China Blog #59

China Blog #59

Get off me, you dirty bitch!" I shouted out. While I lay there she just ignored me and continued to pull at my arms and lick me.. I couldn't take anymore. "Get your filthy paws off me, I'm too tired to go down there!" I pulled away from her with all of my might and then I fell out of my bed. Well, I fell off my air mattress and onto the damp hard floor with a breath-taking thud. Then I snapped myself wide awake and realised it was all a bad dream. I dreamt that a Collie dog wanted to be fed and needed me to go down to the store for some more dog food!

OMG!, its Valentines Day!

I was in a small park shelter in a village called Nanshancun and had a smashing night, as posted in my last update. It was a decent shelter and I started the night with my mattress on the ground but the smoggy mountain air spat so much overnight drizzle onto the floor that I moved up and onto a very narrow bench (see photo.) Yes, I just knew that was going to happen, that I would fall off. It had been a restless night as it was near the end of the Chinese New Year and there were fireworks that came and went at least until three in the morning. Then at five o clock, a few young boys came over and just out of pure curiosity to check me out. A strange time for them to be about, perhaps they were about ten years old. 

I went back asleep and then packed up slowly after my nightmare. It was an effort for there was a chill in the air and then I slipped on a damp marble tile. I hurt my elbow, but I will be fine. It just goes to show that no matter how careful one is that freaky accidental stuff is an option and I had two falls before I walked a step north that morning. Continuing on I noticed there was extra traffic and many cars were parked randomly in a couple of villages I passed through. No doubt they were having community parties. Fake money, all be it in Vietnamese Dong notes was left at the side of the road for offerings of good wealth from the deceased. Also oranges and tangerine. The Chinese are so superstitious and I wondered why it was not Chinese money until my friend Tony Durben told me that the Vietnamese currency is pretty worthless and being a crappy foreign currency it wouldn't be pinched. So it's used here for ceremonial reasons.

And Tony went on to say " Whereas tangerines represent wealth, oranges are a popular symbol of good luck. The associations come from a similarity between the Chinese words for tangerine and gold, as well as a resemblance between the words orange and good luck. It isn't uncommon in Chinese culture for similar sounding or spelled words with very different meanings to become suggestive of one another over time. Oranges and tangerines are also bright, vibrant orange, a happy colour that's associated with good fortune.

During Chinese New Year, tangerines and oranges are displayed as decorations and are also exchanged among friends and acquaintances. Sometimes, small trees are kept for this purpose. When giving these fruits as gifts, offer them with both hands. It's polite for the recipient to refuse at first.

Then I stopped to buy water and a nag of nuts. I hate buying water but I haven't come across many water coolers in the last few days. The lady that sold it to me asked for eight Yuans and proceeded to count to eight. She managed to count to five and then got stuck on six which she called sex!  

Then the amateur mechanics were out inspecting Karma and as always were wondering where I had her engine hidden. So I just laughed and supped my water and chatted by charades. One man wanted to know about my shoes. See the photos. I have cut the toe cap out as in China my size UK 9/ or 10 US / Euro 44.5 is a monster size! In good weather, the best solution is to buy the closest size and just slit the toe and that gives the added advantage of air flow. Well, I decided to have fun with these lads and through sign language, I said that as it gets lonesome on the road that I sometimes like to talk to my feet. You can imagine the hysterics when I flipped the opened toe cap as though it was a month and said hello in Chinese Then a man offered me his shoes but I politely refused

I wasn't far from Ningde City and was lucky to score a hotel for a good price. I needed one badly as I have had only one proper shower in a week. 

As mentioned many times before, I  got a better rate by asking for the cheapest room. The advertised price on the hotel board was  138 Yuans and just by asking I got one for 100. It's 8 Yuans to the Euro and similar to the US dollar.