Blogs from Chengdu, Sichuan, China, Asia - page 86

Today we woke up early to drive 2 hour away to Ermei Mountain and to see the Giant Buddha. This Buddha is, I believe, the largest sitting Buddha in the world. It is carved into the side of a mountain with such precise detail that I am just in awe. In addition to the Buddha, there a many other carvings into the sides of the mountain that are a bit weathered but noticeable visible. We began by hiking up a stone staircase path that wound back and forth up the side of the mountain. At one point, we stopped to visit a temple where we go the chance to walk through and look at all the different Buddha’s and experience the culture of the people who worship. One of the most interesting parts for me ... read more

It is a well established fact that I have a love of food, in fact, I like to say that "I live to eat, not the other way around". In the past I have tried to deny my problem, I ran away from the issue and hoped that it would just go away, however it hasn't. So, my friend Ory and I came up with a solution, a way for me to once and for all get over my obsession with stuffing my face with copious amounts of cake/brownies/burgers/muffins and anything else tasty. We dedicated a day to food. The location for our binge was Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, which is famous for its spices and snack food. Ory and I were surrounded at every turn by tasty treats, cheap eats, spicy devils and ... read more

My mother and my little sister are coming to visit me for three weeks. This is going to be intense. My duties as a free tour guide include: setting up hair appointments, arranging accommodations, making restaurant recommendations, planning shopping trips, acting as a free personal shopper for relatives not coming to China, providing bargaining expertise, working as a translator and decoding nebulous statements such as "I want to go somewhere nice." Somewhere nice.... Inner Mongolia is nice, eating dinner in the Sheraton is nice, sitting on a mountain and drinking tea in a remote temple is also "nice." :) This trip will crush dreams and shatter illusions, mine as well as the people traveling with me. So, stay tuned folks this will be a laugh riot. A few minutes ago, I looked over at the computer ... read more

Another quiet day, well for blog material anyway. We both felt quite miserable today as we have seemed to pick up a bad cold each. This is what happens when you actually hang around the hostel, rather than what we do usually and only use the place to sleep in. We then flew to Lijiang in the evening. Arriving in this exquisite little ancient refurbished town, after an earthquake a few years ago. As a UNESCO Heritage site, a lot of money has been put into rebuilding the city as it was. The shuttle bus took us, not really that surprisingly, to the airport shuttle bus terminal in town where taxi drivers stand proud next to their taxis, looking as though they were ready to go. However we were usherd out the gate and told quite ... read more

The 1st of May signalled the beginning of the 'Golden Holiday' here in China, which meant that us teachers get until the 7th of May to relax and forget about our lovely little terrors that we teach every week. Funds not allowing me to take off to Beijing or similar, I decided to stick around in Sichuan Province and take a trip to Yibin, which is a port city approximately half the size of Chengdu, set in the mountains and which also has the famous river Yangzi running through it. Yibin is the home of 'bai jiu' ('buy joe'), the notorious 'fire water', an alcoholic drink that one usually drinks straight, down in one. I've never tried it as I haven't touched alcohol for a few years now, but if the smell's anything to go ... read more