Blogs from Kangding, Sichuan, China, Asia - page 2

The government restrictions imposed on Tibet has made the journey a pain in the arse and expensive. The government has imposed a permit system thus making travelling to Tibet illegal without a permit, on top of this they stipulate that you have to go on a private tour which is expensive. After finding all this out plus the fact that you can’t go off and do your own stuff, you are herded thought racing from one check point to the other, we decided to abandon our Tibetan adventure till another time. Instead we decided to travel from Chengdu through western Sichuan into north western Yunnan heading to Shangri-La. After speaking to various people who have made the trip they informed us that as this route borders Tibet you will experience the Tibetan way of life as ... read more

We are currently in Kangding. I'm beginning this blog two weeks into our trip to China when we hope that it will become much more adventurous. We came to China at this time of year because of the total solar eclipse on July 22nd...more about that later. I was able to do a bit of business on the trip in Suzhou and Weifang.... read more

This was my first July 4th outside of the US. Ironically, I spent the day trapped on an 8 hour bus ride though remote China... and as I wrote this entry we were stuck and not moving in traffic. The driver actually turned off the bus. He and the bus assistant got out and walked around. Even the monks in the truck next to us became restless and started wandering. Women on bikes went vehicle to vehicle selling snacks and drinks from their bike baskets. Also ironically, my email acct was disabled due to suspicious activity. I'm one of at least 3 people I know to have this happen to them. I'm just hoping I wasn't really hacked and am grateful that the problem was resolved within day or so. Neither of these was the independence ... read more

Frueh frueh morgens sind wir aufgebrochen. Um 7:00 zum Busbahnhof und dann 8 Stunden mit dem Bus nach Kanding. Von 500m Chengdu ueber einen Pass von ueber 4200m nach Kangding, das auf 2600m liegt. Eine Kleinstadt, bevoelkert von Chinesen und Tibeter. Die groesste Stadt der westlichen Provinzen von Sichuan. Ein Flughafen und groessere Hotels haben die Chinesen bereits im Bau. Nach der Eincheckung in ein Hostel fuer 2.- euro die Nacht, ohne Heizung, bei 10 grad, haben wir uns aufgemacht zum Tempel. Die Hohe und die Kaelte haben uns ein wenig zugesetzt. Aber gut. Langsam, langsam. Wir kamen genau richtig zur abendlichen Prozession der Moenche. Impossant, der Gesang und die Intrumente. Klar, keine Fotos. Nach einem traumhaften tibetischen Abendessen, mit Yaksteak (Hochlandrind), Yakbuttertee und Zampa (ein Gemenge auch Buttertee und Buchweizen) haben wir uns bereits um ... read more

Steven/ After the calf busting Mount Emei, we have decided to take it easy for a bit. We,re now heading to Western Sichuan, where the influence will become more and more Tibetan once again. After escaping the tourist melange at Emei Shan, we had to make a stop in a town called Ya'an. This place is famous as, in 53 BC, the first tea tree was planted on a nearby mountain. A wide river runs through the town, which we walked along. We were slightly ripped off for 15 Yuan for two simple dishes, but this was cured later, when we miraculously found a restaurant in a long stretch of garden along one side of the river which had a waiter of sorts with really good English! In this town the older citizens, after dinner, ... read more