Chongqing, China
I believe I have to thank God for this. And when I say this it's more than just a few idiomatic words. If I hadn't changed my mind at the last minute I would be in Chengdu now and there's no telling what might have happened...
The ground shook. Gently at first, then stronger. Earthquake. The hostel building I was in is built on wooden stilts. It quivered. Nobody here had seen or felt this before. People ran into the street in fright. A flood of others came running down the steep alleyways. Staff shouted at me to get out an run. I don't think anybody knew where they were running. I'm also not sure why I wasn't frightened. In fact, I've rarely been so calm. I looked back at them and quietly wondered why they were so scared. The only thing I felt was excitement: this was my first real earthquake. Maybe I instinctively knew that this was weak, that there was no real danger to us. I even sent a friend a text message saying: "Wow, cool, there was just a small earthquake here."
A little later, reports started coming in from Sichuan Province, the place where I had intended to go. On my ship down the Yangzi we also saw the first TV images. Numbers were coming in and rising fast. Tens of thousands dead or missing. In Germany that's entire towns. It wasn't cool anymore. I now feel embarrassed for that text message. May God help these people.
Showing posts with label Chongqing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chongqing. Show all posts
Monday, 12 May 2008
Triple Hot
Chongqing, China
A lot of things are hot about this city.
The weather to start with. The sun has been beating down even despite the haze.
What makes it hotter still are the girls. Chinese people say girls from Chongqing are the most beautiful in all of China. In Chinese they are nicknamed 辣妹子 literally meaning "spicy girl". Their beauty, so people say, comes from the humid air around here or the spicy food, either of which is supposed to be good for your skin (which one it is depends on who you ask). Whatever the reason, girls here are gorgeous. Especially their legs. It's nice walking through the city watching girls showing them off. They get them from all the stairs that lead up and down the hills the city is built on (porters are in high demand here). Anyone that walks those on a daily basis must be toned. And they walk as if their reputation gives them confidence or maybe it's rather the other way around.
Oh, did I mention spicy food that makes you sweat? Hell yeah, I sweat! That's the other thing about Chongqing: the city (with the neighbouring Sichuan Province) is home to some of the spiciest food in China. Specialties (名菜) include 水煮鱼 (fish boiled in chilli broth) and 火锅 (a kind of hot pot or fondue). A local girl I met took me to one of her favourite hot pot restaurants. It was a popular place packed with people of all ages. We were lucky to find a table. Even though this time I already knew what was coming I still marvelled at how much chilli (and the small, mean 花椒) you can put into a single pot. I ate bravely - and I did enjoy it - but I did also consume large amounts of water and soya milk in the process. Don't laugh - you try it!
A lot of things are hot about this city.
The weather to start with. The sun has been beating down even despite the haze.
What makes it hotter still are the girls. Chinese people say girls from Chongqing are the most beautiful in all of China. In Chinese they are nicknamed 辣妹子 literally meaning "spicy girl". Their beauty, so people say, comes from the humid air around here or the spicy food, either of which is supposed to be good for your skin (which one it is depends on who you ask). Whatever the reason, girls here are gorgeous. Especially their legs. It's nice walking through the city watching girls showing them off. They get them from all the stairs that lead up and down the hills the city is built on (porters are in high demand here). Anyone that walks those on a daily basis must be toned. And they walk as if their reputation gives them confidence or maybe it's rather the other way around.
Oh, did I mention spicy food that makes you sweat? Hell yeah, I sweat! That's the other thing about Chongqing: the city (with the neighbouring Sichuan Province) is home to some of the spiciest food in China. Specialties (名菜) include 水煮鱼 (fish boiled in chilli broth) and 火锅 (a kind of hot pot or fondue). A local girl I met took me to one of her favourite hot pot restaurants. It was a popular place packed with people of all ages. We were lucky to find a table. Even though this time I already knew what was coming I still marvelled at how much chilli (and the small, mean 花椒) you can put into a single pot. I ate bravely - and I did enjoy it - but I did also consume large amounts of water and soya milk in the process. Don't laugh - you try it!
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