Step back in time

Might not want to dig in.

The no. 1 water town in China- Zhouzhoung. How do I know this? Well, it was clearly posted all over the town, so, I kinda guessed. Seriously though,  the town was lovely and some scholars have even deemed it the Venice of the east.  Being the lucky fucks that we are we had a ride arranged for us from the airport to our lodging in ZZ. That lodging was complementary and was more than enough for the two of us. Thanks Judy for arranging it all!

$8 USD coffee, I kid you not.

 Surely you know by now, that I cannot go without mentioning the food. The town specialty is pork knuckle which looks like exactly that, not the foot of the pig but the part right above it. The town must have some special deal with all butchers because these things are everywhere. Jon and I decided to try one but not without some hesitation because it appears that they sit out all day and possibly for multiple days. Eventually we caved and the knuckles were about as tasty as they looked, not very. Recovery came in the form of a small restaurant which lured us with its wares steaming just outside the door. Score, the dumplings we had were not any normal dumplings. The wrapper was more like an ultra thin ‘bao’ wrapper and after being steamed was then quickly fried just on the bottom for a crispy texture.  I don’t know what they call this food but I call it ‘dumplings with a bao like wrapper.’ Creative, I know. I also call it yummy. 

 But enough about food the real reason to see ZZ is the romantic canals and the old style houses that line them. If you imagine the old days in any land and don’t envision hardship and poverty, you probably envision something tranquil and idyllic. A simpler time, when life moved slow and people were livin’ by the land or by trade and were by all appearances happy. This is the vision that awaits you when you step into the historic quarter of Zhouzhoung. There is no night life and things aren’t fancy but for two nights it was perfect to take leisurely strolls, relax and take it in.