02/09/18 I had mango and banana for breakfast, then went straight to the railway station to catch a 5h train to my next destination, Chongqing.
It took me almost 2h to reach the hostel, as the train dropped me at the north station, not the one in the centre, and there was no sign or name in the street for the hostel which is located on level 8 of a shopping mall. Nothing in the elevator either, it is like a secret place. Luckily I found a security guard who knew where it was. The receptionist was killing time by playing a battlefield-like video game, and a little dog welcomed me when I opened the door. The hostel is quite basic but the room is fresh and clean, and there is only 1 chinese toilet and 1 shower for each gender, for at least 4 dorms, I may have to queue for it.
03/09/18 The death plank, the famous climbing spot I was hoping to hike here, is actually located closer to Xi’an, not Chongqing. I mismatched my notes and got it wrong, so I missed my opportunity to do it. Well this is a good reason to come back one day.
Instead, I went to the Olympic stadium, built for Beijing olympic games in 2008, as the map said I would find a tourist info booth and check what else can be done in Chongqing. But the area was very quiet, most shops were closed and there was nothing looking like an info booth. At least I saw the deco built for the event, with giant meta plates honouring all the previous countries who hosted the games in the past. I even found one from Antwerp, I didn’t know we hosted the games in 1920!
My next option was closer to the centre, and despite the fact I found a tourist info booth, they didn’t have city maps or brochures. The guy advised me to go to a bookstore and buy one. So I went to an international hotel nearby, and the concierge kindly gave me a free city map, telling me it was quite basic, but it listed the main attractions and stations which was all I needed. Next, I was hoping to visit the old part of the city, but I soon could not handle the heat anymore (37 degrees) so I decided to go back to the hostel and rest for a bit. I keep thinking I have reached new standards of sweating everyday, today I am probably beating my record again ?.
Later, I asked the reception lady to call me a taxi, which seemed to be very challenging. She didn’t know what to do, and I explained I tried to install apps without success as my Apple account is not set up in China, and I don’t have a Chinese bank account (required for most of apps). I didn’t want to call a Chinese number with my AU mobile SIM card either. She finally opened the Didi app on her phone but said Chinese girls don’t use it often anymore since a girl has been murdered in one of those taxis ? and that I’d better hail one from the Great Wall hotel next door. Well our conversation could have been much easier if you would have said that earlier ?.
I showed the destination to the driver on my phone and in about 20min I was at the boat wharf where I was hoping to get a ticket for a short night tour on the Yangtze river at sunset. The only option I was offered, after a painful conversation with the desk agent who ended up putting me on the phone to his English speaking colleague, was a 1h tour at 7.30, which was too late for sunset, and too dark for me to go back on my own afterwards. I knew there were nice 3h boat tours online but could not find any operating on the same day. So instead of the cruise, I took the cable car then a bus to drive me on the other side of the city from where the views were still beautiful at sunset. I took a taxi back to the hostel, who dropped me at the closest subway station as the driver did not know the area very well (and probably called me 100 bird names on the way while trying to find the place on his map, because he kept talking Chinese in the car and seemed angry, but they always sound angry ?).
I made it safely back to the hostel and bought a Chinese version of a savoury crêpe nearby for dinner which was delicious, but very filling. Xa, if you read this, I recorded the cooking process if you are interested ?.
