Silent but Deadly

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Notice - This entry is more about the pics than the stories, so sorry in advance for the sub par writing. I'll work on getting myself into a few more awkward situations.

Electric scooters / mopeds seem are a bit intense here (as I assume they are across most of Asia). There's just one problem with them - they seem to have the same privileges as both pedestrians and automobiles. When they are in the street, this isn't a problem for me, but when they are on the sidewalks it gets a bit crazy. And they are definitely "allowed" to use the sidewalks because I've seen traffic cops wave them out of the street onto the sidewalk - granted they were waved out of the street because they were going the wrong-way down a one way road. Anyways, they are especially dangerous because they are electric, so they don't make any noise when they come up behind you (and they surprisingly don't honk). It hasn't happened yet, but I know I'm going to lose an elbow are two to some maniacal rider.

In other exciting news, I went to the post office today to mail a couple of postcards, and I had to do a double take when the lady behind the counter grabbed an abacus to calculate my change. Seriously, an abacus! And it was sitting next to a calculator! And even crazier, I looked around and saw one at every station. It was pretty cool to watch her use it so quickly - too bad she got the total wrong (I was shorted about 50 cents).

Now to cover some of the pictures. The two panda shots are from the Panda Breeding Research Center here in Chengdu. There really aren't too many comments for those. They're pandas. But they were pretty lively when I was there.

The nature pics are from two parks that I visited over the last week - Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong. Both were absolutely amazing (especially Jiuzhaigou). I just missed the peak of the fall colors, but I really can't complain.

The last three pics are from the People's Park in Chengdu. Every weekend this place comes alive when all of the artists in town come out of the woodworks to perform. We're talking three rival karaoke stands, dancing groups (tango, waltz, break, and line dancing), a lady making artistic candy pieces (which were amazing), several men writing beautiful calligraphy poetry on the pavement with large paintbrushes (it's quite something to see such beautiful work start to disappear before the artist even finishes writing), and more that I can't even remember. It really is sheet chaos, but it's so great to see so many people out having a great time.

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Photos

Jiuzhaigou 11
I'm pretty sure I broke at least two park rules to get this pic - I'm off the trail and about 40 feet up a communication tower - but I'd definitely say it was worth the effort!

Chengdu - People
I like how the guy passing by is staring at me. I think I was the only adult male in the park who bought one of these!

Chengdu - People
Check out the dragon-shaped candy this lady just made!

Chengdu - People
It's hard to describe how beautifully these guys can write.

Comments

[cherise]

amazing pics!

[Caroline]

fabulous pics!!
Andy, glad you are enjoying yourself - we are definately enjoying the blogs, glad you decided to write. Your photographs are amazing.

[perks]

Hi Caroline, Good to hear from you! What exciting gossip am I missing from the Consulate? And are the ladies actually following my adventures? I'll be sure to make a trip back after my travels to regale everyone with my stories over some good happy hour drinks :) Andy

[Kate]

I want a panda!
Andy - you MUST grab one of those cute pandas and ship him back to me! And props for climbing a tower illegally to grab that photo. And how difficult/expensive is it to travel around China? Are the distances and train travel long, or not bad?

[perks]

Kate - I'm frightened to know how much one of those pandas costs. To hold one for 2-3 minutes costs $150! I don't know anyone who did it, but I did see some people doing it. As for difficulty, it's actually not too bad. If you stay to most of the main sights, then the people running the desk at the hostels are super helpful. The distances are medium - the longest train ride so far was 16 hours. Most of the long ones I have been able to do overnight. And, as for expenses, it's really not bad. I've budgeted about $50 a day, and I've been under that easily on most days. Most of the hostels have run about $7.50 and long train rides are $20-30.

[Eileen]

where are the pictures of the FOOD??
I really really hope you are finding out about all the different types of food there. Chengdu, Sichuan, wow that is the motherland of some really good food.

[perks]

Hey Eileen, I am definitely trying to sample the regional fare. The best meal so far was Yak with tomatoes and garlic in far Western Sichuan (considered a Tibetan adjacent region)