Chongqing trip

[KenC]

Just some brief background:
I "met" Liping on line more than six months ago.  In communicating with many Asian women (Chinese and Fillipino) she just stood out above the rest.  Of course I find her very attractive and love her maturity.  I just turned 59 and she is 49.  As our relationship has progressed, we have become very close but our internet relationship has maxxed out and it was time to "make it all real."  So off to China I went.  As I write this, I am still here in China.
 
Day 1- Arrived a half an hour late which isn’t a big deal after flying to the other side of the world, but at 1 AM it seems later.  The airports in Shanghai and Chongqing were easy to navigate as most signs were in English too.  The flight was long, but it is what it is.  Either you just sit back and put in the air time, or stay home.
 
Ping was waiting as promised.  A nice sincere hug upon meeting as promised.  I refrained from any kissing in public as promised too.  First reaction honestly was that Ping looked more her age in person than I imagined from her photos.  We men (and maybe the women too) have a very selective ability to only really see the best photos and instantly disregard any less attractive photos as just bad photography.  As much as her imperfections jumped out to me upon meeting, the more and more beautiful she became over the time we spent together.  Don’t take me wrong, as Ping was a very attractive woman, especially for 49 years old.  I had really fallen for her words and thoughts over time with her looks only the initial attraction.
 
Ping had borrowed a car to drive me from the airport to my hotel.  She had unexpectedly also brought along Wang, an English speaking friend to help with communication.  Ping’s English was much more limited than I had thought or hoped.  In retrospect, not a bad plan, from a safety point, for her on our first meeting.  Wang is a total firecracker of a woman.  She is very gregarious, funny and a great person to be around.  In my time in China, I enjoyed her company and her husband Michael very much.
 
Wang had boldly pronounced that Ping was a great driver with 10 years experience.  Well, “greatness” is truly in the eye of the beholder.  My hotel was about 40 minutes from the airport and the traffic was light because of the hour.  Ping “kinda sorta” knew the route.  Stopping on the expressway to read signs and make a final decision to exit or not happened on more than one occasion.  I admit I did have flash backs to all the times I cursed the many Asian drivers back in San Diego.
 
The hotel was great and all I had expected.  Ping and Wang followed me and the bell hop to the room.  Again, the room was as expected or better than I had imagined.  Wang flew through the room checking every nook and cranny.  Her curiosity is more child like and not offensive at all.  After some chit chat, the idea of Ping staying or leaving became the white elephant in the room.  The language barrier was a little tricky when discussing such a delicate matter via a third person.  I certainly made it clear and fully expected for Ping to leave and for us to reconnect the next day.  Ping also made it clear that she was there to be with me during my stay in China.  Of course she stayed and never left my side for the entire trip.  In using some discretion here, I will share that our “compatibility” was instantaneous and I will leave it at that

[robert angel]

Wow--what a well written post! I love trip reports. Some posts are all 'fairy land' like, w/o explaining differences in reality versus preconceived perceptions. A lot of guys write interesting reports, but don't mention that like in just about every place, even in shangri la , there's probably an 'other side of the tracks' and other 'less than', as well as  'more than' wonderful details inevitably encountered. Most guys gush over the great and don't mention, or gloss over, the variety of things that transpire. Did you happen to see my 'poker instructors' pictured in my avatar? I hear they're getting around Asia a bit more recently!
 
While it's delightful that you make it clear that Liping -- "Ping" certainly seems like a winner, inside AND out, the way you wrote might help others realize that once they get off the plane, then in the course of a couple hours, days or weeks, they're going to have the ultimate 'reality check'-and while it may be indeed great--like this trips sounds, things are rarely exactly as expected. And this is even true in a case like yours, where you clearly did your 'homework' before embarking.
 
I Loved the tidbits about driving over there--I really laughed, remembering moments at the mercy of other drivers in foreign lands.
 
Thanks for the eye opening lessons, for  making me grin and most of all, I want to extend my humble, best wishes to the BOTH of you!
 
Robert

[KenC]

Robert,
Thanks for the comments.  As you may well know, this isn't my first rodeo.
KenC

[Jeff S]

Great report Ken. Eager to hear more.

[Capstone]

Hi Ken,
 
Its great to hear that everything has worked out so far - hopefully the rest of your trip will be more of the same. Keep the updates coming. How do you like the Sichuan food?

[thekfc]

Hi Ken,
Nice report & I enjoy reading it. As Rob said, she certainly looks like a winner & I am sure that you are also enjoying the place & food.

Hope to hear more updates from you.

[KenC]

Hi Ken,
 
Its great to hear that everything has worked out so far - hopefully the rest of your trip will be more of the same. Keep the updates coming. How do you like the Sichuan food?

