Around 11 the next morning, we set out to meet Apollo. Dom didn't feel like coming, so it was just Nick, Jessica and I setting out to meet him. We got out to the gate, and realized that we had never specified where at which gate we were meeting him at. I texted him desperately to make sure that he knew where we were. Eventually it turned out that he was already in the complex, and we started heading back toward our apartment building, where he was waiting. We ended up meeting him in the middle, and we headed out toward the subway station.
He was wearing a face mask because he was sick, but he was happy to show us around. We took the bus down to the subway station, and we got on the line to Jiafengbei as we have done before, transferring to another line to get to the first place we were going, the cable car above the Yangtze River.
Getting off the subway, we waited in line for about an hour to get into the Chongqing Yangtze Ropeway, as it is called. While we waited, I admired the wall art (pictured above) and some of the statues across the street. To occupy us, there was a video playing for tourists under the sign (although we couldn't understand any of the Chinese). There was also a guy selling binoculars to a couple of friends in front of us that was rather entertaining. I took some time to catch up with Apollo as well, talking to him about our respective co-op and class plans for the next few years.
When we finally got in, we had a bit of a wait to get into the cable car, but it was absolutely worth it. Seeing the river from so high up, we had an amazing view that was unparalleled by anything I've ever seen. The fog (or smog, depending on how you look at it) added to the mystique of the riverside views, and although the cable car was crowded with no seats, I didn't mind, looking down at the beauty of the longest river in China.
When we got off, I was still astonished by the beauty of the river, especially in contrast with the red clay of the construction site right next to it.
We had round trip tickets on the cable car, but we didn't have to come back right away. We decided to go get something to eat. There weren't many places open that appealed to Apollo's taste as we walked up the hill. Eventually, he asked us how many times we had gone to eat hotpot, and we told him that we had only gone once so far. Astonished, he took us into a nearby restaurant, where we were the only customer, and helped us order.
Unlike the first time, it had a menu where you could choose what you wanted to put in your hotpot. Apollo read off items on the menu, and we chose about ten things, including beef, mutton, pork, tofu, rice cakes, the traditional wide noodles, mushrooms, shrimp dumplings, and one exotic thing---pig's brain. He offered to let us try congealed blood patties too, but we didn't feel adventurous enough for two exotic things at a time.
He ordered half of the broth to be spicy, and half as nonspicy (for Jessica and I, although I try some spicy stuff too). We got our bowl of oil and spices to dip the meats and veggies in after they were cooked in the broth, and dug in as the food came out. We saved the brains for last, apprehensive of how they would taste. We found out that it absorbed the flavor of anything it was put in. I hadn't dipped mine in anything but the broth, so mine was pretty flavorless, but it was too springy (for lack of a better word) to warrant another bite.
Pig brain
As we finished our meal, the old black and white Pekingese dog that had been wandering around the restaurant as we ate (a commonplace thing in China) came close to the table, and I happily pet it for a bit before we left. Walking back down the hill, we stopped to get drinks at a convenience store.
Getting back into line for the cable car ride back, we had a bit of a wait for it. We decided to chat and take pictures while we waited. However, the line wasn't nearly as long as the line to get in on the other side, so we quickly moved forward.
Nick, me, Apollo, and Jessica
Getting to the top after the ride up in the crowded elevator, we made our way back across the Yangtze. The fog had significantly increased, but it was still beautiful.
the cable car we rode across in
After the ride, Apollo said that we still had a lot of time before the next thing he had planned. He wanted to go to the boats on the river, but they didn't start boarding until 6:30, which was about an hour from then. We contemplating shopping or going to a movie and getting on a later boat, but we ended up deciding to go to a dessert place. On our way there, we found a strange building with a glass room sticking out on one of the top floors, and we made lots of speculations as to what it was used for.
We ended up going to a Korean dessert place called Sulbing.
There were huge desserts that we decided to split amongst ourselves. Jessica and I got the chocolate snowflake dessert, and since they were out of mango, Nick and Apollo got a strawberry one. It had cocoa powder, bits of chocolate, bits of almond brownie, and underneath was an ice cream that looked and tasted like snow, as well as vanilla ice cream underneath it. Needless to say, it tasted amazing, and was a great choice of what to do with our time.
After dessert, we caught the bus down to the pier to get on the boat. The bus that we were on was a bit crowded, and it was smaller than a regular bus, but there was enough room for all of us.
Getting down there, I enjoyed seeing the river from a new perspective. There was a construction project that Apollo said that was always in progress, and that they may even not finish it, as it was a landmark of sorts for always being under construction.
Before getting on the boat, Apollo negotiated with the ticket vendor so that we only had to pay about 45 quai (about $7) to get on the boat.
The dragon boat we boarded
As we got on, we found that there were no more seats. We could pay to get into the VIP section, enclosed in glass on the upper floor, but we decided against it. It was a good decision, because we got much better pictures that way. Lots of people came over and took pictures with us, putting their arms around us like we were best friends, and we joked with Apollo that we should charge them money in order to pay for the VIP section.
Getting on the boat, it was very fancy, reminiscent of the movie version of the Titanic, and they also had some snacks for sale that we chose not to buy.
After the boat took off, we noticed that there were lots of synchronized lights on the buildings just for these tours, and it was completely beautiful. Going to the other side of the boat, there were also fireworks going off that I managed to get a video of. It was raining off and on, but I eventually just leaned up against the railing and enjoyed the beauty of the night on the hour long tour.
As I sat there, looking out at the water, a sense of calm filled me, and the strains of a Bruno Mars song ("If I Was Your Man") came to my lips, more for the feelings that the song had always given me rather than the context itself.... I enjoyed myself, looking out at the water, and the others soon joined. The narrator of the cruise informed us that the Jialing River merged with the Yangtze River in Chong Qing as well at a building that looked like a ship cutting through the water.
Throughout the ride, it kept raining on and off, and people dragged their chairs out of the rain. However, Chong Qing rain isn't too bad in general, so even the worst of it wasn't as bad as a full Cincinnati downpour, and although there was water on the deck, it didn't stop us from enjoying it.
Chong Qing opera house
Shopping center we went to a few weeks before
The merging point of the rivers
Before getting off, we hooked ourselves to another boat that looked as if the crew lived on it. It wasn't nearly as glamorous as the boat we were on, and had laundry hanging outside of it.
Magnificent chandelier
Balcony when getting off of the boat
As we got off the boat, we were going to get back on the bus to get on the subway. However, a woman asked me in English if we could have a conversation. I told her it was fine, and she asked lots of questions about how long I had been in China, why, etc. I gladly sated her curiosity, and afterwards, she wanted to take a picture with us (no surprise there). She came up to me, putting her arms around me, and
We had to wait for the first bus to go by, because it was way too crowded, and the second bus was almost too crowded as well. We had to wait until its specified time to take off, and then we went back to the same stop we had gotten on at.
The subway stop to go directly home was right across the street, so us 3 TAs went straight home, and Apollo got off near Shapingba to catch his bus home.
At the subway station, we took a taxi home, and decided to watch a movie that night. Nick fixed some frozen dumplings, Jessica and I fixed some ramen, and we settled in. Our original movie (Space Balls) was only available on Netflix DVD, so we tried to watch the "Ridiculous 6" movie. We got about 30 minutes in, but it kept loading, so we eventually gave up on it.
I made plans with Apollo for us to go to the zoo on Thursday, satisfied with the way we had spent our day. I headed back to my room and went to sleep, ready for a restful day tomorrow.
-Zoe
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