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November 8th 2008
Published: November 8th 2008
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My new friendMy new friendMy new friend

he was flirting with me at the airport
We've been out of touch a couple of days since we began the Yangtze River Cruise portion of our trip and there was no internet connection on the boat. Never fear, I took good notes and will do a blog for each day to catch up.

Wednesday:

Another early flight and we are off to Chongqing, called the Detroit of China. Not much to claim for any tourist interest, except that this is where most Ynagtze River cruises begin and end. We had about a half day here to kill. First we went to the Panda House. This is where I was hoping I could make a “small contribution in US Dollars and pet a Panda” but as hard as we tried they wouldn’t go for it. So we just got to see them sleep and eat. The surprise of this visit was the Lesser Pandas. I’d never heard of them but they are not quite as endangered as the Great Panda but almost. They look like Racoons and act like cats. You have to see Ernest’s pictures of them. Unlike Giant Pandas, they are very social and stay in groups. We saw a couple of them eyeing a
Lesser PandasLesser PandasLesser Pandas

look like racoons, act like cats
third that had some fruit and it looked so much like a cat planning to pounce it was uncanny. We also saw some Tibetian Bears, another first for me. They had been rescued from a zoo so they did little tricks for cookies. The male would turn around in a circle and the female waved at you and got into a couple of curious poises to get your attention to throw her a cookie.

After a Sichuan lunch, we took a stroll through Old Town Chongqing. This section of town dates back to the 40’s and is scheduled to be torn down soon for condos. This was a very curious mix of old China neighborhoods, with everything you could ever need just a few doors away. The people there never saw western visitors so we were as much a curiousity to them as they were to us, but very friendly letting us take pictures of them and explain what they are doing.

We had dinner on the 10th floor of some highrise in downtown then finally got to the river cruise boat after a very long day and settled in to start early the next day.



Additional photos below
Photos: 20, Displayed: 20


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Lesser PandaLesser Panda
Lesser Panda

more fun to watch than Giant Panda today
Giant PandaGiant Panda
Giant Panda

just sleeping
Giant PandaGiant Panda
Giant Panda

and eating
Giant PandaGiant Panda
Giant Panda

and eating
Tibetan BearTibetan Bear
Tibetan Bear

this one dances in a circle for a cookie
Tibetan BearTibetan Bear
Tibetan Bear

this one wanted in on it too
Tibetan BearTibetan Bear
Tibetan Bear

cute trick
Cleaning feetCleaning feet
Cleaning feet

several of these on the streets
Old ChongqingOld Chongqing
Old Chongqing

going through an alley that really shows old China
Old ChongqingOld Chongqing
Old Chongqing

this neighborhood has everything
Food stallsFood stalls
Food stalls

anything you want in the food stalls like these pigs noses
MahjongMahjong
Mahjong

playing in the street passing time
Typical Typical
Typical

the Chinese we met have been very friendly; here they were just as amazed by us as we were of them
Living quartersLiving quarters
Living quarters

back behind the shops are the living areas
Fat CatFat Cat
Fat Cat

in the food market this cat was not even interested in all the fish around
Tea CeremonyTea Ceremony
Tea Ceremony

we went to a tea ceremony before dinner


8th November 2008

Chinese animal planet?
I will have to remind Grace to take a look at this blog. You did her proud. She is trying to go to Guatamala for Spring Break to work with monkeys. We Garrens here in Virginia have heard of the lesser Panda but then we live with a budding vet. Can't seem to bring ourselves to take back the latest cat so she may be here to stay. Pace yourselves so you have some energy to call and tell stories when you get home. Love you guys.
8th November 2008

I like the animals
The animals were so cute!!! Sorry that you didn't get to "pet a panda". Yuk! Pig's noses?? Did you eat any of those? Getting ready to watch the Georgia game. Hopefully it turns out better than last week.
10th November 2008

Pig snouts are good Southern food
Principal ingredient in souse. The pig is a marvelous animal. Virtually no part is inedible. May the eyes.
13th October 2009

Cruise
This must have been very exciting. Evelyn

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