Yan wanted to take me here because he knew of a particularly good restaurant in the area that had fairly good sanitation and excellent food. I have no idea what the name of the place he took me is called, but it certainly deserved his praise. The food there was wonderful. A particular highlight was a dessert pastry shaped kind of like a small egg roll, but with tastier pastry and filled with a sweet tarot cream. I'm really tempted to go all the way back there (even though it's pretty far) just to eat those again.
Just to the east of Zijingshan is the government ministry district, and this restaurant is on a beautiful, quiet, tree-lined street between two large government compounds. Compared with elsewhere in Zhengzhou, the place is deserted. I really enjoyed walking along that street. This is an interesting feature of Zhengzhou overall; the city has plenty of beautiful sights and quiet tree-lined avenues for leisurely strolling, but they can be difficult to find if you do not know where to look. Sometimes I want to compare Zhengzhou to a post-apocalyptic urban wasteland, but when I visit the city centre or when I find these secluded, tree-lined streets, I am reminded that this city is not all crumbling, dirty and grey. Actually, the trees are something really special about Zhengzhou. It's sometimes called the Green City because of how many trees there are here.
During our meal, Yan asked me to help him with an English letter he was writing to the American PR representative for the Ankylosing Spondylitis Association, for which Yan wants to become a spokesperson and feel-good story. Yan suffers from this disease of the spine that fuses discs together, but has managed to keep the disease at bay through a combination of physical therapy, vigorous physical exercise and strict diet. He's basically a poster child for how to beat the disease. Most other sufferers waste away painfully in wheelchairs. Yan is studying to become a doctor so he can research how to potentially cure the disease. I happily obliged him with correcting his English errors.
After finishing our meal, which I had said I would pay for, Yan rushed to the front counter and paid the waiter before I could even get out of my seat in protest. In resignation, I asked if the restaurant had a bathroom. Told that they did, I followed their directions and soon found myself in a tiny room that really defines the "closet" part of "water closet". As I was really desperate, I was glad to note they had toilet paper, which I had forgotten to bring for myself (sometimes you need to bring your own in China). Unfortunately, I was now confronted for the first time with the dreaded "squat toilet". As far as these things go, this one seemed pretty clean and modern - it even had a lever for flushing. It definitely wasn't just a hole in the ground. It was a porcelain, flushable hole in the ground. I'll spare you all the details, but let's just say it went better than I expected. The toilet paper was a definite blessing. I suppose I could get used to these things if I had to, but I am glad my apartment has a western-style toilet.
It turns out that Zijingshan is also the place to buy a bus pass! Yan took me over to the tiny office, which is tucked under a traffic overpass and I turned over my passport (I have to have my passport with me at all times here for ID purposes). The lady couldn't tell which was my given name and which was my family name, so after we sorted that out, I handed over my 100rmb to put a deposit on the pass of 30rmb (which is returned to me if I return the bus pass) and 70rmb worth of credit. The bus pass enables me to take the bus at 0.8rmb per trip rather than 1rmb, so 70rmb worth of credit translates to roughly 88 trips. In Canada, even with a full work schedule, I couldn't picture myself using more than 88 trips in a month, so I think it's fair to say a monthly bus pass here costs about $10 - for more frequent and better service. Bloated Canadian public transport systems take note - China has got you beaten hands down.
Afterward, we meandered around a few malls for a while, looking for a hairdryer. I had been going to school with wet hair and, with all the dirt and smog in the air, my hair was feeling rather disgusting by the time it dried out, so I figured i needed a hairdryer. I wasn't looking for anything fancy, just something small that could get the job done. Shopping in a mall, however, meant that prices started at 90rmb. I don't mean to say that 90rmb ($15 or so) is a lot of money, but... it's a lot of money in China for a hairdryer. On my first day here, I had seen a hairdryer in the Epic Flea Market (I've decided to name the huge market next to my hotel the "Epic Flea Market") that was being sold for 30rmb. I told Yan that we were wasting our time in the malls and that we should head over there instead. He agreed and we made our way back to my apartment. When we got to the shop in the Epic Flea Market where I had seen the dryer, the girl in the store tried to get us to buy it for 30rmb. Yan told her that the last time we had been in the shop, she had been selling it for 20rmb (actually it had been 25rmb, but he tried for less and got lucky, I guess). So I got a brand new hairdryer for 20rmb - or three dollars. Not too bad.
After that, we each headed home after taking a picture together in front of my apartment. If you'd like to see the picture, please send me an email.
Should have gotten a space heater instead
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