I'm gradually working my way down a copiously long list of "Foods that must be sampled on return". Today was the classic British dish, "Fish and Chips". [see photo] Delicious, although when I lived in the UK I was more of a "Sausages in batter and chips" man. There's time for that option, too! Yesterday Mum cooked roast lamb and, of course, I've been indulging in an overdose of pork pies and home-made cakes. And bear in mind I've only been back two days! We had planned to have a full English fried breakfast at a nearby restaurant this morning, too, but I woke with a headache and swollen neck glands. So I decided to rest up instead. The scrummy food will wait for me, no doubt.
We flew back from Guilin today. My chest pains and dizziness have been getting more frequent, so I will go and visit a Chinese heart specialist tomrrow. If that doesn't help, I'll try and hang on until I go back to the UK in under a week. In the meantime, I have an odd few days with visits from the LEAF family (I haven't seen them for 4 months) and Emily who is back from Britain (I haven't seen her for a year). And in between all the goodbyes and meals I need to pack! Overlooking the town of CongJiang is the Miao village of BaSha, where the twentieth century seems to have been completely ignored. Ava and I had a very special morning just wandering around watching a way of life that still includes pigs living in houses, hand-dying of clothes, kids gasping when they see their faces appear on the digital camera screens, and men carrying swords and hunting rifles. Unfortunately, another bad dizzy attack meant we had to abandon thoughts of walking the 10km back to CongJiang and instead hailed a passing minibus. A frustrating end to a delightful day. Today promised a lot and, after a shaky start, delivered the goods. The shaking was down to a nasty attack of chest pains and dizziness on the bus as we headed to XiJiang - the largest Miao village in China, and indeed the world. By the time our bus arrived I was finding it hard to walk and breathe, so I was ushered straight to a local clinic and seen immediately by two doctors and a policeman! It was a really nice change from my usual solo travelling to have Jiajia there sorting everything out while I was laid out flat with the room spinning. After consultation by phone with my usual doctor in Kunming, I was given the usual Chinese remedy of "have a rest and drink lots of water". An hour later, however, I was feeling a lot better and after a short walk to get lunch, I felt fine. We then had a wonderful afternoon exploring the fantastic city-sized village. |
AuthorPaul Hider lives and works in Kunming (SW China) and regularly updates this blog about his life there. Past blog entries
April 2024
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