A Great Experience in China

Sunday, July 6, 2008--Huaihua (Continued)

I went out looking for a place for dinner. It was no longer raining, and many people were out. Also, there were many snack stands being set up along the sidewalks, especially at intersections in town. I never saw a restaurant I wanted to try, but I passed one snack stand that had something different from what others were offering. I ordered one. A piece of dough was rolled out to be very thin and about 25 cm (10 inches) in diameter. Then it was browned in a skillet with a little oil. It looked (and later felt and tasted) much like a flour tortilla. When cooked, the bread was spread with a thin layer of red chile paste. Then it was filled with 3 kinds of pickled vegetables cut into thin sticks (with carrots being the only one I recognized), cilantro, sliced green onions, and roasted peanuts. Then it was rolled as a wrap with one end tucked in to keep it from leaking. It was placed in a plastic bag and handed to me hot. Wow! It was so delicious. I probably should have ordered a second one, but I felt quite full with just the one.

I got lots of stares here while I was out. This city does not usually have western tourists, and the stares proved it. I was a real curiosity for the people here.

About 2 weeks ago, I started having drainage that made my throat raw and my voice hoarse. Now it has progressed to where I have a drippy nose and a watering eye. I say "a," because it is only on my right side. Before, it wasn't too bad, but now I am feeling quite miserable with it. The liquid is runny and clear, so I imagine it is allergies. I didn't think to pack any allergy medications, though. I've looked up the generic name for Claritin on the Internet and may try to buy it and some nose drops at the pharmacy. This same procedure happened last year and eventually caused me to have a middle ear infection that took weeks to cure. Therefore, I would like to dry it up if I can.

Monday, July 7, 2008--Outing from Huaihua to Hongjiang Old Town

It was raining again today. And this time it wasn't a light rain. It was really coming down. I had planned an outing for the day, and I went anyway, since I have to wait around here until 19:00 tonight to catch my train. It wasn't an easy outing, however. I had to wait 20 minutes for a bus for the southern bus station, then catch another bus for 80 minutes. And the whole process had to be repeated to return. But what an outing it was!! I have seen one of the most interesting places I have visited on this whole trip.

Hongjiang Old Town is different from the other old places I have visited. First, it was built in the middle 1800s rather than hundreds of years ago. But most importantly, it has not been fixed up for tourists. It is AUTHENTIC and aged!!

The old town has very narrow alleys with buildings 2-3 stories high built out of brick. Rather than the homes inside the buildings opening to the streets, the they open to courtyards within their walls. As one walks up and down the winding alleys, doorways pass. They have wooden doors covered in spiked metal (I guess to hurt the shoulders of anyone who would try to push his way in). Most of the doorways are open in the Old Town so that it's possible to look inside. And most of the houses are still occupied by family living in there. Looking inside, one sees deep into the house. It tends to be rather dark with the only light coming from openings above the courtyards. Families and friends can be seen playing card games, watching TV, etc. But the buildings all reak with age. I got the same impression I had in Turkish or Egyptian cities when I went through old towns glancing into doorways. The interiors tend to be built of wood with lots of carvings. There are stairways to get to the upper levels.

A few of the old buildings have been opened for tourists to see inside. There is an old bank, an opium den, a licensed brothel, etc. Most of these have rooms established as they were when the businesses operated. It was fascinating going into the opium den and seeing the special louge chairs with straw mats that the clients used for resting while taking their drugs. No one was in the building, so I went up the stairs to see what the rooms up there were like, since I figured that they, rather than the display room set up downstairs, were the actual rooms used by the customers. They were small with only little light coming into them--much like we see in films about that period.

There are several businesses operating within the Old Town, but they are mostly for the local residents. There was only one souvenir shop I saw, and there were no buildings changed into guesthouses for tourists. That helps keep the quarter so authentic looking. I can't imagine, however, that the government will leave this place alone considering what I have seen in the rest of China. I am so happy I have been there now and seen it in this way. It will be ruined if they develop it for tourism.

Unfortunately, the Communist Government of China seems to think that images of Hongjiang Old Town should be off limits to searchers. Maybe it's because they think it should not be exposed to the outside world until they get around to messing it up by modernizing it for tourists!! Anyway, I know the images there must be worth seeing, so here is the link that won't work in China but should take the rest of the world to wonderful photos of this fantastic Hongjiang Old Town. I hope it takes you there.

Well, my train leaves in two hours. It's time for me to go to the hotel and get my luggage and face that horrible wait at the train station with everyone pushing as if it will get us through the gates before they officially open them and let us move through! Tomorrow afternoon, I will be in Kunming. Then the next day, I fly to Shangri La.