Fish Exercise

Old Chinese geezers taking their birds for a walk, cage and all, is a common sight in China and Hong Kong. But did you know that in Guizhou (and other places too for all I know) it is common to exercise your fish?

This couple were so eager to get little Dorsalito and Gillsie out in the not so fresh air, they didn’t even have time to change out of their pyjamas! Indeed pyjamas seemed to be the attire of choice for city-strolling residents in most parts of northern Guizhou and southern Sichuan – and with temperatures dropping to 2 degrees centigrades it seemed very sensible.

Many people were also fitted out in large military overcoats, three layers of trousers – and plastic sandals w/ bare feet. Being Norwegian and hyper sensitive to cold, I died from hypothermia just by looking at them, so I was relieved to find that Guizhou-ites have heating both in restaurants and hotel rooms. In Sichuan: Nothing. The only source of heating is a cup of tea, and a hot shower if you’re lucky.

My travel companion X wasn’t.

Reaching Xichang, (home of satellite Chang’er) after a harrowing two day journey through high mountains, we naturally wanted a shower. But the hot water flowing so abundantly out of the faucets in my bathroom, was a mere less-than- lukewarm trickle in his. Odd! And not a little unfair! But being British and stoical, he rubbed off the worst grime with a flannel, deciding to have a real shower in the evening. Inexplicably the same thing happened: Cold cold, trickle trickle.

This time X complained and not in uncertain terms, before setting out to celebrate new year’s eve with clean and fragrant me. When we got back three sheets to the wind well after midnight, X found his room had disappeared. Or rather, it had turned into a sauna. A torrent of hot water, helpfully turned on by hotel staff, was spurting out in the bathroom shower and sink, apparently having done so since we went out five hours earlier. The bathroom floor was flooded to the hilt and the steam had made the wrapping come off the freeze-dried, vacuum-wrapped towel with which most Chinese hotel bathrooms now come equipped. The staff tried to make us pay for this.

Yes water is becoming increasingly scarce in China and now we know why. Small wonder the fish have nowhere to dwell and have to resort to being taken for humiliating walks by charitable humans.