Xi'an to Chongqing

Our alarm goes off at 5:30am and we're out the door 20 minutes later. We're on the bullet again today, this time to Chongqing. It's very quiet out this time of morning, so quiet that the metro we planned to get to the railway station doesn't come for another 20 minutes! We hop in a Didi instead and again have a little guffaw imagining what it would be like to hire a car and drive around ourselves. Lolololol.

All the railway stations have been the same so far which means we've got our routine down pat. Security check, coffee (we're going China's own Luckin Coffee today as Starbucks isn't open yet. It's surprisingly good and cheaper than Starbucks) and McMuffins.

We've got one extra mission this morning and that's to seek out the Lost and Found office and see if Jeff's Kobo got handed in. Courts has her translation with all the details ready to go as we arrive at the desk. The attendant goes and types a few things into the computer then goes to the back room where all the lost property is stored. She rifles through a shelf with what look like several e-readers and comes back with one. Lo and behold it's Jeff's Kobo! We can't believe our luck! And Jeff is feeling even more greatful he didn't buy that second hand copy of Jane Austen at the Extortionists R Us Bookstore.

A 5.5 hour ride into Chongqing. Jeff gets chatting to his Singaporean neighbour as we are arriving. For once he is out-questioned; Gabriel wanted to know a lot about Australia!

We pass close by a power station. Plumes of smoke, a coal train running along side us. No wonder it's been thick smog the whole way. Looking out the window for most of the journey feels like you're in a dystopian past; compared with Shanghai which is in 2058, rural China here is in 1958.

We arrive and again, the local Metro is the same setup, we just need to update the city in the transport section of the Alipay app and we're on our way to our hotel. The station we come out at is above ground. Or more accurately above water, as it stops above the Yangtze River (the largest in China). In case it wasn't already obvious we make it loud and clear that we're tourists with the way we're gawking and neck craning. This place is like Shanghai but on steroids! But if Shanghai was built into the side of a mountain. Skyscrapers everywhere, bridges and a lot of greenery. Chongqing is the biggest city in China with a population of 31 million 🫠

Our hotel is a 5 minute walk but we must stop for beer and noodles first. Chongqing is known for spicy, specifically szechuan. We've been told that you (westerners) ask for not spicy when ordering, but you still get a base layer of spice because it seems to be illegal not to put chilli in everything they eat here. Jeff gets beef noodle soup and Courts has wonton noodle soup. Washed down with a Tuborg beer (made at Chongqing Brewery which is owned by Carlsberg - again, mid strength for the Chinese market).

We check-in at the hotel, our room is on the 43rd floor. Gulp. It's very high up with a view of the surrounding skyscrapers and a bit of the river and we won't be standing too close to the floor to ceiling windows! We freshen up and brace ourselves for our first outing in the big city. We don't have to walk too far before we hit some stairs that lead into winding streets lined with shops and more steps. This area is called Shibati. We go up, we go down, we go left, we go down, we go up. It's a maze of steep streets and so many steps. This is what building a city into the side of mountain gets you and what's attracting an influx of tourists and influencers. Whilst the old architecture is more traditional Chongqing there's a lot of people and disappointingly a lot of shops selling the same kitschy stuff or souvenirs we've seen in most other touristy spots. You have to see it though.

We wander over to Mountain City Alley which is similar with the steep streets and alleyways but a bit more chill. We go up some random stairs and find ourselves at a rooftop restaurant with a bit of a view. We chug down a 2.5% Chongqing local beer and we're on our way again. Side note on the beer front. We've discovered that you have to specify a "cold" beer when you're ordering because otherwise for some inhumane reason you get a room temperature beer.

Anyway, we wander through the streets a bit more, take a random turn and suddenly we're in real Chongqing. Still very tall buildings but residential and old and dirty looking, with real hole in the wall restaurants. The juxtaposition of we're we've just come from is startling. We get onto a busy main strip and pop into the first cool looking restaurant we see. We've decided to give a hot pot a go - a must do in Chongqing.

We settle in and fumble our way through the ordering process. It becomes pretty clear pretty quickly to the girls serving us we don't know what we're doing. That's ok, we all manage to communicate via the translate apps and we order what we think is the non spicy hot pot broth with some pork and beef and veg. The pot comes out with an inner pot that looks fairly clear and benign, a stock of sorts and the outer pot looks like hell fire to your bum hole. If that is not spicy we're in big trouble. You can't see the oil for the amount of whole szechuan peppers that are floating in it. We wait for our pot to start bubbling away and we cook our meats.

One of the girls looking after us makes us a nice bowl of oil, shallot and garlic and explains that we dip the meat in the hell fire oil then into this oily garlic dip. We've noticed that the people here are a lot more friendly and eager to interact and have a laugh, which has been a nice change. We make our way through our first and potentially last hot pot of the trip. It was enjoyable enough but a lot of effort required.

We've booked a river cruise for tonight although we've not been given a lot of information in terms of start time other than the cruise goes for 45 minutes between the hours of 7:40 and 10:00pm. We at least know the pier we need to be at but it's bedlam trying to get there. Navigating the mountainous step terrain is a chore in itself and add a few million people and it's disorganised chaos. We finally get to where we need to be and it seems it's a bit of a first in best dressed with this cruise, with boats leaving fairly frequently. We get on board and upgrade to the VIP experience again, mainly so we can get a seat with a good view. We get an ice cream and avail of the snacks included in our upgrade. One is a crunchy, sweet thing with a szechuan hit at the end. I told you it was illegal to not use spice.

We sit back and admire the neon monstrosity that is Chongqing. We can't quite decide how we feel about it yet but it's a sight to behold. Especially Hongyadong, a multistorey traditional style complex that's been tacked onto the side of the mountain. It's tacky alright and we're just not sure what possessed them to do it but people are frothing over it. The boat docks and we make the 30 minute climb back towards our hotel with more questions than answers about what this city is all about.