Chongqing

Up until 6 months ago Chongqing had not existed on my radar of places to visit. That was until I recently found out that it was famous for Hot Pot. Well, famous for other things, including being a major Sichuan hub, and the previous wartime capital of China. but Hot Pot is what stood out in the description.

From Chengdu we caught the high speed train to Chongqing covering approximately 300 kms in just under 2 hours. My brief interaction with the Mainland train system left me quite impressed, everything was clean, on time and efficient. Interestingly the trains will allow patrons to purchase tickets for seats, or just tickets to be on the train. So through the train, there's punters sitting in unoccupied seats, moving around to the next available upon actually owner returning. At the few stops, passengers would stream out and smoke cigarettes before rushing back onto the train. They love the cigarettes out here. The train stations too were also impressive, carrying all sorts of snacks, shops and restaurants.

So what is there to see in Chongqing. Well, this city is HUGE! I don't use that description lightly. Of all the cities that I've visited, I would say Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai are probably the biggest I've visited. But something about Chongqing was seriously mind blowing. This city is really huge. Boasting one of the largest populations in the world and the largest metropolitan cities by land mass it really is an impressively looking city. The downside, is that it's so busy and that it was quite heavily polluted during our stay. 

Ok so back to the main attractions. Hongya Cave, the cityscape with lights:

Train that goes through a building:

Cablecar:

Eat spicy things:

Three Gorges National Park:

Eat more spicy things:

World's largest hot pot restaurant (seats 5,800 people):

A&W

It's definitely the season for weddings, and this time the destination of choice is Koh Samui. It has been almost ten years since I last traveled to this part of the world and other than the upgrade in accommodation, the island of Koh Samui still has all the charm from the last visit. Cheap street food, suit peddlers, massage stores and the constant Muay Thai advertising.

The weather threatened all weekend and despite being the wettest wedding that I've attended it did little to dampen the festivities. 

The Ceremony - Bali

I always enjoy writing about friend's weddings. The highlights are always different and the ceremonies all unique. Each incomparable and each special in their own way. The redeeming factor of the wedding was the Groom's inability to understand the thick Balinese accent of the celebrant, mispronunciations and pardons ensued but after much faltering they finally got to the most important part "I now declare you husband and wife".

They say a picture speaks a thousand words - here's a couple thousand for you.