The food is GREAT!  Chongqing is not a place for a picky American eater though.  I am pretty daring (and love American/Chinese food) so I am in cuisine heaven.  More about this in the trip report later.
KenC

[Ray]

 
Good report Ken!
 
I can't wait to hear if you will propose...   
 
 

[jm21-2]

Driving in China is definitely a different experience. Will be looking forward to hear more about your trip. I'm always especially interested in hearing about the food.


From my experience Chinese and Taiwanese women are very concerned about how they look in photos and take a lot of effort to look their best. I never used a dating site but I imagine just about all the Chinese girls look a bit better in their photos due to that.

[KenC]

Thought I would share a photo with you guys.  Ping is on the right and Wang on left.  Keep in mind it is about 3 AM

[KenC]

Good report Ken!
 
I can't wait to hear if you will propose...   

I'm too f**king old to play games with that.     I already told Ping no marriage pending until she comes to America and knows she wants to stay.
KENc

[Ray]

I'm too f**king old to play games with that.     I already told Ping no marriage pending until she comes to America and knows she wants to stay.
KENc

Is she going to apply for a visitor visa?
 
 

[Bob_S]

Thought I would share a photo with you guys.  Ping is on the right and Wang on left.  Keep in mind it is about 3 AM

49 years old?  No effing way!  Ah, the blessing of the Asian female genes.   

Is she going to apply for a visitor visa?

Yeah, that ought to be do-able.

[KenC]

Day 2- I am an early riser and obviously Ping is not.  I have been battling sleeping issues for some time now and with the drastic change in time zones, my internal clock didn’t know if I was coming or going.  After drinking some terrible hotel instant coffee and with Ping still fast asleep, I slipped downstairs for an uneventful buffet breakfast.  The food was typical hotel buffet by American standards.  I wondered where all the great Sichuan food was hidden?  Hell, I can eat this stuff at home.
 
After Ping had awoken, she put herself together and we grabbed a taxi.  This was a learning experience for Ping or a teaching one for me.  She, of course, wanted to run down the hotel steps and fight for a taxi in the street.  I decided to show her what any 5 star hotel should do for their guests.  It was irrelevant that they charged fifty bucks a night.  Five star means five star.  I stopped Ping from running and asked the nearest uniformed hotel employee to fetch us a cab.  After a brief “no, no, no” from Ping that was trumped by MY “no, no, no”, she settled down to wait beside me.  We had to go through this back and forth once more until she realized that I wasn’t going to run about in the street flagging taxis if I didn’t have to.
 
The city is one of the largest in the world geographically and I had read that the population is 31 million.  (Still don’t know if I believe it)  Suffice it to say, there’s one hell of a lot of people here and the 20  story buildings seem endless.  Chongqing (which is pronounced CHUNG CHING and not CHONG KING as I had thought) is located where two major Chinese rivers intersect into one.  There is a natural peninsula between them.  The city crammed with high rises filling up the entire peninsula and both sides of the two rivers.  Where the urban sprawl ends, I couldn’t tell. The city is made up of the ancient, the newly old and the brand new.  Most of the “newly old” (buildings 20 to 50 years old) is under either construction or demolition. 
 
Chongqing is both clean and dirty.  I saw many many city employees in orange vests and hard hats sweeping up any debris on the streets.  Some used dust mops; others used primitive hand made brooms.  There isn’t a leaf, cigarette butt or a piece of paper to be seen or isn’t moments away from being removed.  The boulevard streets and expressways have meticulously manicured landscaping in their medians and lining both sides of the streets. I saw many teams of city workers trimming bushes and maintaining the landscaping around 2 AM when I arrived.  There were also more than a few watering trucks spraying the landscaping from the street at this time.  The city appears to very well run and VERY safe.  Police presence is obvious from the police kiosks every few blocks.  They are open air with flashing lights and 4 to 6 policeman standing at counters with a car and motorcycle at the ready. (Damned great idea if you ask me)
 
Subtracting from this excellence are the uneven sidewalks and prevalence of building materials stacked every where.   Some of the materials were to repair the sidewalks in all fairness.  The air quality is also very dicey here.  Foul odors are common place and there is a dust that settles everywhere.  Ping had told me and I also read where Chongqing’s air quality has greatly improved over the last few years and it is expected to continue getting better.
 
We met Wang at one of the many Chongqing pedestrian promenades.  It was like the Fifth Street Promenade in Santa Monica on steroids.  Endless nice stores lining a river of humanity.  I could have sat and people watched all day.  However, the girls already had a plan.  After an hour and a half of walking and window shopping they dragged me to a restaurant.  It was a rotating Chinese cuisine (by my request) place on the 25^th floor of a hotel near by.  What a great idea!  I got a panoramic view of almost the entire city.  “Almost” because the buildings disappeared into the fog that is present daily.  [Side note- Most of the major cities in China were destroyed by Japanese air attacks during the war.  Chongqing avoided the attacks because the Japanese couldn’t find it in the constant fog.]  The visible buildings were very impressive.  Very modern architecture and impressive  construction.  Wang pointed out a glass building built to replicate the Empire State Building.
 
Lunch consisted of a number of different dishes served on a lazy Susan in the center.  Each dinner picks and chooses to eat and places the food on their dish via chopsticks.  There are a number of different dipping sauces, all with unique flavors.  Each dish was a combination of vegetables and a meat or a fish.  Funny thing is No rice.”  Everything was delicious.  Skinny Wang ate like a horse and was the butt of many jokes the rest of the trip.  She loved the attention.
 
After lunch, Ping and I headed back to the hotel and chilled.  Much later we had a light dinner in the hotel restaurant.  I decided to introduce Ping to a Caesar salad and a few American appetizers.   She loved it all.

[KenC]

49 years old?  No effing way!  Ah, the blessing of the Asian female genes.   

Preaching to the choir here.  I am already a convert.

Yeah, that ought to be do-able.

I know fully well that a tourist visa is not a possibility.  When and if the time comes, we will do a K-1 visa.  If that is issued, I want Ping to experience America for a time before going through with a marriage.  We would be committed to marrying, unless something went sideways once she arrives.
KenC

[Tanuki]

Ken,
 
Your report on the city Chongqing reminds me a my two week trip to Bejing.  You story brought back a lot of great memories, thanks for sharing.

[thekfc]

Ken, your report want to make me jump on a plane & go visit. 

Actually mainland China is on my list of places to visit, very likely it will be Chengdu as I have friends/former schoolmates there and they have invited me.

[Jeff S]

Yeah - the greatest part about visiting China is the food. It is a bit unusual, so if you think anything outside of burgers, pizza and fried chicken is fear factor time (don't laugh, I had a friend who thought eating lobster at my birthday was a serious challenge) than China isn't for you, but if you're adventurous, it's amazing.

[jm21-2]

Great trip report so far!


I'm a little surprised the hotel buffet was both bad and western...I've actually had some pretty good ones traveling around Asia and always avoided the faux western food if they served it. hot dogs pawned off as breakfast sausage and bacon that tastes nothing like bacon were not really my thing.

[thekfc]

There are a lot of things that I said that I would never eat that I have eaten - certain insects, mountain chicken (frog legs), snails, animal intestines/insides, etc,.

The one thing that I cannot bring myself to eat is balut. 

[KenC]

Great trip report so far!


I'm a little surprised the hotel buffet was both bad and western...I've actually had some pretty good ones traveling around Asia and always avoided the faux western food if they served it. hot dogs pawned off as breakfast sausage and bacon that tastes nothing like bacon were not really my thing.

If I missled you into thinking the breajfast was of poor quality, please for give me.  Saysage was very good (both chicken and pork) and the bacon was exceptionally good (thick & tastey).  It was just not exciting as I could get that at any hotel back home.  The bad instant was in the room.
KenC

[jm21-2]

If I missled you into thinking the breajfast was of poor quality, please for give me.  Saysage was very good (both chicken and pork) and the bacon was exceptionally good (thick & tastey).  It was just not exciting as I could get that at any hotel back home.  The bad instant was in the room.
KenC

Wow, you found good thick bacon and sausage? I remember we were waiting on a bus in Thailand and I grabbed a "sausage roll" from Starbucks and it was just a hot dog wrapped in bread dough basically. After a while I started avoiding any western items but toast and omelettes. Maybe it's just because I've always cheaped out on hotels and food...


The instant coffee is all over the place...but you should be able to find some good tea as well. Good tea in China was extremely affordable and a big step up from nescafe.

[Jeff S]

Japan has excellent bacon and sausage, but I usually go for the Japanese breakfasts, aji himono (dried fish) or Mentaiko (spicy cod roe,) poached egg, rice, pickled vegetables and miso soup.


In China I mostly opted for Chinese dishes for breakfasts - shu-mai, duck, and such, though I don't care for congee, the local favorite. I stayed in one nice hotel with a great western and Chinese buffet every morning. Didn't even glance at the Western offerings.


China has horrible coffee, while Japan has excellent, in my experience.

[KenC]

Jeff,
There are now many Starbucks here.  I ran to the first one I saw to get a latte and purchase some of their Via instant packs,  That is about as good as it is going to get at the hotel.  Even their brewed press coffee sucks.
KenC

[Jeff S]

I've been to the Starbucks in Ginza (Tokyo) but never saw one in China. The last time I was there was '08 though and not in any bigger cities except passing through the airports.