Waterless walk up 马头山, two good deeds, and a late bite

Up 9ish for a change, but I still couldn't stomach breakfast, so to burn off some excessiveness from the last few days and weeks I decided at 11.15am to do something I haven't done in about 10 years and walk up Horse Head Mountain. And to walk there instead of taking the dian dong che. It was a good idea but imperfectly executed. Although it was rather overcast, after 5 minutes of walking the sun burst out and I hadn't put on any sunscreen, so I had to keep under the overhangs of the shops to get as much shade as possible. Then when I got to the base I found the normal entrance boarded up. I walked around and found another one boarded up too. I had to walk around to a mini guangchang to find an actual way in, and totally forgot to pick up some water before mounting the stairs.

I'd forgotten how much the relentless steps can take it out of you, but resolved to carry on, with or without water. Well, without. It took a while and a couple of pauses but I managed it, and found a dad and his two sons there wearing sandals as if it was the most normal thing in the world. I forced myself to continue on the path to the pagoda and just made it to the top of that, shaking at the effort. I noticed a young couple each with a bottle of water and nearly asked for a sip but I knew now that the rest of the mountain steps would be downhill and I should make it, which I did and treated myself to a 5 kuai bottle of vitamin water before walking back a more direct route. Back home, despite having walked nearly 7.5km I still wasn't that hungry and only had a bit of leftover duck and chicken that Tan had brought back from a meal with Huang Chun two days ago.

View of the pagoda from the highest point of 马头山

The ever-changing Pingguo skyline

You can't even see our old place from here anymore

Ha, the house we stayed at in 2009...memories of relentless music emanating from the mobile phone shops

Unfortunately Xiao Nong's youngest son of 3 is in hospital with 喉咙长泡 that translates to "blisters in the throat". I guess there's an English term for it but I can't find it. She pinged me at 2pm to say she was shattered (困) and I asked how her son was. Apparently as she been going to get some food he'd been administered more medicine so she'd had to stay so was also starving, so of course I offered my assistance. She said she feared I wouldn't find her but sent me a dingwei anyway. At least the hospital was only 300 yards away. After a shower it proved harder to find the 粥 she wanted as not that many eating places do it and anyway it was getting on for 3pm so a lot of stuff was sold out. But luckily the fourth place had some so I brought that plus some drinks plus some yoghurt from home. I saw a message asking me to get some baby oil and some wipes from the mother and baby shop outside the hospital and indeed found the oil with the help of the assistant, but there were choices so I sent a picture but she said she wanted 喷水 which means one with a spray thing on top. Then she just video called and spoke to the assistant which made sense as she needed one that had certain medicinal qualities that I wouldn't have understood.

She'd sent written instructions on how to find her son's bed, so I showed these to the receptionist and told me to go to another building opposite. Fair enough, I went there and showed the receptionist the instructions and she pointed to a lift, so up I went to the 3rd floor. The instructions were once out of the lift to turn left and then left again. Simple, but it just led to a dead end with toilets. So I turned around and found a nurse, who told me I was in the wrong building, and to take the bridge back to the original one. Once there another nurse told me I was on the wrong floor, and to go upstairs. Finally, when I got to the top I heard 明哥 (I think), and it was her calling me. Had the first receptionist just told me to take the lift near the first entrance I'd have been there 5 minutes earlier, not that it really mattered. Her poor little kid had a lot of dressing on that she, despite her hunger, focused on changing first while he watched 动画片 (cartoons) on his pad, before feeding him the 粥 first.

So having done my good deed for the day I left 40 minutes later as I noticed my top was a bit smelly. It was washed but probably brought in before fully dry and had a dank, musty smell. So once changed, it was a trip to Guanmart again to get the tissues and other stuff I forgot yesterday, and top up a bit on beer as I only have the 4.1% stuff left in the fridge and need something weaker. As I'd missed the gym yet again I did some weights at home for a while. I think I waited till well after 5pm before succumbing to a cold one, which then sparked my appetite a little and my tea was a duplicate of lunch, with a beer providing the carbs to make it "balanced".

I pinged Haiwei to apologise for not coming back last night and he told me they were drinking till 1am in the end. Then he said to go to the CBD office/shop I'd been to a couple of times before, to have a drink at 8pm. It was 7.30pm by now so I said "ok", and managed to get there at 8.30pm. There were a handful of people there and not that much to eat other than marinated chicken claws and duck stomach and the ever-present peanuts. But it was quite good fun and for once everyone was speaking fairly standard Mandarin most of the time, and I could follow the majority. We stayed till the beer, wine, and gongwenbao were finished and though it would have been a few taps on the phone to get more we decided to call it a night soon after 11pm.

Another social evening with Haiwei and friends

On my way back I passed by Huang's Beihai Haixian place and saw him there so went to say hello, but I didn't make it passed the table full of people who bade me sit down and eat and drink with them. That was quite good fun and I got a little tipsy with them before Huang said he had to go home. Just before midnight I told Xiao Nong I was going home in a bit and did they want anything to eat as I was only 150 yards away? Yep, but she didn't know what. I suggested bbq but no, then after a while (half an hour at least) of to'ing and fro'ing I said I'd get seafood zhou as there was a large bowl of it on our table so she said yeah, and then yeah to bbq too. But in the end the latter would have taken too long so I got a fresh bowl of zhou cooked for her and a can of cola and a bottle of water and enforced 25 kuai on the boss who only wanted 10. I explained that I'd been eating and drinking their stuff for the last half an hour or so but it doesn't work like that here. Anyway, I'd paid and there was nothing she do.

Back at the hospital for the second time today (technically the first as it was gone midnight) I did my second good deed of the day (technically first) and delivered the stuff and didn't stay more than 5 minutes as they were getting ready for bed, and by now it was already beyond curfew and Leilei was asking where I was.