A trip to the old city

 

Upon exiting the bus, passengers were overwhelmed by the assault of proposals by taxi drivers and rickshaws owners of a cheap fast ride to the needed location. I simply asked the driver of our bus where I can buy a ticket to Xingcheng. He curiously looked at me and plainly pointed to the head of the street and prepared to leave for the garage. I quickly embarked on that direction and found the office easily, bought a ticket and placed my bag onto the bus, as still 45 minutes remained for departure. I was willing to take a look near the station but frankly a few people in the bus were looking kind of suspicious, so I didn't dare to leave my luggage without supervision. This bus was vastly different from the previous one. It was dirty, smelly, and full of dusty and stuffy air, I concluded out of probability, that not every company in China is capable of being as advanced as the other parts of the world. I understood that in instances where cash is limited, willpower alone is insufficient to enhance the conditions. However, such different aspects bring serenity in the path of life. Yet internally I still wished but that on this hot afternoon, air-conditioner was available. I was trying to access internet form my mobile phone to reserve a hotel, but the connection was so incessantly slow that I even restarted my phone a few times that, until I eventually gave up. Usually there are so many hotels near to the train station, that it should be a pushover to find a free room by dinner time. The heat was unbearable. I was about to get sick, it was really hot, like a real sauna, “Nice – I said to myself - free sauna, you can make it! I tried to drink more and more water to keep myself hydrated and avoiding becoming anhydrous. I was just about to pass out due to the absence of oxygen. Then the driver came and turned on the fans. It was certainly not air-condition, but imperceptibly it started to work. Finally, twenty minutes after our departure, the sauna was about to end. My mind started to wonder how an elderly man or woman can manage this without having a heart attack. I looked around, saw a lot of sweat-dripping faces looking out of the windows in absolute silence. Some must have had pretty good training as a few were even blissfully asleep.

Finally I had comfort to look out into the surrounding streets of 锦州. It was full of people, just as atypical foreigner imagine Chinese society. Everyone out and about for their daily tasks on buses, cars, taxies, motors, rickshaws, bicycles. But the unpredictable scene was that everything was moving in one ceaseless stream of uncoordinated movements. Almost as if they don't observe any rules, one pell-mell, driving off, stopping, horning, turning without indicator, overtaking on the left, topsy-turvy...but everyone managed to keep on their path without any accident. Lucky people! In the suburbs one can still see the following picture: pair harnessed mules pulling a heavy load on the black road, which is inaccessible for cars. I deeply sympathize the miserable animals, but there is no other way, people must survive somehow...

Here it comes, Xingcheng city. From the outskirts it looked like a little village compared to the other cities I have visited before, and more traditional. Exactly what I like. A few stops before the final one, I took my stuff and proceeded to get out. I noticed a harmonious chime in the air. Such great music. I heard a famous song and saw a lot of people in the big square. So typical, so traditional. Chinese people really like to be noisy all of the time, they are carrying small speakers non-stop. I don’t like the famous pop music, but I certainly enjoy the 草原歌, the minor group songs and even sailor songs, which immolate the deep emotions of the singers.

跑马溜溜的山上，一朵溜溜的云哟，端端溜溜的照在，康定溜溜的城哟，月亮弯弯，康定溜溜的城哟....

Now first hotel, and then dinner. I bought a map of the city to make a good plan for the next day. I had entered into a few ordinary hotels, but they rejected me stating that they don't have the permission to accept foreign guests. Why is that happening? It seemed that only one hotel possessed such a right and sure it’s an expensive one. Needless to say I'm just a student, and not an entrepreneur with an elastic pay grade. I accepted my fate and anticipated dinner! Oh, to get good food in a new place for me is the most complicated thing in China... because I am a vegan and allergictomany types of food and sometimes vomit impulsively. And in contrary the most of the Chinese restaurants usually place little or no significance on these aspects. I eventually found a small local restaurant for 小吃 and ordered 香菇炒油菜，the owner was very pleasant person and the food was really tasty, but it was such a big portion, that I was unable to finish.