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Ahh.. the struggle of getting to Chengdu! After having such a wonderful experience on the Beijing to Xi'an train trip, Dave and Sarah were gung ho about taking another 17 hour train to Chengdu. I was not so sure.... In the lobby of our Xi'an hotel, we met with a travel agent to discuss day trips etc.. They always try to get you to go everywhere. "Stefanie" kept describing various things we could do saying how "very, very nice" each place was. Since she was also booking our train tickets, I asked her about the Chengdu train. "Is it nice, will we be comfortable like the Beijing train?" She frowned. "Beijing train veddy new. Chengdu train old. Not so nice. Plane, maybe better." This was enough for me. If a local is telling you it's "not so nice" then it really must suck. Because they are used to some pretty low conditions, as far as I'm concerned. Dave was not deterred and insisted we should still take the train. I began to sink in my chair and pissed Dave off royally by declaring I would fly and meet them in Chengdu. Just before full blown war broke out, an American woman
approached our table. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. I live in China and I would HIGHLY recommend you fly. I just took the Chengdu train and it was miserable. These are COUNTRY trains. There are no compartments and they refuse to open the windows because of the dust so, its stifling. On top of that, once everyone is seated, they allow the 25 cent ticket holders to barrage the train and sit where ever they find a space so, they will climb on your bunk, sit on your floor etc.." At the end of this discourse my chin had hit my chest and Dave and Sarah were struck mute. A silence ensued. Dave paused and said, " I guess we're flying". Thank you GOD because although I've definitely improved on what I can bare on this trip, I don't think I could have handled that SEVENTEEN hour train ride!!
Chengdu is the capital of the Schezuan province and also a big city. It was really just a stopping point for us to gain entrance into Tibet. China makes tourists jump through hoops to travel to Tibet. You need a special visa and pay an extra charge as well.
Such a pain, but Chengdu specializes in it. We stayed at an excellent hostel and spent a couple of much needed rest days. We had TV's with DVD's in our room and would just sit and watch movies each evening. Chengdu is know for one great attraction: PANDAS!!!
The largest Panda research facility is in Chengdu so, we took a day trip and absolutely loved it. At first, we weren't so sure if we'd actually get to the Panda park because a classic Chinese situation ensued. We booked our Panda tour through our hostel and at 8 am we gathered with ten other tourists to enter a van and be driven to the park. Seems simple, right? Well, two of the people had to be driven to the airport after the panda excursion. Still pretty straight forward, correct? So, on our return from the park, the driver would have to swing by the airport before letting us all off at the hotel. (The airport is only 10 minutes away). In typical Chinese fashion, the driver FLIPPED out. He absolutely could not comprehend the additional airport stop BECAUSE the hotel had not informed him the night before. After ten minutes of this I wanted to bang my head against a wall. It is so frustrating dealing with their closed mentality. We sat for a half hour while this guy screamed and stamped his foot, totally unwilling or unable to think outside of the box and accept that he was going to make another stop. Ultimately, some arrangement was made, unknown to us because they were all SCREAMING in Chinese and we finally made it to the Pandas! The park is well maintained (thanks to the World Wildlife Foundation) and the pandas are SOOOO cute. We watched them feed, play and sleep (something they do very well). The baby pandas are unbelievably adorable. You just want to take them home and snuggle with them. Even Dave was enthralled and we spent hours observing and taking WAY TOO MANY photos. We all want pandas!!!
That's it for China proper, we are now on our way to Tibet and although the Chinese have forcibly established their rule on this land, we look forward to delving into what is left of the fabled Shargri-La.
For all you nay sayers regarding my TRUTHFUL observations of Chinese life...(I've already heard Donna's retort that they think we're disgusting for using tissues.) This is my answer: WHATEVER! The Chinese government KNOWS its repulsive! They have begun a national campaign trying to ban all hacking, snorting, spitting and snot rockets before the 2008 Olympics!!' They even stopped manufacturing spittoons last year....Good luck. In my opinion, it will never happen. These people are obsessed with distributing their own mucus. As I write this email, I hear them hacking on the street every FIVE minutes. No exaggeration. To quote our lovely Sarah one more time: "I have NEVER had my gag reflex triggered so many times in my life than in China!" Truer words were never spoken😊)
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anonymous
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Mucos
Ah Vanessa...I could totally empathize with you on the mucos...YUK and, I agree that it will never change...there's how many...1 billion+ people there and they are all going to be educated in the "proper" bodily fluid etiquette in the next 3 years???????? right!!!Loved the pictures and miss you all Love, Barbie - Barbie