Chongqing

What to say about Chongqing...? Perhaps what will do is that it is the strangest place I have ever been to! Think of a city shrouded in fog, with a population of near 6 million, almost all high rise, complete with nutcase taxi drivers, and not a Westerner in sight (apart from Annelies that is!). Chongqing thinks Westerners are coming however, apparent by the screeds of empty apartments and resorts waiting to be filled. I don't know what it is that they think will bring us all to Chongqing...

Anyway, it was fantastic to see Annelies, and she made us feel at home in her great apartment - a haven from the madness of otherworldly Chongqing. She showed us the sights at night after work and we had an awesome time (many, many thanks to her for having us!) in what wouldn't have been a very appealing city to be a tourist in. You can't beat local knowledge. We ate and drank away a couple of nights there, marvelled at the madness and talked about experiences in China.

We got on the express train to Chengdu on Thursday night after Annelies had finished work,  bags of chocolate and wine under our arms, ready for a relaxing Easter break. After a smooth 2 hour train ride complete with illogical queueing and loads of staring true to Chinese tradition, we arrived in Chengdu and got amongst.