Page 23

In Chengdu, I avoided most of the stomach problems I had in Nepal. What I did encounter, surprisingly, was constipation. Whereas in Nepal, too much moved, in China, things ground to a halt. This took me off guard. I had assumed rice and noodles would give me enough fibre. They didn’t. The solution to this dilemma came from Wal-mart. There’s always something a little weird in going to North American chains in a foreign country. In Kathmandu, this wasn’t an issue as the only chain was a downtown KFC that was hard to get to. In Bangkok, I had, without a doubt, the hottest Whopper I’ve ever eaten.

A Wal-mart was conveniently located a short walk from SWUN and like the Wal-marts in North America, it had an extensive grocery section. I made my way there bi-weekly to pick up breakfast cereal and irradiated New Zealand milk in tetrapaks. If I ate breakfast cereal semi-regularly, chose carefully at the cafeteria for lunch and supper, and finished my meals with bubble milk tea, my stomach was happy.

The question of stomach is surprisingly apropos in the context of Chinese culture and history. Like France, Italy, and Thailand, China is one the great culinary nations of the world. It has an amazing range of cuisines, and the Chinese adore food. It’s one of the important ways people come together and Chengdu is especially renowned for its cuisine. Food tourists come from across China to enjoy its rich and varied specialties such as Hoguo or hot pot. Sichuan is also known for its love of all things ma-la, or “spicy-numb”. Many dishes feature spicy chiles blended with a betelnut that leaves a numbness in the mouth. I loved Hoguo and all things ma-la.