Aeroplanes make me trump!!

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The flight here (to Chengdu) was fine, I couldn't stop trumping though, that always happens to me on planes. The food was alright too, we got some noodles with chicken, a bread roll and some watermelon. Yum yum. When we arrived we got the airport shuttle bus into town, then we had a bit of a hairy moment because I didn't have a map to find the hostel, just the address and directions written in English which none of the taxi drivers could understand. We asked in a travel agents and a hotel but no one could understand to help us. Matt was shouting me, because obviously it was my fault. Then our guardian angel came over and said in a chinese accent "where are you going?" It was a taxi driver who could speak a bit of English (and liked David Beckham), he wasn't sure which hostel it was but he thought he knew the address, so off we went, turned out he was right and he dropped us right outside the front door of the place we were staying. Nearly kissed the guy, instead I gave him a 60p tip. (the journey was only a pound)

Chengdu is much nicer than Shanghai and our hostel is pretty cool. Yesterday, we had a pretty crazy day. We got up early and went to the Panda research base, there were loads of pandas there (obviously!!) They were very cute, because we went in the morning, they were all out and about and very active. The little ones were the best, there were loads that are about 7-8 months old and they were all playing with each other and making everyone laugh. They are so funny to watch, they remind me of clowns. The big ones were climbing up trees, never knew they could do that. They looked bizarre - a great big fat panda sitting up a tree! I sat with a big panda and had my photo talken with him, I got to touch him, his fur was coarser than it looks, I thought he was going to be proper soft and fluffy. Matt went mad because I had to pay 50quid to do it and I was only next to it for 2 minutes. I thought it was worth it though, once in a lifetime oppurtunity really. Not many people can say they have cuddled a panda.

After that, we went back to the hostel and drank lots of beers. We met a guy called Matthew Smith whose Mother's maiden name was Brown and who has got a brother called Andrew Smith. Weird. We also met a horrible drunk guy who told me that he can get a massage with a happy ending for 30 yuan (about 3 pounds) down the road and that the dalai lama has told him he will give him job. He was really offensive sometimes, Matt thought he was hilarious and kept encouraging him to say nutty things. He also spat a big lump of grob into the ashtray, I was nearly sick.

I had a bit of a toilet incident as well. I went to the loo for a wee and there was someone in the western toilet so I went for the squatter. Because I'd drank quite a lot of beer, my balance was off and I leaned over and peed on my foot, I grabbed the toilet paper to wipe my foot and dropped it into the hole where i had just weed!! So I had to go outside and wash my foot in the sink.

Chengdu is in the sichuan province which is known for it's spicy food and is also famous for hotpot. So, last night, us and some other people from our hostel went to a hotpot restaurant. It was lots of fun - we tried some really weird food. We were with two lads from Taiwan who spoke Mandarin so they did all the ordering. Basically, they put a big bowl of hot oily broth in the middle of the table on a flame to keep it hot, then you order different raw meats and veg, they bring them all out on plates and you drop them into the hotpot to cook them. I tried a bit of everything, then asked what they were. I ate duck's blood, cow's stomach and duck intestine!!!!!!!! There was also beef, flowers, spring onions, ham and potato. In the middle of the bowl of broth is another smaller bowl of hot chilli oil. I dipped some meat in that - it was extremely spicy. It made me sweat. Some of the men on another table were sitting in their pants eating their food because their's was so hot and spicy.

So, today we are going to the people's park in a bit, then we can sit in the park, relax and write some postcards 😊

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