Strolling Through Lao Chongqing

(underground world of farms)

Walking through old (lao) Chongqing helps you to imagine what it was like when it was the wartime capital during WWII. We took a long hike/stroll (lots of steep stairs) from the Cai Yuan Ba (i.e. Coral Park) up to Pi Pa Shan Gong Yuan , then down to the People's Court and the 3 Gorges Museum. It was a bright breezy and sunny day in Chongqing. Nothing like it. Yesterday was much the same, and we had a two hour adventure riding our bikes from Chongqing Tiandi towards Jiefangbei, under the highway where there is a whole world of people living (the ones who are building this city!), with farms, chickens, ducks, and more.

(abandoned boat, now a makeshift home)

(beautiful fresh bamboo shoots in a vegetable market by the highway)

(lady selling dried Chinese Medicine herbs)

(street side old school dentistry)

(bai jiu - fermented rice wine - alcohol store)

(old school cupping using bamboo cups for lower back pain, smoking a cigarette while doing it)

Sichuan Style Pickles

New pickling device for Sichuan pao cai. Pickles just got a whole lot more interesting!

The pickling characters. The green one is qing cai tou (green head vegetable). Jiao Tou (the white scallion looking one in the yellow strainer). Fresh chiles, ginger ...

Time Flying by in China

(Mao statue in Chengdu, home of the cuddly panda's, 2 hrs. northwest of Chongqing)

We've already been here almost 6 months! Time is zipping past too quickly, we are learning something every day, have met great people, had amazing experiences, and the list goes on. We've also been traveling quite a bit : Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Thailand, Chengdu and soon, Chicago. After that, Bangkok again (there are now direct flights on Air Asia starting end of March - Chongqing is becoming HOT and happening, eh!).

(Dazu Rock carvings temple)


I've started Chinese lessons, not just with a private tutor to work on translating Chinese Medical cook books into English, but in a university level class 4 hours a day every morning. I practice as much as I can and the opportunity lends itself often as not many Chongqing locals speak fluent English. Lucky for me! Often I get a crowd surrounding me to hear me mispronounce and stumble through my kindergarten level grammar, c'est la vie! You have to be willing to be a spectacle if you want to practice.

Here are some of the latest snippets....

(Flying kites in Chaotianmen, Chongqing's old port)

(Tea drinking and ceremony. Am obsessed with this now! Get ready for me to pull out the tea tricks..)

(Lovely presentation for us for our anniversary at Brilliant Spa & Resort in BeiBei hot springs)

(We've been having lots of teppanyaki... this is a fancy one at Brilliant Resort & Spa)

(Hello Hong Kong! Lived there in 1982-83 and boy has it changed. The best of somewhere like NYC + Asia = I love it there)