Tripping

Well, as I mentioned before, I took a trip north to my old stalking grounds in West Hunan. I lived there ten years ago and this was my first trip back.
My ultimate destination was the remote town of Yuanling. Getting there involves an 8 hour overnight train journey followed by a three hour bus journey.
The train part is fine. I have purchased a berth in the soft sleeper section of the train. This is the first class section  - communism in action. For my cash, I am treated to silence, comfort and a compartment attendant who smiles. And of course, a bed. We leave at 22:30 and arrive in Huaihua at 6 am. Just time for a breakfast of noodles in chilli hot soup, the local breakfast of choice, then down to the bus station.
I lived in Huaihua for two years and to my surprise it looks exactly the same as it did ten years ago. Little has changed. There are more net bars, but that is about it. The rapid changes in the more developed parts of China, including Liuzhou, give the impression that the whole country is changing. Not so. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. What's new?
Anyway, I buy my bus ticket from a young lady who seems unsure whether or not to sell it to me. "What would a laowai want to go there for?" At 7:20 I'm on the road again.
In his story "The People of Yuanling", the Hunan writer, Shen Congwen describes the road to Yuanling.
"...travellers tend to forget the dangers of the journey as they admire the beauty of the landscape...the undulating mountains, range after range, are a dizzying sight for women with weak nerves or men who are useless cowards"
Well, I'm happy to declare that I am a useless coward. Useless cowards tend to live longer. Heroism is not a long term career option! The driver seems convinced that it is his utmost duty to arrive in Yuanling before anyone else. Any vehicle in front of him is a threat to his manlihood and must be passed immediately with all horns blaring. This is on a mountain trail, twisting and turning with unprotected drops on either side of the road. Traffic coming the other way is totally ignored. Overtake on a blind bend? Why not?
So the scenery is stunning. It is! I haven't any pictures. Sorry.

a) The windows on the bus haven't been washed since the Taiping Uprising (1851-64)
b) My hands are shaking too much anyway!

Having climbed up the mountains and down the mountains several times, having marvelled at the terraces of ricefields and wondering how soon I would be part of the fertiliser, to my astonishment, we arrive in Yuanling safely.
I stagger off to find my friend. My dear old friend I haven't seen for years is waiting for me. And being Chinese, she drags me off for lunch! At 10:30 am.
Now, I've mentioned this before, but Hunan food is the best in the world. I've been about a bit and unless someone can prove to me that there is a secret unknown cuisine of great deliciousness in the interior of Greenland, I stand by that statement. So lunch sounds great!
And lunch is great!
I am treated to fried fish in a deeply flavoured chilli sauce, beef and bitter melon in a differently flavoured chilli sauce, winter melon and spare rib soup, stir fried water spinach and, of course, rice. Friend's mother-in-law apologises for the frugality of the meal and the low standard of her cooking. I demur and praise her to the heavens. Everybody happy. She promises me a local speciality for supper. I am intrigued but have to wait. It is still only 11 am!
So, in the spirit of things and being a bit tired I go off for a lie down in friend's spare room. On the way I notice this.


Now I know I am back in Hunan!
Everywhere I go I see chillies spread out drying. Any flat surface will do. Basketball courts, railway station platforms, the main road out of town. They are all spread with drying chillies.



After a bit of a kip, we go for a stroll down by the river. Yuanling is river town. It is a live busy river.



Those black dots are cormorants. They are used for fishing.



These are real working birds. Not tourist attractions. There are no tourists here!
We do a bit of temple seeing, but to be honest, I'm a bit templed out. Still I am flickring temple pictures for those who are interested. Yes, my hands stopped shaking.
Well, after all this excitement, it is time for supper. We head back to mama's. With various inlaws and random guests there are about ten of us. And we feast upon the bounty of the land! .
There are about fifteen different dishes, but two stand out.
1) Totally different fish (line caught by brother-in-law, Yuanling's champion fisherman) in a totally different chilli sauce.
2) Then comes the prize dish. Twenty chopsticks leap at it and within seconds it is gone and we scream to mama to make more!
Basically it is bacon and chilli. But that cannot describe the wonderful combination of subtly smoked and cured bacon (and I'm talking real bacon, not American bacon!) and chilli - hot, but the taste of the ingredients shines out. I pester mama for the recipe and finally, after hours of negotiations involving the United Nations peace-keeping forces, I am reluctantly allowed to watch her cook it the next day (provided I stand at least one metre away and keep my mouth shut!)
Well, as Confusion said, "All Things Must Pass" and it is time to go home. I stock up on Yuanling bacon and head for the bus. I have tried to buy a ticket from Huaihua back to Liuzhou, but the drunks who run China Rail haven't worked out return tickets yet. Now there are really no sleeper tickets. Various friends who work for the railway company get on the case, but nothing!
So, I have to enter the howling chaos of a seating compartment on an overnight train in China. This is hell on earth. I have a ticket with a numbered seat. Problem is that I can't even get into my compartment. I run to the next and double back. It takes me an hour to reach the approximate vicinity of my seat. There are at least two people in each seat and hundreds camped out in the aisle. People are sitting, lying and standing everywhere. It is almost impossible to move. And everyone is yelling.
Finally a train guard notices me and comes to the rescue.He pushed people aside and leads me to my seat, kicks out the people occupying it and plonks me down. The crowds reform around me. I'm trapped here for the next seven hours.
4:30 am we reach Liuzhou. I stagger off, grab a taxi and am in bed by 5.
Never again!

Shen Congwen's story "The People of Yuanling" is included in this wonderful little book.
Also, his words accompany many photos of Western Hunan in this stunning book.

tags: hunan  yuanling  cormorants  taiping uprising  chilli  chile  chillies  shen congwen  chinas  train  liuzhou  

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