6th November: Chongqing, China
Another day of exploring the layers of Chongqing. I caught the metro, drifting and still completely devoid of energy, but still keen to see as much as I could of a city that I’d been most excited about visiting. Kaja decided to chill today. I began on the monorail along the Jialing once more and then changed to cross it, at each interchange hopping out to see yet another shopping centre. These might’ve been ubiquitous but the infrastructure and terrain around each meant that each was unique. Thankfully, I got a strong coffee from one of these nonplaces and it did the trick to kickstart my digestion for the first time since I was in hospital. That means I can eat today! I cried, twice.
After another change, I emerged at my destination, Hualongqiao. At 48 metres above the surface, this is the world’s highest metro station (or, indeed, train station). I remember exiting the world’s deepest station a decade ago at Arsenalna in Kyiv, so this was a nice little mirror of previous travels. To one side was an enormous skyscraper and to the other, four concentric loops of slip road. This might be a niche reference, but Chongqing feels like one of Akruas’ futuristic Cities: Skylines builds come to life.
My next stop was back into the CBD and to Kuixinglou. Here, the plaza, up one flight of stairs from the metro, suddenly becomes the 22nd floor. I walked across a bridge to the neighbouring building but instantly regretted it when I realised that I’d have to either walk back or go 60 metres down and back up! By now, it was nearly dark, and I’d used to my energy reserves.
Time to go to the buffet again! To be honest, we’re both absolutely drained. I am desperate to just be well, be able to eat, get some energy back, without constant noises and movement. The various illnesses I’ve had for weeks have really limited my ability to engage with the ever-changing sensory overloads of traveling through China. We have to get out of the mainland next week due to Kaja’s visa, so there’s nothing we can do until then. However, after that we are able to adjust our schedule and our new plan is to spend a couple of weeks in one place, probably around Shanghai.
