Joining Jim on a working trip is an interesting way to experience a bit of a country. I have the day to explore the area we have landed in while he works, and in the evenings sometimes we do our own thing, other times people have plans for us. I tend to like being prepared for things and knowing what to expect … I am learning to let that go. Frequently we don’t know what the plan is because we don’t speak the language. One day I wandered to the rink where Jim was working. The rinks he work in are often in a mall and this one was an hour and a bit away on foot from our hotel. When he finished his sessions we thought we were heading back to our hotel and then perhaps to dinner after. We became a bit curious when we were driven right by the hotel and up into the mountains. After an hour drive we arrived at Chonqing’s Brilliant Resort and Spa.

Traveling like this is a bit like dreaming – the way things just seem to happen… The hot springs were absolutely beautiful. We spent time in about 5 different spring pools – there were many more – and then we spent some time laying on a heated stone floor. The sound of cicadas, the gentle music, and the warm pools leave you feeling beyond relaxed.
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One tank was filled with fish that eat dead skin. It is a very strange sensation which neither of us could tolerate for long…
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Next we headed back to the city and stopped to eat at a night market area with tables on the street for a hot pot dinner. Along with the hot pot our host bought some ‘mini-lobsters’ (what we would call crayfish) and snails in a bag – both laced with the sichuan peppercorns (the ones that make your mouth tingle and go numb) from another food stand and added them to our feist. We received a lesson in how to eat the snails – pick them out with a toothpick, then pull off the dangly bit on the end and discard (not sure i want to know why…) then enjoy 🙂
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The waitress even stopped by to share a pijiu!
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