2 Questions Every Girl is Asking Herself

Chapter 14

Chengdu wasn't a city I'd originally planned to visit, but a number of travelers I'd met along the way highly recommended it, and it was on the way back to Tianjin. So I went.

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province, surrounded by mountains. Four major rivers intersect in Sichuan, as the word literally means: "four rivers", and Chengdu means: the capital of a city. Because of its physical location, the weather is always warm and humid and cloudy, the perfect breeding ground for beautiful girls, by Chinese standards. Everywhere you go, you'd see SiChuan girls in booty shorts showing off their slender legs wrapped in milky skin. If Chengdu had a word, it'd be SEX.

I got into Chengdu on a bus from JiuZhaiGou, (which by the way has the most incredible looking waters in the world - crystal clear waters in shades of half the rainbow), and arrived at the hotel in the afternoon, exhausted.

I took a nap, and woke up around 8 feeling hungry. I went out to old town Chengdu, and ordered some glass shao mai at a snack stand. And man, are they the best shao mai I've ever tasted. For those of you unfamiliar with Chinese cuisine, shao mai are steamed buns with pork filling inside. They look like flower buds in half-bloom. It's a very common dish in dim sum. But glass shao mai is a completely different species. The wonton wrap is white, almost translucent (hence the name – Glass), not the traditional yellow. It's DE-licious.

I tried a few other local specialties, spicy dragon wontons – basically wontons bathed in a combination of soy sauce, chili oil and sesame oil; zhong dumplings, deep fried oily tea, which is kind of like the Chinese version of poutine, minus the cheese. Not recommended.

It was 9, and the streets were beginning to look empty. The lady at the shao mai stand started talking to me, asking where I was from, shocked to hear that I was traveling alone, and not with my husband, or boyfriend, or friends, or family, or at the very least with a tour group. I always got that reaction from people. I suppose lone female backpackers are less common in China, where people still hold the notion that it's dangerous for a girl to travel alone and it must be a lonely journey. What people sometimes miss about traveling alone is that you don't bring your own bubble with you. You're completely immersed in the environment that is around you, which allows you to meet a lot more interesting people that you would not otherwise get to meet. Yes there will be some lonely moments, but you'd be surprised how easy it is to meet people, on trains, in hostels, at noodle stands, on stage, or just walking on the street. The world is friendly.  

"Do you have a boyfriend?" She asked and was shocked again to find that at the jurassic age of 26, I was still single.

"You should start looking soon. My daughter is 28 and her baby is already 4. Do you watch that dating show on television? Fei Cheng Wu Rao? You should sign up. Even if none of the men on stage pick you, there are millions watching. They can write you letters. It'll probably lead you to many more men." And then she proceeded to tell me in great detail an episode of the show complete with vital statistics such as the men's age, profession, income level, dating background. "Very eligible bachelors," she concluded, giving me a stern look which meant to say, 'you should take this seriously.'

I nodded along. Amused by her concern. I didn't share that I was from Canada, and therefore couldn't go on the show. I didn't want to burst her bubble.

It's lovely to be away from home, and yet still feel enveloped by an invisible layer of care – care from strangers who have had nothing to do with you in the past, and probably will have nothing to do with you in the future, but would give you warmth even for the briefest moments of your encounter. Here a shao mai lady is giving me some very creative advice on how to end life in solitude. Although she seemed to have little faith in my ability to attract the "very eligible bachlors" who actually went on the show. I was probably too old.