traveling alone in China

today is the first day that i have not enjoyed being in China. Chongqing has not been as easy to navigate as Beijing or Xi'An, leading to some frustrations inherent in traveling to a place wherein one doesn't know the language. i wished earlier to have a travel mate with whom i could share my confusion.

so i'm sort of an obstinate traveler. well, actually i'm sort of obstinate, which bleeds into my traveling habits. i refuse taking taxis when i think public transportation is just as good. unfortunately, i don't know the language or the cities i'm visiting, so it requires a great deal of energy to find the right bus (if i do find it).

this morning, i could not find the right bus from the train station to the bus dock. i walked around, waited, got approached by a zillion "drivers". in a huff, i even thought about walking (which i discovered, after finally getting into a taxi, would've been a HUGE mistake). needless to say, there was no way i could've navigated the city to find the boat dock. to drive the point home, however, the taxi driver did try to convince me that i owed her double the fare.

Chongqing's air is bad. i thought Beijing's was bad, but Xi'An's was worse. i thought Xi'An's was bad, but Chongqing's is worse. visibility here is about 100 feet. there's no skyline because the smog completely obscures the view. i blew my nose a couple hours ago, and well - it was bad.

Chongqing is famous for Hot Pot. Mmm... HOT POT. unfortunately, this is a dish best experienced in a group (skewers of veggies and meat simmering in spicy broth, much in the fashion of shabu-shabu). i had planned to have hot pot while here, but honestly it doesn't seem that fun having it alone - even in the city from whence it came.

tonight i board the "Three Kingdoms" boat for a three-day cruise down the Yangtze River. internet access is available on the boat, for a whopping $11/hr. needless to say, i won't be writing again until the weekend after i reach Shanghai.

cheers from China!