Hi everyone!! Hope you are all well, not long to Vietnam now.
So I have packed my bags and left Urumqi. I am now in Chengdu, having lots of fun and making new friends. Yes thats right I am talking about Chengdus famous pandas. Now if I bought one home then my excess baggage weight would be through the roof. Yes I was over the limit by 4kg on my flight to Chengdu, I really should stay away from the markets, if only everything wasn't so appealing and so damn cheap...
So Chengdu was a great place to start my trip. The hostel is fun and full of other tourists like me, yes its peak time and very very hot and humid. It makes walking around verry tiring, or may be I am just lazy..So I visited the pandas on my first day, took many photos and even forked out 400 yuan for a photo with one, I couldn't resist and the money goes towards the pandas so I justified it... I could have stayed all day and just watched them, very entertaining, but they tend to sleep for the entire afternoon so the tour ended at 11:00.
So also in chengdu I have visted many temples and monastry's, all very beautiful with nice and cool gardens to sit in. Also another highlight in Chengdu is Leshan, the worlds biggest buddha sitting at 71 m tall. Its carved into the side of a cliff at the point where three rivers meet. Lots of ships went missing so a monk decided to build the buddha to watch over the ships on the river. It was massive, photos can't capture it, though I took many from all angles. Sorry I will upload photos later, I got impatient as it takes so long for them to upload so they will be posted later.
So I have 7 nights in Chengdu as my flight out was delayed a day. It has been nice to take it easy and not rush around like a chicken with its head cut off. Also I have been to the markets and bought more stuff. Tomorrow I am making a trip to the post office, hopefully they will not take all my money..
Travelling alone is a totally new experience, you meet lots of people, but its kinda nice to do what you want without worrying about another pperson. Then on the other hand its extra tiring as you have to plan and make all decisions on your own. That means for me getting lost every day so walking twice the distance I really have to as I first walk in the wrong direction. My map reading skills have not improved, but its fun I get to see more this way.
So I leave CHengdu on Wednesday, next stop Xi'an and the famous warriors. I am having a blast..But missing everyone and my own bed. Can't wait to see some lucky people in Vietnam. And dad take it easy, alcohol is not always your friend...
Lots and lots of love from Katie XXXXXXXXXX
