The Narrow Corner
Sunday, 30 March 2025
Saturday, 15 February 2025
Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Friday, 22 November 2024
Saturday, 16 March 2024
Chongqing
Two things were clear as the plane from Beijing passed over Chongqing that afternoon in February. First, the place is massive. Second, it's very polluted. A hazy grey veil of smog lay above the seemingly endless landscape of high-rises and the rivers that flow through the city.
This first impression of sheer size and pollution proved to be accurate. As we walked around the mega-city in the evening, my throat was scratchy and both my chest and the skin on my face felt tight. It reminded me of my first visit to Beijing in 2007. They've cleaned their act up in the capital, so blue skies there are quite common now.
Not so in Chongqing! The rain came the next day, and with it low temperatures and even lower clouds. The pollution eased, but another reminder of Beijing in the noughties was omnipresent: men puffing away on cheap cigarettes. As a former smoker, I don't mind tobacco smoke, but the Chinese brands have a very strong and pretty foul aroma. It did occur to me, however, that it was no worse than the stench of the cannabis which is a feature of British streets these days, and at least it's legal!
Very little is old there, sadly. Chongqing served as the capital of China during World War Two, and was blitzed by Japanese bombers as a consequence. Tens of thousands were killed and there's a museum hidden in plain sight where you can learn about the destruction. The Nationalists carried out more bombings in the civil war.
The city planners went on a construction spree in recent decades. Buildings soar from the water's edge. Remarkably, the top floor of one of these edifices might correspond with ground level, because the city is built on such steep hills. This was the case with our hotel, where we exited the lobby on the twentieth floor and passed over a short bridge spanning a chasm that led to a small square.
At night the skycrapers near the water create a striking spectacle. They are lit up in blue, yellow, white and red, sometimes with advertisements for foreign companies like Pepsi and AXA, more frequently with illegible Chinese characters. The cost of this light show must be astronomical.
The best thing about Chongqing is the food. My favourite Chinese dish is Chongqing la zi ji (deep fried chicken with dried chillis), so I was excited to eat it in situ. I discovered, however, that in Chongqing itself this chicken dish can reach such levels of tongue-numbing heat that you simply can't eat it, no matter how many weak local beers you wash it down with.
We left Chongqing on a bullet train from a station that resembled an airport.
Tuesday, 5 March 2024
Temple of Heaven
Wednesday, 26 July 2023
Mount Tambora
It has been said that travel broadens the mind. I had unexpected proof of this today during a visit to the museum in Grantown-on-Spey.
Grantown is one of my favourite places in Scotland. It's a very small town in the Cairngorms, with many handsome and massive old houses. Much of the town is surrounded by forests and woods, where you may catch sight of the elusive native red squirrel.
I learned in the museum that the town owes its existence to an eighteenth century landowner named James Grant. He was evidently a very active fellow. In addition to going on a 'Grand Tour' of Europe and having the drive to create a new town, he fathered no fewer than fourteen children. Not quite as randy as J.S. Bach, but you can't help feeling sorry for his wife.
The museum lies at the northern end of town, off the main drag, which is known as 'The Square'. It's run by volunteers, and there's a small entrance fee. As well as learning about the tireless James Grant, I discovered that Queen Victoria spent the night in Grantown in 1860. Further, and despite its diminutive size, the town once had two train stations, which, curiously enough, shared the same name. Now, sadly, there are none, although you can at least enjoy a walk along one of the disused lines.
At the moment the museum is hosting an exhibition devoted to the nineteenth century artist Edwin Landseer. It was here that I came across a piece of historical background which really caught my attention. Photography is forbidden inside the exhibition rooms, so I took notes instead:
In 1815, the Mount Tambora in present day Indonesia erupted. This massive volcanic explosion triggered a period of intense climate change. Ash in the atmosphere lowered global temperatures and caused severe weather events including the 'year without a summer' in 1816. Harsh winters led to failed harvests and livestock losses.
I very much doubt that the people sitting in roads in London or dousing themselves in orange paint have ever heard of the eruption of Mount Tambora. Perhaps they ought to do some reading. To quote Charlton Heston at the beginning of the movie Armageddon, 'It happened before, it will happen again. It's just a question of when.'