The sweat seems to swelter beneath every pore. Your skin refuses to cool your body temperature. Every sinew is at an exhausting saturation point. 35°C sits two digits or so beneath your body temperature. With the added 74% humidity, the dew point (26°C) is long passed. It feels like 43°C. Saying, “It’s too hot”, has long become a fruitless task.

As is tradition, a flock of angry and hungry mosquitoes, descended upon me within Guangzhou Airport’s confusing subway/railway transit system. I arrived to a vast modern terminal by Guangzhou Baiyun (白云机场东) East and only needed a 5 minute train ticket to get to Baiyun North (白云机场北) but it took nearly an hour to transit. My eSim card failed to get a signal in the last 50 metres of underground tunnel to the ticket booth. A kind staff member provided a WiFi hot-spot after I’d attempted to buy a ticket only to lose the eSim signal at the ticket booth. I would make it back to my waiting duo no matter what.

“…she doesn’t give a solitary shit what I want.” – Bo, When the Cranes Fly South, Lisa Ridzén

The same happened at Baiyun North as I crossed onto a subway train. A man dressed all in black wearing only a body CCTV camera on his chest provided the WiFi hotpot. He was either Public Security Bureau or another government body. His English was crisp and clear. The subway took me to Guangzhou East Railway Station. Here a WiFi signal was found at the mall’s H&M clothing store. From then on it was plain sailing but I was regretting a lack of sleep on the flight to Shanghai from Manchester. My aches, pains, and caffeine-withdrawal-induced nausea were in full flight. That Costa Coffee in Shanghai certainly boosted me through a 3 hour delay.

During the journey, Ironwood, by thriller writer Michael Connelly, alongside When the Cranes Fly South kept me company. The former focuses on Detective Stilwell based on Catalina (a filming location of the nudist swimmer scene in the movie Jaws). Whilst not quite as sharp as the Harry Bosch or Ballard series of novels, the pages move fast. Due to time waiting in Manchester Airport, the book was finished by my 3rd day in Huizhou. Many welcome distractions and a spot of jetlag allowed a balanced approach to reading and pleasure. The journey also featured the movie Mr Burton which was a lovely flick about the rise of actor Richard Burton. “No one would have believed…” Eventually a solo became a duo that hooked into a trio.

After an early afternoon of swimming in a river by Aiwei village (隘尾村 – see also 五塔云山农庄 广东省惠州市惠东县梁化镇七星墎隘尾村), our reunited triplet hunkered down for a night and day inside sheltering from Typhoon Hongxia/Whatitsface. The big bugger flattened the majority of the garden complex’s trees and crushed a few cars and bikes. The air mostly felt comfortable throughout Sunday the 26th. By late evening, the relentless humidity was back to ensure my lack of suitable t-shirts would remain ever drenched.

To be continued…