Boxing Day 2024

Now, you might think of accusing Uncle Ian of feeling a little delicate this morning after the previous evening’s “fun,” but I’m going to disappoint you. My head did not feel as if it had gone through 10 rounds with a certain Mr Tyson, though I will admit to feeling a little tired. Slightly less bright-eyed and bushy-tailed than I’ve known myself to be. Will that satisfy you? Good, then we shall move on. Today’s destination was Foshan, much further south, and our first stop in Guangdong Province.

We were to have a mere 500km bus ride to Foshan. I decided to be anti-social and put my headphones on, just staring out of the window. A more relaxed way of passing the time and something that allowed me to simply take in the countryside. And what countryside it was. Now, the Vendée, where I live, isn’t exactly known for its mountainous terrain. Think more Jane Birkin than Marilyn Monroe—flat, laid-back, and subtle. At first, I didn’t realise what the trees were; some appeared bent over and broken. I just thought they were very young trees, before eventually cottoning on to the fact that I was looking at bamboo forests on the hillsides. They reached high up, gently moving with the wind. It was something I had never witnessed before.

We passed houses and farms along the way too. Again, a stark contrast to the cityscapes we had previously contemplated.

There was, of course, the inevitable “stop pipi,” and we all shuffled into the service station, which still wasn’t selling overpriced sandwiches. But the snacks available were certainly something to behold.

Now, you may be wondering if I partook in the tasting of these delicious-looking snacks. I did not. I was afraid they might be a little on the spicy side. Otherwise, absolutely no problem with eating poultry feet. Really, none whatsoever! I ended up getting something that vaguely resembled a chicken burger. Cheap, filling enough, and actually quite nice!

We arrived at the hotel. Before lunch—well, you know the drill: passports, room keys, and then we could finally eat. By now, I was really getting into Chinese food, and my chopstick funk was over. I was back in form! I managed to grab a couple of photos of the table we were eating at to show you, Dear Reader. The central turning platter took up most of the space and, by the end of the meal, was piled high with dishes that were certainly on the interesting side. In French, we say “tout est bon dans le cochon,” as a means of justifying eating the whole animal. In China, there is no mistaking what you’re eating. The whole beast goes into or onto the serving plate. Even the chicken’s head and feet. It was on this day that I ate tortoise for the first time. It was delicious! I think I had to get over any Western superiority complex I may have had and just eat what was in front of me. It would save trauma later on, and my belly would be full. Oh, sweet ignorant bliss!

Inbetween lunch and getting ready to go to the theatre, I decided to relax by having a go at some street photography to get the “vibe” of the city.  The main “vibe” was the amount of electric scooters everywhere, and the fact that they drive on pavements.  The French might have called it “un joyeux bordel” but somehow, don’t ask me how, it all seemed to work flawlessly.  You had couples on scooters, mother and small children on scooters, gentlemen on scooters.  Everybody in that place was on an electric scooter, or so it seemed.  The only downfall of such a system especially with me being hard of hearing, was that I could only hear them when they honked their horns at me.  Usually I hate this, but they were all honking!  The sun was out.  I was out, and the whole process gave me a mental clense that was greatly appreciated!

If you know China at all you will know that they have a reputation for pollution.  Oooooh.  Pollution bad!  Pollution very nasty.  Not good.  However, it does give a wonderful diffused light for photography, and one of the way theys fight pollution is not only by a huge amount of electric scooters and electric cars, but also by spraying water vapour in the streets hoping to capture some of those not very nice particles.  You can see this in a couple of my street photos above  It is said that all their electricity comes from coal powered power stations, but I saw plenty of solar panels as well as wind turbines.  I think they’re really trying, and should be encouraged.

Back to the hotel, getting washed, and changed, and dressed to go to the theatre for the rehearsal and concert.  But that will be for another day…