Just like two years ago SWMBO and I wearing face masks boarded the 181 bus at its terminus just around the corner. We had our temperatures checked and sat in the air-conditioned bus for the journey across the city to the medicine and spice market where SWMBO bought tea and some dried orange peel which SMBO assures is a great addition to tea and soups. We then carried on walking to the pedestrian walkway which spans the monstrous traffic intersection, climbed the circular stairs and then descended to the ancient foot bridge onto Shamian Island. We walked around Shamian Island and indulged in a cup of tea and a slice of cake (expensive and mediocre) each while sheltering from the afternoon heat and humidity (36C and 70%). Be aware that everything is expensive on Shamian Island. We then retraced our steps, crossed the bridge, and headed for the fish market. Its official name is Huangsha Aquatic Products, but everybody calls it The Fish Market. All I can say about the market that if comes out of the sea and it’s not a submarine it’s for sale in the market. Just be aware there’s water and ice everywhere because the aquatic products are expected to be fresh. The smell is also rather overpoweringly fishy. Also be aware that the rolling pin on a stall isn’t for rolling pastry but for killing fish, if you’re a little squeamish best not to watch or you won’t enjoy your next fish dinner. It’s a busy place with huge trucks squeezing through the narrow roads while mopeds and tuck-tucks weave in between. Oh dear! The price of salmon has nearly doubled since our last visit. Nothing under ¥100 a jin, and SWMBO settled for a stall selling at ¥108 a jin. Note: salmon in Chinese is 三文鱼 （san, wen, yu）。 Note: a jin is half a kilo, i.e 500 grams, and it’s the most common weight measure in China. There are 460 grams to the pound. SWMBO bought five jin. Two as a present to a good friend, and three for me. The salmon was sliced in very nice ‘steaks’ contrary to the usual thin slices used for sushi in the Japanese restaurants and take-aways dotted around the city. Another jin of alive shrimps was also popped into our shopping bag. All packed in ice for our taxi ride home. SWMBO cooked me a salmon steak with garlic, onion and chill, accompanied by plain boiled white rice for dinner. I washed it down with a glass or three of Great Wall Chardonnay. A delicious end to an afternoon’s adventure.

After a hiatus of a little over four months caused by Covid-19 and then the rainy season (which hasn’t yet finished) there’s finally something new to scribble about. Over the last month or so we visited BaiYun Shan, YunTai Garden, YueXiu Park, GuangZhou Sculpture Park and GuangZhou Children park (all TA reviewed) but there was nothing special to write about except for the skywalk that now links the Sculpture Park to YueXiu Park. I gather this will eventually link many of the city’s parks but it’s not fully open yet and there are still virus restrictions in some parks and if you’re not a local with the correct apps on your mobile then there can be access problems. We’ll certainly tramp its full length later in the year. Anyway, back to the fish market. Its official name is Huangsha Aquatic Products, but everybody calls it The Fish Market. On the domestic front I like eating cooked salmon for dinner a couple of times a week and SWMBO was complaining that locally this delicacy had become mega expensive at about ¥100 a Jin (500 grams). Something had to be done and she’d been told that salmon at The Fish Market was considerably cheaper, so a visit was called for. As an aside, most of the salmon here sliced thinly and used raw for sushi in the Japanese restaurants dotted around the city. That’s OK but I really like it cooked, especially by SWBO. Occasionally, SWMBO gets smoked salmon steaks from ShangHai which are a very nice treat. We took the 181 bus (wearing face masks and after the driver took our temperatures) from our local bus stop in KeZiLing District to the GZ TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) hospital opposite ShaMian Island. Then we carried on walking towards Huangsha Metro station. Of course, SWMBO perused the medicine and spice market and bought our favorite orange tea which saves us a trip to the tea market south of the river. Not far from the metro station entrance we climbed up the pedestrian walk-way across the monstrous traffic intersection and came down near one of the two ancient foot bridges onto ShaMian Island. SWMBO now declared we were lost, and we’d never find the fish market. I was rather puzzled as there was a definite fishy smell in the air and I mentioned this to SWMBO. One deep sniff and she was off like a bloodhound across the road and after about 100 metres were at to the market’s entrance. All I can say about the market that if comes out of the sea and it’s not a submarine it’s for sale in the market, and the further from the entrance the cheaper the salmon became. Just be aware there’s water and ice everywhere because the aquatic products are expected to be fresh. The smell is also rather overpowering and we’re not yet into full summer, even so SWMBO confessed to wobbly legs a couple of times. Also be aware that the rolling pin on a stall isn’t for rolling pastry but for killing fish, if you’re a little squeamish best not to watch or you won’t enjoy your dinner. After half-a-dozen salmon selling stalls SWMBO found a stall with a nice lady and they had a long chat about salmon. SWMBO wanted to buy a whole Norwegian salmon at ¥40 a Jin but I pointed out that neither of us was strong enough to carry the fish home and besides neither of us knew how to do the necessary to ‘butcher’ the thing. Finally, common sense prevailed and SWMBO bought a small side at a shade over 5 Jin which came to ¥357, say about ¥65 a Jin. The nice lady even cut it into three pieces and packed them in ice for the trip back home. With that we strolled back to the entrance and caught the No. 38 and then No. 238 bus back to our humble abode. We’d saved around ¥150 for the outlay of ¥10 on bus fares. I’m sure we’ll return to the fish market before long for more salmon and maybe a few scallops which is another of my aquatic culinary weaknesses.