February 2016.

This is the glory of Chongqing.

The glory of Hongya Cave. Shot on the Sony A7.

To be honest, much like mine and Andrew’s decision to visit China, both Chengdu and Chongqing were chosen completely at random. Andrew had chosen Chengdu because of the hype that Eddie Huang from Fresh Off The Boat had hyped it up, and I chose Chongqing because, well actually I still don’t know. Nonetheless, I did not regret coming here, despite the normal China trip setbacks, to include:

Our AirBNB host not actually inform the people at the location that we were coming, so the hosts on location were confused and we played more baidu/wechat translation tag;
The banks would not properly dispense money for my dear friend Andrew, so we became really strapped for cash;
Chinese addresses are very poorly referenced, and Baidu maps really does rival Apple Maps for low quality goodness. Thankfully the AirBNB location description mentioned how the building looked, so we just bypassed the security guards and walked straight up; cause you know, China; and
Our bowels having not fully recovered since the Chengdu fire food. See below.

Memories of Chengdu. Shot on Andrew’s phone.

Luckily for us, we had a few friends from Guangzhou who also happened to be in town, to include @5.12 and @cheukyh, as well as a photographer from Nanjing, @jessica_sly, a local photographer and lifesaver, @lxin1983, and lastly, the world famous Canadian expat from Shanghai, @jenniferbin. I mention that @lxin1983 was a lifesaver because she was key in keeping our current China trip financially afloat. You see, we ran out of cash and none of the banks were dispensing money at their ATMs, despite my buddy having a Chinese bank account. Through the magic of Chinese kindness, @lxin1983 was kind enough to exchange our Hong Kong Dollars (HKD) to Chinese Reminbi (CNY) at a 1:1 rate. Some would say she is a terrible money launderer; but we say she is the patron saint of Chongqing. With our new found cash, we were able to once again buy ¥5 CNY noodles ($1 CAD) again as well as continuing on with our steady diets of beer for breakfast.

@Jennifer_sly from Nanjing and @lxin1983, the patron saint of Chongqing, chasing the Instagram fame through the few moments of VPN access. Shot on the Sony A7.

While the rest of them went back to their hostel to crash for the evening, we couldn’t let the night go to waste, and went out hunting on the first thing we saw; a swimming pool that stuck outside of the building.

Craziest swimming pool ever. I regret not going for a dip. Shot on the Sony A7.

Late night strolls and pet monkeys of Chongqing. Shot on the Sony A7.

The moment before I ripped my jeans. Shot by Andrew on his Fuji XT-1.

We thought it would be a good idea to go shoot some photos in the middle of the empty bridge. I blew out the crotch of my jeans and the security escorted us off. Thank goodness I didn’t bring a spare pair of jeans. Shot on the Sony A7.

We headed back to the AirBNB because we were off to Wulong Karst the next day, so we wanted to make sure we had some rest and got to see the town for a little bit in the day before we left.

Remember how I said I blew out my jeans and only had one pair? Thank goodness for my trusty sewing kit that saved the day.

Greasy sewing kit, switchblade, and panda pride cigarettes. All part of the Chinese experience. Shot on Andrew’s phone.

Too bad my sewing job sucks, and I just resorted to using Gorilla Tape to fix my problems. The tape actually held for the rest of the China trip - all 4 days!

When in Chongqing and times are tough… Shot on the OnePlus 2.

I tape like a 6 year old. Shot on the OnePlus 2.

We arrived in Wulong lost as sin. There were a few taxi drivers trying to hustle us for our money; and I couldn’t blame them. Even for Han Chinese people, me and Andrew still stuck out as tourists. So instead of succumbing to their racket, we did what we do best; self-induced diarrhea.

Self-induced diarrhea, all for the low-low price of ¥25 Reminbi ($5 CAD). Shot on the OnePlus 2.

After some hectic negotiations and taxi chasing, we finally found one that would take us to the mountain range where our AirBNB would be for the night. What I totally didn’t expect was the gated community where our AirBNB was and also the unbelievably kind generosity of our host. We even got SECOND DINNER!

Second dinner, with fire chilli’s. Shot on the OnePlus 2.

The next morning, we left for Wulong Karst by boarding a bus to take us down to the bottom of the Karst. The area was definitely a site for sore eyes, and was actually a place where they filmed parts of Transformers 4: Age of Extinction, which was actually one of the initial reasons why I wanted to go to Chongqing/Wulong. Some say they hate being bumped around in crowds, but I rather enjoy it, seeing as I’m 200lbs (91 kg), I rather enjoy returning the favour to those who are foolish enough to do it to me.

It’s unbelievably sublime, until you realize you’re playing bumper cars with everyone during the New Year’s holidays and the inside of the building had LED TVs and vending machines. Shot on the OnePlus 2.

Optimus Prime in his element. Shot on the Sony A7.

Moods of Chongqing. Yours truly, by Andrew. Shot on the Fuji XT-1.

After a rainy morning spent in Wulong, we took the taxi and bus back into Chongqing and got back later that night.

Without missing a beat, we went to crush one of the most prime roofs in all of Chongqing once we got back, with the help of some navigation information thanks to @cheukyh.

Brooding in Chongqing. Shot on the Sony A7.

Chongqing thug life. Shot on the Sony A7.

Chongqing does Tron. Hongya Cave at it’s finest. Shot on the Sony A7.

The mom and the daughter of our AirBNB slept in the tent in the living room while we slept in the beds. Some of the hardest mother lovers, ever. Shot on the OnePlus 2.

Our last and final day in Chongqing we spent exploring some of the old touristy parts of the city just to get a feel for what the place is like, and what parts of old China remained.

Old and more old. I’ve long forgotten this place and where it is. It’s on the West side of Chongqing. Shot on the Sony A7.

I regret not getting a fresh shave here. From the alleyways in Chongqing. Shot on the Sony A7.

Ruff Rider Taxi Service in Chongqing. I’ve never understood these 3-wheeled machines that were pretty commonplace in Western China. Shot on the Sony A7.

Views. From a hospital. Shot on the Sony A7.

I tried climbing the ladder after Andrew. After a loud snap and a lot of creaking, the ladder had actually bent sideways. I hastily made my way back down and didn’t try again. Shot on the Sony A7.

Later that night, we linked up with @cheukyh, @5.12 and @jenniferbin for some exploring.

Canton Squad, centered on @5.12. Shot on the Sony A7.

@jenniferbin; risk taker, heart breaker. Shot on the Sony A7.

@cheukyh, the CantonSquad Squat. Shot on the Sony A7.

Train-spotting. Shot on the Sony A7.

Warp-speed. Shot on the Sony A7.

We polished the night off with some more Chongqing beer and some local cuisine.

Spicy fish stew with spicy pig brains in foil. Shot on the Sony A7.

We said our goodbyes that evening, as we had an early morning flight back out to Shenzhen, and back to Hong Kong later that day.

Next stop, Shenzhen.

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2016 - China - Chongqing