23rd October: Datong, China
We’re both not well, so chilled admin is in order today. We were going to go to the Hanging Temple but this would’ve meant a very early start again and most of the day either on buses or in a cold valley. We’re looking after ourselves instead and getting on top of bookings. It was very successful until both a bank and mobile provider randomly cut me off. Luckily, I have plenty more accounts for both but do now have to deal with undoubtedly awkward customer service at some point. There are some chaotic elements of capitalism that is apparently impossible to outrun! One big win today was finally getting a Chinese ‘TourCard’. This effectively means that I have a Chinese top up debit card valid for the next year. Along with the Chinese phone number, this should give us access to a lot of services that tourists often struggle with.
I popped out for coffee, and it is much warmer today. The cold snap seems to have passed. Yay! We took a walk in the afternoon through a nearby park to send a postcard to our nephew. The post office staff weren’t sure what to do but were incredibly helpful and found out the procedures and added the necessary Chinese characters so that it hopefully won’t get lost. This was the first time we’ve had to wear masks on this trip, given our bug, but this felt entirely normal here. We didn’t feel like we were being stared at any more than normal, although to be fair that already happens A LOT!
Walking back through the park, it was beautiful to see the groups of mainly elderly people dancing, singing, playing cards, or just having a chat. Communal activities seem to be hugely important here and help people to maintain bond with each other and fitness as they age. Nearer to the city walls, others flew kites. One activity we couldn’t figure out was done kind of explosive spinning top which was hit with a whip. The sound of contact was very satisfying – could this perhaps be the speed of sound or something inside the spinner?
As we passed through the walls, this part of the ‘old’ town was still being built. The old town had an interesting looking mosque, which we would’ve liked to have explored. However, ill and hungry, we plumped for food – a similar meal to yesterday with a lovely soothing tofu and potato soup.
Heading back to the apartment, we passed the incredibly named fashion competitors of C.Comelicious and Mingr. Venturing inside a different shopping centre out of curiosity, we came across another supermarket. This one was vast in its selection of everything from hundreds of types of jelly to live baby sharks in tanks. You could buy everything in small, medium, or large packs, or pay by weight, and the quality of most items was very high. The only thing they didn’t seem to have was fresh bread, which would’ve been more useful than either a shark or jelly to us at least! Back past the street market, fireworks exploded down the street. This has happened a few times a day, including at 8am this morning! That seems a fitting note upon which to leave Datong.