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Published: April 27th 2007
Day 30
Most of today was spent on the train to Chengdu and we used the time to relax and read and eat in Mark's case! We made a very special purchase on the train and now feel like we have truly embraced the Chinese travelling style. We bought ourselves a flask, not just any flask, a flask with a little plastic carrying handle so we could drink tea (and carry it) on the trains. The people here carry their tea everywhere with them, sometimes in flasks just like ours but mostly just in empty jam jars.
We arrived in Chengdu mid-afternoon and settled into our room at Sims Cozy Guesthouse, a great place that was very obviously designed for travellers by travellers. The rooms were clean and comfy, there 's a bar, restaurant, table tennis, DVD room, and the greatest of luxuries - loo roll! It's all based around a courtyard with a pond and running around it were a couple of small but noisy piglets (Dad you would have loved them!), a lazy cat and an adorable black puppy.
Having booked up our Yangtze river cruise we relaxed for the evening with dinner at the
hostel, a couple of beers with Jeremy and Carly (who we had met up with again), a spot of table tennis and a pirate DVD.
Day 31
Today was our first opportunity to wear our full wet weather gear - and we were pleased we had not brought the waterproofs along for nothing. We arrived at the Giant Panda Research Centre and loved watching the antics of the Red pandas and the Giant Pandas both large and small. They are very cute!
In the afternoon we wandered around the area close to the hostel and went into the Wenshu Monastery, a beautiful and very peaceful place with lovely gardens and lots of Monks and people playing games or doing tai-chi.
In the evening we met up with Jeremy and Carly to sample the local speciality, hotpot. This involves a large pot of spicy stock complete with whole fish and veg etc. You then go and pick skewers of various things to put in the pot to cook and pay according to how many skewers you eat. We played it safe by ordering a split pot, one side medium spicy - hot enough to set your mouth
on fire, and the other side mild. We had great fun choosing skewers to dunk in and a particular high point was when Jeremy came back with what he thought was octopus and turned out to be chicken feet! Not feeling brave enough we put these back!
We finished the evening back at the hostel with Jenga and drinking games - trying to introduce everyone to nominate, one touch snatch sweety jenga! Very drunk we headed off to bed. A fab night!
Day 32
Not feeling at our very best we got up for our 6.30am pick up to take us the Chonqing for the start of our Yangtze Cruise. It was a long and very bumpy bus ride with some interesting service styation stops. Chrissie experienced the most weird toilet scenario yet. The 'cubicles' only come up to chest height and to even get in one you have to use some sharp elbow tactics - there's no orderly queueing here! You then have to squat over the trough as several people look over the door that doesn't close to see when you'll be finished. As soon you stand up, flies still undone, the next person is
in the cubicle before you are even out! All this and you still have to take in your own loo roll! Oh for English service stations!
Arriving in Chonqing we found what was probably the poshest coffee shop that China has to offer and lounged about nursing a coffee and reading our books for a couple of hours, too tired to stomp about and try to find what sights were on offer.
We board our boat at 8pm tonight and set sail down the Yangtze at 11pm.
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Cath & Pete
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To Scotland ... and rain
Hello my loverlys. Just killing time waiting for the husband to pick me up and wisk me away to sunny scotland (well it has been sunny this week ... all set to change for the cycling trip though ... makes it worth carrying the wet weather gear as you say!). We are splendid - but not drinking quite as much as you guys I don't think (Pete may prove me wrong on that statement in the next week with all the whiskey planned). Lots love. Cath PS pete turns 30 on Wednesday....