It's a Small World After All

I have arrived in Chengdu. After four days on a boat floating upstream the Yangtze river, I stopped for seven hours in Chongqing before hopping on a train to Chengdu.

People always say the world is small, and tonight, for the first time, I truly appreciate that statement. When I was in Beijing, one of my roommates was a truly obnoxious fellow who smelled really bad. I was so happy to leave the Beijing hostel, if only to get away from him. So...I arrived at my hostel in Chengdu about an hour ago, and the first thing I did was go to the bar....after a five hour train ride in a packed car, I was feeling the need for a little booze to loosen up....anyhow, who is the first person I see in the bar??? In a country of 1.3 billion people (not including tourists!), in a city with about 30 different hostels, and a zillion hotels and guesthouses....who is the first prson I see in the bar???? What are the chances? WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?????????? The world truly is a very small place. Seriously, I'm in a country with a little less than 20% of the world's population, and somehow, I managed to find the most nauseating individual on the planet, not once, but TWICE in less than a week! Moving on....

Cruising up the Yangtze was a nice break from the stress that normally accompanies travel. I didn't do much except for sleep, watch the Three Gorges and life on the river banks, and read a lot. I was a little concerned before hand, as I had bought a ticket on a Chinese passenger ship, where no English is spoken, and VERY few foreigners ever use them. I totally lucked out though....my roommates wound up being a Chinese guy who spoke perfect English, and a Canadian (who was quite a strange fellow, but that's not the point)...

On the train ride to Chengdu, it suddenly hit me that I only have about three weeks left before I need to hightail back to Hong Kong. I'm shocked and dismayed by how much I want to see/do in such a short period of time. I've decided to cut a lot out of my original plan; I figure it's more worth while to see less, but appreciate it more.