Chongqing was a last minute switch from Guilin after reading Annies post on the region and we were not disappointed.
We reached late at night on the 14th and were picked up by Michael. We ordered room service - Dan Dan noodles - and loved it!
Michael is not really a guide. He is a local guy who knows his way around and is willing to take you whereever you want to go and does not rush you like the other guides. I doubt we could have explored the area as well without him. His car was not very comfortable though and the driver was inexperienced and on the hilly roads my nervous hubby was on the edge of his seat itching to take the wheel from him!
Our hotel The Howard Johnson ITC Plaza was new, had good large rooms and was in a good location, but because of a lack of English speaking staff service seemed spotty. But at a price of 479 nett/day (weekend package) it was a great deal. Much better than the Sofitel in Xian.
One night I had my hair washed and blow dried (at half the cost of what I would have paid at home!) But it was an adventure trying to make myself understood. Not one person could speak a word of English. Finally one smart girl typed in Chinese characters into her computer and Google translated it for me and we typed back and forth till everything was clear. Brilliant! Why hadn’t I thought of that before?
Day1 was our daytrip to the Wulong County. At first Michael was reluctant to include the Furong caves as it would have taken too long - Annie described it as a massive day trip! But luckily for us the new expressway opened a week before and cut travel time by half! The journey itself through so many of the longest tunnels I have ever travelled through was something! One of them was 21km long!
The Furong caves were spectacular but the Natural Three Bridges were really awesome from the descent into the valley in a glass elevator to the 2 hr trek through pristine scenery.
In China both natural and manmade sights vie with each other in grandeur!
We drove back through villages and we saw people working on their fields or piling up produce by the roadside. Lots of buffaloes goats and geese!
Michael made a detour to a lake that almost rivalled West Lake and there was no one around except for a mobile home next to which the owners were cooking fish!
We had lunch in between at a local place where we had to choose the fish from their tank in the kitchen and they dished out a delicious lunch of fish soup, veggies and rice. A long and satisfying day
Day 2 was free time in Chongqing. Started out drizzly and hazy but cleared up by noon. Chongqing seemed to be perpetually covered by haze. Not sure if it was pollution because even outlying rural areas were foggy. We started late and explored the city.We visited the Great Hall of the people and the Three Gorges Museum and browsed through Hong ya Dong. Then we had a fantastic hot pot lunch. It was a nice unhurried meal and we didn’t have to worry about sticking to any schedule. Next we walked around the pedestrian street and shopped for DVD’s at a small shop nearby. Later we went to Ciqikou which we did not like at all and finally ended up at the docks
Although big Chongqing did not feel as sanitised as Beijing /Shanghai or even Xian! There was a local flavour to the place when you walked away from the downtown area. We stopped for tea at a very local open air tea house where all kinds of people - blue collar, white collar, retired (Only one old woman among about 60 men though!) were sipping tea and playing cards! Wonderful opportunity to people watch with endless cups of tea for just 4 yuan pp!! Everything was cheaper than in the other cities - Min. fare for taxis started at 5yuan compared to 10 in Beijing and 12 in Shanghai!
Later the two of us returned to the pedestrian street to window shop and then had dinner in a tiny restaurant near our hotel. Just OK.
Next morning Michael decided to show us what Dan Dan noodles should really taste like at a local restaurant and ordered medium spicy noodles for us. Oh my God! Have never had anything that spicy! He was happily munching away at the full spice noodles! And they have that for breakfast!!
Dazu was a very nice daytrip as well. Beautifully maintained but full of local tourist groups with their megaphones. The old village seemed very dilapidated although there were people living there. The temple in Baoding looked uninteresting at first glance but was really lovely as you climbed higher and higher and the piece de resistance was the golden statue of the 1000 hand Buddha in the innermost sanctum. Beautiful. There was more to explore further up on the hill behind but hubby had had enough and we had to return. Lunch was at a very forgettable roadside place and again we had to choose the fish for our meal!
That evening we went with Michael via cablecar to the riverfront but the skyline and the restaurant we dined at were both disappointing.
Our last daytrip to Laitan was the highlight of our China trip. Michael deliberately timed it for a Sunday so we got to see the farmers market outside the village. It was raining when we reached so the market area was a bit slushy but we got some great pics of villagers with produce hung in baskets from their shoulders, women with children in their baskets and a whole lot more.
But the village! I do not know how to describe the little village. “Gobsmackingly beautiful” it was Annie!
It was Diwali (our festival of lights at home) and we lit incense and felt blessed to be in this beautiful temple. A few devotees were bursting firecrackers and it truly felt like a celebration!
From the top of the temple above the huge Buddha statue we walked out and turned left past the entrance into a courtyard with a raised performance hall and a seating area all with beautiful wood carvings most defaced during the revolution. One little hall with a panoramic view of the valley below had MahJong tables set up. What bliss to be able to relax here. We agreed with Michael that staying overnight might have been a good idea.
The rain had stopped long back but the path down to the river was slushy so we drove down and then walked through another village down below to the river where a farmer and his wife on their boat dished up what was one of our best meals of the trip! Fish (with garlic, chillies, ginger) vegetables & rice. Michael licked the bones clean!! And fresh sweet tangerines from the trees. There were a few children trying to catch shrimp, a woman washing clothes and the four of us. Idyllic
Thanks again Annie and thank you Michael
Michael’s contact: 631936047(AT)qq.com
After our return we braved strange looks again for the toned down version of Dan Dan noodles in the hotel for dinner.
We left early next morning to Hangzhou
