M-whY

Questions I've had to answer many a morning are: 'Where to go now?' and 'What to do today?' There were many more temples and monasteries around that I hadn't visited, including the cool sounding Crouching Tiger Temple. That might've made for an interesting theme to base a day on. Mark hikes to Crouching Tiger Temple, finds the Hidden Dragon, slays it using arts secretly learned from the Wudan manual, spewing poetic idioms all the while. However, my willpower couldn't overcome my lack of energy, and I opted for the less adventurous route. Going to the bus station, followed by buying a ticket to Chengdu, capital of the Sichuan province.

Chengdu is a metropolis. I can't come up with a better way to describe it. The bicycle rickshaw I hired didn't know where Dragon Youth Hostel was, even when I gave him the chinese name. I had him drop me off at Tianfu Square instead, the geographic center of town, thinking I could walk the rest of the distance. Except I underestimated Chengdu's size. One block of hauling everything I own convinced me to flag down another rickshaw.

This one actually knew where Dragon Youth Hostel was, or at least the intersection it was near. The street was under heavy construction, a total mess that almost persuaded me to find somewhere else. The hostel turned out to be satisfactory enough though, and so even if I had the strength to check out a different place, I wouldn't have.

I ended up with an entire three-bed dorm room to myself, the only drawback being that it was only the third floor. Once my bags were off my shoulders, the prospect of walking didn't look as bad. First order of business was what I like to call administrative work. Laundry, booking tickets, etc. Afterwards, I had about two hours to look around before it'd get dark.

I can't say I found anything of interest. A couple parks. A couple temples. A lot of bicycles. I was about to call it a day when I realized I was surrounded by massage parlors. I hadn't noticed them at first, because the term they used for massage, baojien, was different from what I'm accustomed to, anmuo. Regardless of what they call it, an hour of kneading and pounding would really hit the spot.

I picked an establishment that looked clean and upstanding. I was led to a room furnished with a queen sized bed, night stands, and a 27 inch TV. Here, I was asked to wait. Presently, a young lady, wearing a white miniskirt outfit, came in and dimmed the lights. If we weren't in the middle of a ritzy tourist district, if all the staff weren't dressed in smart uniforms, and if I wasn't paying just 50 yuan, I might've expected something improper to happen. And even if 'extra services' could've been arranged... I'm not sure I would've had the vitality.

My masseuse actually thought I was some sort of martial artist until I explaned my muscles were just tight from too much activity. My condition might've affected my opinion, but this was the second best massage I've experienced in my life. (The blue ribbon still belonging to that blind masseuse in Siem Reap, Cambodia.) A second hour would've been heaven, but I told myself I could always come back another day. Besides, it was dinnertime, and what better way to end an entry than with a picture of food!

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!