
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2008
1
26
Trip End
Feb 06, 2008
Chengdu,
China
Thursday, January 10, 2008
I was glad to relieve myself from the crowded bus no 501 which operates between the two university campuses in Yongchuan, Chongqing, where I've been teaching last semester. It was more apparent when I had to sit with my rucksack suspended on my knees due to shortage of seats. It's only a small bus and is usually crammed at the best of times. But forcing yourself through multitudes of Chinese bodies is no loss here.
I entered the main bus station and immediately booked a seat on the next bus to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province. Although I was quite conspicuous with my pack covered in a blue waterproof, I had to indicate to the driver to put it in the side cubby - something long-distance bus drivers normally do without hesitation. But this is China. Some things are hard for the human brain to register. After an inevitable dispute about seat entitlement, the bus soon got going along the Chenyu Expressway. The four hour journey was met without a hitch despite seeing another inevitable - a car crash. A short man with bindy legs was milling about at the scene - presumably the driver. If Chinese would learn to slow down, such accidents would be non-existent. I also ride a motorbike from where I'm living to Yongchuan and feel the need to not go beyond sixty km an hour, although I have done more. You Seldom recognize the danger signals.
The weather today has been as dreary as dreary can be. It's very rare to see the sun rise in these parts, but to see it combined with dirty air is far worse. I think it used to be called 'smog.'
Anyway, it was more educational watching the farmers till the land and the rice paddies close to their cottages and mud huts - seeing how the other half live here - rather than the two VCD films that were being shown. If any thought they were educational, then they must be very opinionated.
At the bus station, I rudely saw off a sea of tout pests trying to accost me into some clandestine taxi. Sorry mates, I've been in China long enough to see through this game - or is it mischievous scam?
Eventually found the bus stop and the correct bus to Sim's Cozy Guest house which I had chosen to stay from among the myriad of hostels in Chengdu. Checked into a dormitory with shower and toilet. Seems like a laid-back place.
Went around the corner and had a plate of 'gumbou jiding', diced chicken and peanuts and a bowl of rice. Unless you're over fond of Sichuan spicy food, I spent most of the time extricating the bits of chili pepper. Sichuan food is among the spiciest in China - too much for me. The restaurant owners didn't call each other, they shouted instead. One man's particular shout echoed right through my ears! Such are the traits of the Chinese people. When they started staring at me - increasingly - I decided to leave. It didn't go down well with listening to Glenn Miller hits on my MP3 player. The two opposites clashed considerably.
I ambled around the drafty environment of Sim's Cozy Guesthouse and then hit the sack.
