Hi All,
Chinese new year has been a real problem with travel
at the moment. We ended up having to fly from Lhasa to Chengdu on a
relatively cheap fight. The airport is 65km from Lhasa and we left
about 3hrs to get checked in thinking this would be ample time. There
were two huge queue at the ENTRY to the airport terminal which
progressed very slowly given that there was only one xray machine per
queue. It was quite irritating with security letting certain people
advance directly to the airport for no apparent reason and I was quite
annoyed by the time we got past this first check only to be pulled up
having to identify just about every bump in every pocket on my body
which is a lot given I was wearing a vest, expedition coat and cargo
pants. Then it was on to check in which was moving very slowly. The
flight boarding was approaching very quickly and for some reason our
passports and boarding passes were being held. Then security came over
and I had to unpack some of my backpack to show then that the the small
kettle inside was not a bomb. Then another security check and the same
process. My temper was just about boiling over at this point. We
arrived at the gate lounge with about 30 min to spare. What a drama!
The
flight was very bumpy for most of the 1.5hrs and we arrived at Chengdu
airport and were offloaded onto a bus. Then the frightening part of the
journey. Forget the bumpy aircraft ride. The bus driver from the
aircraft to the terminal made a habit of nearly crashing into things
then braking as if in an emergency situation throwing many of the
people around the inside of the bus. A relief to get to the terminal
alive.
No problems with luggage and our pickup was there to meet us. Very efficient.
Chengdu environment reminded us of Beijing 15 years ago. Grey skies. Is that fog or smog? or both mixed together?
It
was a bit of a shock arriving back in a large city. Chengdu has almost
as many people as Sydney, Australia. Our driver was demonstrating the
usual asian driving techniques. The merging was quite interesting and I
have no idea how we didn't have any collisions. The hostel was an oasis
in the chaos in the inner city. Sim´s cosy guest house. Really nice,
friendly staff and we had a nice cosy room on the 4th floor. Rm 412.
Don't really like Chengdu as a city. It is just another ugly concrete city...
First
for some food. We walked down to a large local supermarket. Only
problem was that everyone else in China had also decided that it was a
good day to go to the supermarket to buy for the Chinese new year. It
was a war zone! We only bought a few items and left shell shocked
vowing not to return.
Made arrangements to go to Panda research centre and then to the Leshan giant Buddha about 3 hrs away.
Next day.
Panda
research centre. Early start to get to the centre for the Panda feeding
with a group of American. China must be too safe. Was another
depressing grey sky. Park was excellent and there were many different
age Pandas feeding. They often lay back while eating the bamboo. Very
casual. We waited for a chance to hold a small Panda but then found out
that it would cost 1000yuan each or about AUD150 so decided against it.
Watched an interesting video on the breeding cycle showing the lack of
enthusiasm of the Pandas in the courtship and the shock shown at birth
by mothers and rejection of cubs. This obviously keeps the birth rate
low. Maybe it has something to do with breeding of captive Pandas who
have not been educated by their mothers. We then went for a look at a
couple of Panda cubs. Very amusing and probably the highlight of the
trip watching one making a jailbreak climbing up the bars then
slipping between them to get into another enclosure.
Leshan giant Buddha.
It
is about a 2.5hr journey from Chengdu to Leshan. Lots of fog. We shared
the transport with 3 British guys who were in China to study so the cost
was about the same as a local bus. We chose to go to the park rather
than take a ferry ride past the giant Buddha and went straight up to
the viewing area near the head. A very large statue indeed. Carved out
of the hill. 71m tall, ears 7m, shoulders sman 28m each of his big toes
8.5m long. A little hard to get a good photo as the statue was so large
and we could see Chinese who knew better getting a short ferry ride to
a bank in the river for a better view and no entry fee. We walked
around the park but it was hard to enjoy the views with the fog. The
British boys tried to get the driver to take us to the other side of
the river for a better view on the way back to Chengdu but the it was
impossible to see the Buddha through the fog.
We have been eating our main meal at the hostel. They have their own cook and a great area to relax. Cheap. Too easy.
We
have been enjoying having a TV and DVD player and have been curling up
in bed in the evening watching movies. Very homely. It is nice to have
a little piece of domestic privacy. Our own little home away from home.
We
have decided to head to Lijiang next and will have to fly again as it
is near impossible to get tickets for the bus or train with the
remarkable Chinese migration home. The numbers are in the 100s of
million of Chinese moving at the moment! The numbers are staggering.
Today we packed up our winter gear in my large backpack and sent it back to Ausralia. We walked over to the china post office near the hostel and two helpful staff put the pack in two boxes and then strapped it all together. They didn't speak English but were happy to help. It cost about AUD80 to send to Australia.
Next day.
We again went shopping for some new outdoor clothes and found so many shows it made it difficult to make a choice. Eventually we purchased some new waterproof coats and a smaller backpack for Vanessa.
We wanted to catch the bus back to the hostel but each time it was so full that we decided to walk into town. Eventually we found a bus with some space and became part of the daily Chinese guiness book of world records attempt at getting the most number of people aboard.
People came onto the bus through the middle doors. The payment point was at the front of the bus. Solution. Pass your bus pass or money to the people in front of the bus. Eventually the passes would make their way back after scanning. Very honest.
Later today we will head off to Lijiang.
Bye,
David and Vanessa
