Off the Beaten Tourist Track. Review on Chungking

Oh well! Off I go again on another jolly jape across the globe! This time I'm off to Mega-City Four (2000AD/Judge Dread readers will catch my drift), otherwise known as Chongqing. This will be my fourth time this year and I'm not looking forward to the length of the journey. It will be 12 hours to Beijing from London Heathrow, then a five-hour wait for a two-hour flight to CQ airport. Ok, I'll fly business class but it only takes so long for me to get bored and start trying the handles on the emergency doors. Beijing airport is pretty grim as well but not quite as basic as CQ. From the moment I step out of the airport, I'll be in the land of skyscrapers and high-rise flats.

Over the last two years Chongqing has seen a phenomenal amount of re-development. It used to be a rather run down affair clinging to the rock where the Yangtze and Jailing Rivers meet. Two factors changed that; (1) China got Hong Kong back, they kinda liked the look of the place and decided to change every available city into Hong Kong. (2) They're building a whopping big hydro-electric dam just up river from the city, this means that around 13 million people need to move from the lands that will form the largest in land lake in the world and find a new home. This new lake also mean that one of the World's Wonders, the three gorges, will be no more unless you like scuba diving!

The city centre (on the aforementioned rock) is an incredible site at night. As your transport gets to the bridge over the Jailing and there, before your eyes you see brightly lit sky scraper after sky scraper with large red Chinese characters in neon light standing on their tops (you'll soon discover that the Chinese love anything red). The river reflects this rather formidable vision. The banks of the river have quiet a few brightly light boats and barges acting as restaurants and clubs. At the tip of the rock where the two rivers meet, a half built promenade has been constructed. On any afternoon you can buy a kite from the many sellers and return to the days of your childhood joining the masses of Flyers that congregate there. There's also a half decent café there, but unless you are into challenging food, I'd eat at an International hotel.

Speaking of food……… ever heard of a Chongqing Hot Pot? Now this is quite something! I had one with my Chinese colleagues a few months ago. The table is especially adapted to house a butane gas burner underneath and a large vat is placed in the table. The vat is full of cooking oil and chilli source and it's pretty ferocious! The idea is that cook your own in the communal bowl; including pork, chicken, beef, squid, cow's intestines, frogs insides, fish heads………… so take your pick from those 'delight's'. One word of REAL warning, if you are brave enough to try a Hot Pot have it in a hotel as the street side restaurants re-use the chilli sauce and oil again and again and again!

More conventional food can be found at four of the International hotel's, The Marriott, The Harbour Plaza, The Holiday Inn and The Hilton. I really say this because local Chinese food isn't what we get at our regular Chinese restaurant! Even things like chicken can be converted to be a challenge! The whole chicken with only the feathers removed kinda gets thrown into the crusher, flamed and thrown on the plate. You spend hours removing bone splinters along with entrails before you can consider eating it!

The place itself is fairly well off the tourist trail and once The Three Gorges submerge, then even the odd Japanese or American tour will no longer come. This will make it a more authentic experience though as it nearly already is. The Chinese are a real friendly bunch and even if they only know enough English to say 'hello', they sure will. I'm constantly greeted when I go on shopping expeditions by people I don't know; a quick tug on the arm, 'Hello' and they're gone… Bizarre, but true! You will also find that a lot of Chinese can write in English even if they can't speak it, so you can hold conversations on notepads. The town centre itself is pretty modern and you can buy pretty much anything you could elsewhere. In the Metropolitan Plaza there a top end market contenders like Gucci, Armani, Hugo Boss etc., but they are all pretty expensive. The one great focal point is Jiang Fang Bei, a huge speaking clock in the centre of the predestrianised city centre. The thing is a huge column that plays on the hour at incredible decibels and then shouts out the time; thoughtfully they turn this darn thing off at night!

Nightlife? Is there any? Maybe? Of course!!! There's loads of it! From Techno dance floors to karaoke clubs, from posh nightclubs to Irish bars; they're all here. There are too many to mention and they keep changing but I will mention the Golden 2000 near The Harbour Plaza Hotel. It's on the fourth floor of another hotel (name all in Chinese, so I haven't a clue) and is divided into two. There's the dance floor that's sprung loaded (I almost cried laughing as I was bounced in the air on this thing) and then the most surreal cabaret club ever!! From stand-up comedy, sketches, singers, bands and dancers; they have the lot! One warning if you like your wine like I do just try stopping them pouring it in a jug, adding four cans of 7up, throwing ice in, topping up with sliced orange and stirring!!

As far as safety is concerned, you're OK. You can be walking the streets in the early hours of the morning and no one will bother you at all. There is a rather nasty penalty for Chinese nationals that cause any kind of upset or harm to foreigners (and I mean NASTY).

Regardless of the language barrier I really recommend coming to Chongqing and seeing the real China rather than the classic tourist haunts. I suggest you stay at somewhere like the Marriott, who cater for vegetarians as well as the carnivores amongst us. It's also in the centre of town and makes everything very accessible. Be brave; just do it! I promise you won't forget it in a hurry!