Blogs from Chengdu, Sichuan, China, Asia - page 87

The day began with a weird moment when we arrived at 4am in Chengdu and nobody moved from their beds. We asked if we had arrived and were told we had, but, from what we could fathom the bus terminal does not open for a couple of hours and so people were not being kicked off the bus and were able to finish their nights sleep before they were actually dropped at the terminal. We got off however, had fun trying to find the way out and then took a taxi to the Mix Hostel. First impressions are that this is a good place to stay, and we’ve put in quite a bit of effort to getting to know it. For the first time in ages, today we stayed inside for almost the entire day, ... read more

Due to our extended stay in Hong Kong, we had to cut short our time in China and visit only 1 city outside Beijing. We selected Chengdu, in Sichuan province. We left Hong Kong early in the morning, and took a bus across the border to Shenzhen airport for our flight. Here, we recognized that unlike other places we'd visited, English wasn't going to be widely spoken in China! After an uneventful flight, we arrived in Chengdu and our great hostel, Sim's Cozy House, located in a traditional courtyard, with resident pet piglets. It served great (& spicy) Sichuan food and cheep Chinese beer, with a friendly atmosphere. Chengdu is in the middle of a wave of development, with streets being dug up for a new subway system, and many older residences either being renovated, ... read more

Geo: 30.6644, 103.936Back to Chengdu... read more

Chongqing to ChengduMatt and Ed Matt: After four days of singing, dancing and drinking our way down the Yangtze, we were woken for the final time by the chimes of our cabin tannoy followed by a couple of lines of Chinese and (apparently) an English translation. Ed (who has become an expert in Chinglish), explained that the message had announced our arrival in the city of Chongqing and told us that we were being booted off the MV Emperor. I groaned, and through a half opened eye, peered out of our porthole only to be depressed by what lay beyond. Chongqing definitely would not win any beauty contests! Its 32 million residents cling precariously to the sides of several rocky mountains that drop steeply into the brown polluted waters of the Yangtze. Apart from its huge ... read more

Well I guess I should start with an April Fool's joke but I can't be bothered! I don't think it's 'celebrated' here, so when in Rome... Summer is officially here in Sichuan. If you live in China or happen to be here when the season changes, you'll notice they change within a blink of an eye, literally within a week. A week ago I was wearing a cardigan, the occasional scarf and wasn't even considering exposing my toes to the air! However since then it has jumped several degrees to the mid 20'Cs, the sun has been out (very unusual for Chengdu as we are on a plain and what with that and the pollution, we rarely see blue sky) and the air-con has become a necessity! I have been moaning about being cold for ... read more