originally i was going to wake up at 5:30 but slept a bit late and didn't wake up until 6:30. i left the house at 7:20, heading into old changshou to take the bus to chongqing. i get to chongqing around 8:45, arrive in jiefangbei around 9:20. the bookstore isn't opened yet, so i pay a visit to the FX hotel to see if i can book a few nights' stay around christmas time.

dirty chongqing in the rain: a lot of people don't like to be out when it rains. i don't like it either, but sometimes i have no choice. with just a single day off per week, i can't let the weather interfere with my plans. if you can overlook the wetness problem, the rain actually makes everything look more interesting, especially in the city with light reflection in the puddles. but the rain also makes everything dirtier, coating everything in mud.

* argument about buddhist donation

i finally buy my santa head decoration with simplified chinese characters for "merry christmas":

mahui invite xianglian and i over to her house for lunch (i arrive super late, everyone is waiting for me):

shirley/xianglian teaching me how to make sichuan paocai: