Joan, Catherine and I enjoyed a couple of hours of live music, to my surprise when I went down the hotel had put on an easter display. There were two western girls at a long table dealing with kids and helping them to paint eggs and there were two people dressed as rather odd easter bunnies. I did take some photos last night (this morning I took one of the view through the rain from the room) and there‘s also one of the Jolly Green Giant in there which was Mulan making herself beautiful when she was playing nurse during the holidays.
I said come hell or high water we were going to Pizza Hut. Well they both came at once - neither of us was that hungry: me because that often happens when I have been looking forward to something and Joan wasn’t because she made full use of the free snacks on offer during happy hour. With the rain still coming down, we settled for going to the room at 2030 to watch western films and the lights of ships passing by through the gloom.
Given yesterday’s breakfast experience, I made a beeline for the cereals this morning and found bran flakes. I was even offered tea or coffee, having this time taken my own teabag in case. And I found the bread and toaster! It was much better this time although I did try a chicken sausage - disgusting.
Sadly the earliest train I could book for our return trip leaves at 2030 and gets back to Chizhou at eleven. Rather than kick our heels for eight hours I have requested a two o’clock checkout so we can just relax for now. Hopefully we can leave our bags with reception and then I will try to get to that supermarket, later I also just might finally make Pizza Hut before the arduous job of negotiating the train station.
Tuesday 7th 1430
We made the trip to Auchen hypermarket. There were a lot of (expensive) imported goods in tins and jars and were I located there I would certainly avail myself. However with Joan looking after both sets of luggage I confined myself to some flavoured cheese, French ham and bacon. Oh, and a jar of pickled gherkins! They are almost finished.
With more than five hours to kill before the train I wanted to find a restaurant near Pizza Hut where we could just sit and have a drink to pass the time but in the Walking Street that proved almost impossible. It was all shops. With the leg complaining ever more loudly and the unrelenting rain, I was getting rather grumpy but eventually we happened upon a dingy back street where we were in luck. So was the owner, who on seeing a foreigner immediately doubled the price of her beer. I had just the one.
Ridiculously early for dinner, we went to Pizza Hut but it’s not that early for China. Most Pizza Huts here have queues forming for tables shortly after five so at least we didn’t have to wait. I had finally made it and never had a pizza! They now have fajitas on the menu, so while Joan had a super supreme I had chicken fajitas. Well, two to be exact, Joan ate the other three along with her pizza, prawns and ice cream!
Off to the station with ninety minutes still to go and Joan, bless her, found the place for “special” people (the infirm, elderly, soldiers etc - soldiers????). It doesn’t let you start any earlier towards the train but it does avoid the huge queues when they open the gates in the main waiting room. My concern was not being able to get to the train on time - we had 27 minutes - but being knocked down the stairs, there are no handrails.
The two and a half hour trip seemed much longer and by the time we got out of the taxi at home we were both done in. Poor Joan started her community service along with all my freshmen this morning. At least she won’t be weeding or stone picking because it is still raining, instead they are probably cleaning the classrooms and stairwells. I’m stuck here until she comes back because the bike was left at west gate and I got her to collect it on the way to school.
I now need to make a decision on Pepsi. Depending on what the weather is tomorrow I may collect her on the bike or alternatively I may prevail on Ollivier to take me in his car. Either way she is coming home.
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