I was reflecting a few moments ago on the fact that my veg-aquarianism
has been a complete non-issue on this trip thus far. I've had one bowl
of noodles arrive with a pile of beef on top of it, and in Hangzhou
some friends ordered sticky rice, which just like back home came
wrapped in a leaf and included pork. I didn't expect that I would ever
be far from good veggie food -- it was just asking for and receiving
it that I wasn't sure about. So far, so good. Delicious, in fact.
(That's one of the few Chinese expressions I have mastered: wei dao
hao.)
As the terrain around the Yangtze flattens (the gorges have given way
to bluffs, and these will soon be replaced by farm land), I approach
the foodie Mecca of this trip: Chongqing and the Sichuan province.
(Sichuan is where szechuan cuisine comes from. The different spellings
reflect a recent standardization of how Chinese characters are
transliterated into roman alphabets, called pinyin, which was adopted
after "szechuan" was already in circulation, in large part due to its
famous dishes.)
Chongqing used to be part of Sichuan, but has been given a special
designation as a "municipality" encompassing a three-county area and
under direct control of the central government (read: no longer under
Sichuan's thumb). This change also made it the largest "city" in
China, with 32.5 million people.
Some of this is just semantics, though, since the large Chongqing
municipality contains many cities, including Chongqing. Confused?
Good, then I'm not alone.
Suffice it to say that when I wake in the morning in Chongqing, I
should be prepared to light my mouth on fire, since that's what this
place is famous for. But before then, I have one more relaxed,
peaceful evening of this unforgettable trip on one of the world's
greatest rivers. I plan to spend it sitting on the deck of this ship*,
enjoying the cool air (it's that temp that you don't even feel in a T-
shirt and there are no bugs at all) and bidding farewell to the Yangtze.
__
*This afternoon I realized that this ship bears some resemblance to the
vessel in Werner Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo." Let's just hope my river
trip reaches a less dramatic conclusion...
Were you able to see much more of the riverside lands on the second day? Any interesting wildlife? Does the trash increase or decrease as you progress up river (That was too bad to hear)?
ReplyDelete** So you DID pass Klaus Kinski in a dinghy!
Thankfully, yes I did get to see a lot of the river on the second day, and contrary to my expectations, the hills and mountains continued all the way to Chongqing. As for wildlife, that was limited to birds, the occasional fish jumping, and a few cows and goats here and there. The trash on the water continued throughout the voyage, but was definitely concentrated at ports, or in the wake of boats like ours. (People blithely dispose of trash overboard, which is both sad and shocking to see. You also have to be careful when leaning over the rail, as you never know when your neighbor above might make such a deposit...)
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