Blogs from Sichuan, China, Asia - page 9

Arriving at Leshan train station i was finally blessed with some warm sunshine for a second i even cursed not having my sunglasses as I couldn't see a thing whilst looking for directions to the bus. Leshan is a relatively small city and seemed quiet sleepy when i arrived at my hotel many places I'm guessing are having extended New Years holidays but from my brief time here there seem to be quite a few places closed down and looking a little rough around the edges. It's a possibility that that the city focuses a lot on the Buddha scenic area which looks quite nice and not much else but that is just from the little i have seen in my 2 days here. Also considering what a huge tourist attraction the Buddha is I'm a ... read more

Left Xiahe in snow - the truck was covered in icicles but fortunately it wasn't cold enough to freeze the diesel. We had a slow trip through some mountain passes and camped by some prayer flags at 3378 metres. Next morning the tents were covered in a blanket of snow. Hoping this is the end of the cold weather as we have now descended to Chengdu. The road wound down through a river gorge with amazing scenery, and what I would describe as typical Chinese towns and villages. There were a number of very long tunnels (Futang Tunnel 5347 metres long). Now settled into a hotel in Chengdu in the heart of the tourist area, and near the Chinese Opera. And now for the tourist activities: First the Pandas at the Giant Panda Breeding Centre - ... read more

Monday 12/9/16 - The last two weeks have been really good. I have been doing something every afternoon. Brad and I have been going to Jenny's home (which is Levi's homestay), where Levi and I would watch a movie and Brad and Jenny would do homework. We have had food at a bunch of places. Food here is pretty different, but so far I'm doing okay. I'm tired all of the time and I try to get as much sleep as possible ... but all is good. Sunday 18/9/16 - We have just had a three day weekend for mid-Autumn Festival and Levi, Seth and I went to the movies and we watched the new Ice Age (it was really good). Oberon slept over and Brad moved house ... and i want to go home...... read more

Day 13-14 was the weekend. On Saturday we went to my home stay friend's house, which was a total trap. When we got there he was playing computer games and when we left, he was still playing computer games. While i was there i listened to music and sat there eating food and being bored. Anyway, we went home after that and i made spaghetti for dinner. On Saturday, i slept in until 10:30 am. When i got up and when everyone else got up, we had breakfast. Then we called an Uber and went to the markets next to the Chengdu museum. While we were in the Uber, we asked Siri how to beat-box. Siri said, All you have to do is say, "Boots and cats and boots and cats, over and over again." Then ... read more

Hello every one. China is certainly phenomenal. My experience here so far has been a brilliant one. I love the food and the student I am staying with is realy nice; her name is Zoe and she plays recorder and likes listening to music. Because we listen to very different genres of music it is quite interesting to compare our favourite songs. I have really enjoyed integrating into this extremely different culture, however I've also enjoyed experiencing the tourism side of China. Main lesson here has been really interesting, especially when Lisa teaches the lesson collaboratively with the Chinese teachers. For main lesson we are studying the 'Earth in Movement' and we have been asked to do a project for the duration of the main lesson. For my project I have chosen to focus on the ... read more