Finally, I am pleased to say that on arrival in Cheng Du two things were obvious - firstly we had finally arrived far enough South that I can stop wearing everything I owe at once layered on top of each other giving me an abominable sow man type look and secondly here was a city where the pace of life seems to fit with my ideals!
Chengdu is much more laid back and relaxed than anywhere else we have been so far. The street of our hostel is lined with little tea shops and cafes and the restaurants do milkshakes, pizza and pasta - not that there is anything worng with Chinese food - but I could really do with a break!!!
On arrival in town we decided to go for a walk and check out the peoples park that we had been told about by a man in our previous hostel. It was about a min walk away and is definately the place the older Chinese like to hang out - about 40 and up I mean. It is amazing how active, in particular the lder generations, the Chinese are. Every park hosts Tai Chi clasees, exercise classes, groups of people dancing and people playing board games.
We seemed to stumble across what appeared to me open mike night in the park. Every corner we turned there seemed to be speakers and a microphone set up and a group of people gathered to cheer on friends intent on showcasing their talent..... or lack there of as the case may be. I tell you one thing, the Chinese have no shame! I don't think there is a word for embarrassed in the Chinese language - the concept seems entirely alien to them. No one with an ounce of talent seemed to be in charge of those microphones but that didn't stop people from belting out a song as loudly as they could manage with skipping, hopping and 'dancing' for the entertainment of the onlookers.
We entered a square in the middle of the park where a small raised stage could be found and this is when the true fun started. Someone said something over the microphone and all of a sudden we were surrounded by Chinese people clapping and cheering a watching us expectantly. Rod managed to escape and stood a safe distance away leaving Cherie and I surrounded by people trying to drag us up to the stage. A moustached man with a saxaphone approached and found out we were from Australia so started belting out something that vaguely resembled waltzing matilda and he wanted us to get up on stage to sing it!!! We tried to explain through fits of laughter that neither Cherie or I can sing to save ourselves and they finally relented although we were forced to dance with some Chinese women in the centre of the cirlce to Doe a deer which seemed to last forever before we managed to escape. During this entire escapade Rod did not try and intervene to save us once - instead he stood and filmed the whole thing!!! It was probobly one of the funniest moments of my life!
Yesterday we went to Leso to visit the worlds largest standing Buddha - unfortunately half of China also seemed to be there so we spend most of the day exploring the nearby temples which were relatively quiet! It was really beautiful and serene there - which is how I feel at most Buddhist temples.
Today we spent the morning at the Panda breeding centre in Chengdu. The Pandas were gorgeous!!! Although the adult ones look like people dresed up in suits and I couldn't help but wonder whether the whole thing was some ploy by the Chinese government to boost tourism in the country and they really were just Chinese men inside those Panda suits.... When we first arrived one of the Pandas walked down to the front of the enclosure, held up a paw as if it was waiving and posed, then turned it's head to the other side to give everyone a good photo opportunity before wandering off to eat bamboo again. It was very funny! We prob spent a good 45 mins just watching the younger pandas fight. Apparently after they have eaten in the mornings they just sit and do nothing - they get something like drunk from the bamboo so it was just as well we got there in the morning! The life of a Panda doesn't seem to bad actually.....
