Fishing – eating – drinking
Jul 14th, 2007 by Peter
13th July 2007 Yilan
Note: Pictures from this day can be found if you scroll down.
After having a quick toothbrush and wash we found ourselves at C’s parent’s home for some breakfast.
8.15am C’s stepbrother and his brother-in-law showed up in a taxi (this time a real car if you can say that about a Chinese one of course). We got our stuff inside and were off to go fishing. I don’t know what I’d imagined, but it certainly wasn’t a copy of how we do in Denmark.
The road took us over the “mountains” – a short trip of 15 minutes drive – and down towards 4 square put & take fishing lakes. The fishing gear brought by C’s brother was 4 telescope rods with no fishing wheels. I’ve never tried that kind before. The advantage to this is that you don’t hassle with the wheel, but the downside is lacking range. The line is of course always of a fixed length and this limits your fishing opportunities.
The bait was tiny pills of foul smelling material. They were cylindrically shaped with a small rubber band around them. The rubber band was there to attach the hook. I would have guessed that you needed to get the hook inside the bait or at least tie the bait hard to the hook, but no. You just put the hook under the rubber band one time and you’re set to go.
We started out fishing in the lake with the bigger fish. From what I could figure out, it was carp. We had no luck and soon headed on to another lake with plenty of smaller fish. When I say smaller, I mean smaller. The fish there wasn’t longer than half a hand’s length, but that doesn’t mater to the Chinese, since they eat everything. Big or small.
After one cast an older guy, who’d been there all morning, took me under his wing. I may come off as a complete fishing newbie in China, but I’ve actually done my share of fishing back in Denmark. Here in China I look lost no matter what I do and if I don’t the Chinese still treat me that way. Anyway, this guy helped me out with some different bait. Some strange doe that weren’t comparable to Powerbait in texture, but seemed to work the same way. You cram it around the hook and shape it to an even perl like drop. It works. The fish instantly munched away on it. The back draw to this is that most of the time you were feeding the fish, not catching them. The fish were so small, that even though we used tiny hooks, their mouths often were too small and they just nibbled away.
I think I got 2 small fish all the time we were there. It was from 8.30am to 1.30am so it may now seem to have been worth it. However it was a cool experience to try fishing in China. Not sure I would do it again though. This kind of fishing is a bit too boring to me. Half of the time is used to set bait on the hooks. The other half is used watching the fish eat it and if you’re lucky you may strike at the right time and actually catch: a tiny fish.
My father always told me that I should not go fishing to catch fish, but to enjoy the nature and have a good time. Catching something would just be a bonus. Fortunately I adopted this way of thinking. So even though the fish was small, the rod strange and the bait annoying to put on, it was still a very cool day. The air was fresh and the weather great. My guess is that it was above 30 degrees and no clouds. I got this summer’s first sunburns today. My face is red and my arms are now matching Denmark’s national colors. Red on the upper side and pig white on the underside. I even used sunscreen with factor 15 before going, but still caught the suns attention.
The guys who took me there was great. C’s family is really cool and I have a great time here.
Back to C’s parents and drop off the fish and then we returned to our temporary home to get a bath and some new clothes on. It was time to go to a restaurant yet again. This time C’s aunt invited and somehow it escaped my mind that when the aunt comes: the uncle does too. The very same uncle who’s on the Chinese national team in drinking. After a long warm day in the sun I was thirsty but not for alcohol. So after guessing that lord drinks-a-lot was coming too (buying and therefore also the host), I started worrying a bit. First of all, I weren’t hungry, as we had a late lunch (1.30am). Second of all, I was in dire need of some water from a day in the sun. Therefore I had belched down a lot in the afternoon. Bottom-line my stomach was completely full and I was not in the mood for the upcoming drinking contest. My water depots were still not completely filled again either. My stomach had recovered from the diarrhea issues, but it was a bad day to drink nevertheless.
We arrived at the restaurant. Plenty of people there. New faces every time we go out. C’s family is a big one, when you stretch out and include aunts, uncles and cousins. I already dread the day when we’ll have to invite them all. Not sure there will be a big enough table here in Yilan. I hope my wallet is big enough though. I made pleasantries with the folks arrived and sat down. On the wall a big flatscreen TV was blazing away a Jackie Chan movie while we waited for the last people to arrive. All people safely there and the dinner could start.
The king of drinks had of course brought some rice liquor with him. This time it was not one bottle, but 2. This equals 1.2litre of 60% pure happiness. We were 5 men drinking. C’s father, 2 brothers-in-law, the uncle and of course me. The uncle had placed the drinkers strategically close, so there was no escaping the generous hands that was placed on the host. I was poured a big glass of liquor and the same was the 2 in-laws, while the uncle and C’s father only had half a glass.
We started out eating and even though I wasn’t hungry at all, I still managed to munch down a lot. Great dishes as always. The toasting began and I tried to drink moderately. C didn’t think so, but she is always brushed aside by her family when it comes to my involvement in toasting.
It had to happen. My glass was emptied and so I was poured yet another one. I could feel the uncle’s eyes on me. Well all people there had their eyes on me. They all wanted to see if I could drink or not. Until this day, I only really had one challenge here which wasn’t that bad. Since then, I had managed to get of a bit easier because of my stomach problems, but these were gone and rumor must have spread.
We finished off the liquor and turned to beer. One of my in-laws had a dropping head, so I guess he had enough. The uncle wouldn’t let me off easily so he started toasting more often. My stomach felt ok. The pace was not extreme and my already famous belly not suited for beer drinking was keeping up this far. So when the toasting changed to drink-all-in-your-glass I was in good shape. I was getting pretty drunk though. I know when I’d had enough, because this is the time I see double. That’s exactly what I did at that time. Still we finished 1 or 2 more glass of beer and the party was over. I’m sure I set my mark, but what was the cost?
Back home in the apartment I found out. I felt pretty ok, and after brushing my teeth I laid down to sleep. That’s when the payment was due. Suddenly I could feel the beer, liquor and food reappearing in my throat, so I rushed to toilet. I made it – well, almost. Let’s just say that I hit the toilet. The toilet, the outside of the toilet, the floor and part of my left arm to be precise (come on, you want to know, so stop squirming). My aim was bad and I was just a second too late. Bollocks. Instantly felt better of course, but not the finest moment. C rushed to check out what happened and pushed me aside. I was ready to start cleaning, but wasn’t allowed. C was too worried to be angry so she saved the “I told you so speech” for the morning. I wasn’t in the mood for reception anyway. C cleaned everything while I had a nap. That’s love, right?