1/8/25
Disgusting was how we felt. Chronic dehydration and sleep deprivation will do that. Breakfast was served on the 21st floor. Self service noodles were on offer, our dream of granular control was available. Frankie cooked them perfectly, no added water so we could enjoy the condiments rather than inexplicably washing them off and wasting them.
Serving time had finished by the time we extricated ourselves. Jonathan had sunk three coffees. Our first task was to return to the bicycles. Helpfully, next door to the self storage lockers was a car wash. Convenient as hell. Happy to let us borrow both power washer and soap we spent several sweaty hours scrubbing and washing our filthy rides. Then we packed a bag of the essentials, shut the slightly flimsy metal door and took a taxi towards the west of the city.
Taikoo Li was a large mall, except rather than being the air conditioned paradise that we’d hoped for, it was actually an outdoor grid of upmarket stores. Frankie’s disintegrated shoes needed replacing. Both of the pairs she had brought were near the end of their lives. Salomon had a store, but in the end none of the ‘colourways’ were appealing. A few hours passed as we dragged ourselves around in the suffocating heat. Eventually we found a mall to hide in and drink a cold Mixue beverage.
Out of the two places of interest in Chengdu we decided to visit the Wuhou area. Jonathan insisted we stay at a classic Chinese styled hotel. Never a mistake if the air conditioning works as well as it did. Resting on our slightly too small four poster bed in the cold air was delightful.
For dinner we went to a vegan restaurant called Water Lotus. Sick of Chinese food, this place provided relief in the form of more familiar seitan based dishes. Almost surf’n’turf: faux fish, faux steak and a side of meatballs with rice and minimal vegetables, for a change. The chef was excited to have us, no other customers were present, though the restaurant was sadly a little dirty.
Jinli street was once suggested by CNN as the most beautiful street in the world. Of course, we were underwhelmed. Perhaps once upon a time, before the arrival of Starbucks, it was pretty. Now though it was just a mess of commercial entities. Densely packed domestic tourists swarmed down the narrow streets walking slower than strolling pace. There wasn’t anything to do but aimlessly patrol and exit. Everyone was in the same boat. Western tourists were few and far between but we saw a couple of couples.
Back in our ‘bed’ we watched Under the Bridge and ate an ‘ice powder’ pudding. Still not fully ourselves we slumbered eagerly, though foolishly not before 11pm. Fingers crossed our brains would soon turn to the right side.
Surly They Won't Make It 