Having arrived in Nanjing after a long flight I was a little peckish – but ending up with 11 kebabs was probably going a bit far.
After a long journey and a bit of sleep, I decided to take a look at the streets below.
By below, I mean really below – my hotel room on the 46th floor looks down on quite a few cranes from above.
Determined not to have room service or eat in the hotel (although I’m sure it’s very nice) I set off onto the streets.
With map in hand, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, I walked down Hunan Street which was a hive of activity.
A woman and her son played badminton beneath a street light – it was about 9.30pm – as hundreds of people walked by.
I walked past a McDonald’s and a KFC – I’d not come thousands of miles to go there.
But I didn’t fancy going to a restaurant on my own like a total Billy No Mates.
I also didn’t fancy going to one of the Chinese fast food outlets. With no pictures or any details in English, I wasn’t in the mood for a game of charades at the counter as I tried to work out what was on offer.
So a bit off the beaten track, I found a little market.
Street traders cooked their wares, mixed with others selling clothes, toys, DVDs and all sorts of stuff.
At least here I could actually see what was being cooked, and I could point - which is where I also went wrong.
I pointed at some sort of pork on a stick kebab thing and raised a finger to signify I’d like one please.
The man sort of asked if I wanted any more, so I raised another finger. Two fingers raised separately – and 11 were put on the barbecue.
I sat on a little stool behind the stall, and waited for my feast to arrive.
It was too much and I ended up giving a lot of it away before I went on to the other stalls and trying only one of everything else – some corn on the cob, prawn thing and what looked like a steamrollered spring roll.
It was all pretty nice; I just hope I don’t get ill now.