Sichuan, s’cis Cold Chengdu, Achcoooo

Tuesday 28th November 2006

Today’s geography lesson is on Sichuan in China: Located in Southwest China, Chengdu is the regional capital of Sichuan province. Today’s technology lesson is how to build websites, which is how I spent some of my day today, showing a lovely Brazilian girl how to build a website. Its cold still, I have got the hairdryer out to dry the last of my clothes (that I washed on Friday), and changed my flight from Saturday to tomorrow, so I depart Chengdu tomorrow morning to go a bit more south in search for warmth. Later…

You don’t get chips with it do you

Monday 27th November 2006

The joys of travelling doesn’t always come with chips, or obnoxious english travellers who want chips with everything in the middle of China. Perhaps they need to try rice chips, noodle chips or dog’s brains chips, something that I have crossed off my shopping list.

It’s nice to relax at the hostel, as it’s only costing just over £1 a night for a bed, a decent meal is about 50p and free hot water everywhere (this you find across China even in train stations and airports) means the tea I brought with me is free (still need my home comforts of a good old cup of Typhoo tea even though I am trying the local tea delights as well)

So a bit of time out to geek – make the most of free wireless internet. There is also a computer with free music exchange on it.

Trying to clear this sore throat I have at the moment. Some honey may do the trick its only about 30p from the supermarket down the road.

Geeked this evening as an English guy had lost all his music on the music exchange computer, so I lent him my music collection (we liked the same music, lots of 1980s and indie stuff). Also put some of my stuff on the hostel computer, glad to hear people had put some of it on later – see my music tastes aren’t that bad after all.

Still cold, debating whether to stay here or move on, I was going to go up the mountains for a night where there is a temple or ten million but I am templed out now, so I may see if I can change my flight tomorrow and leave on Wednesday.

Every living being has the same basic wish – to be happy

Sunday 26th November 2006

The Great Buddha – if you are in the UK did you see it on the BBC Holiday programme the other week? If so thats what I went to see. Carved into a cliff the great buddha meausres over 70m high – the largest buddha in the world and is surrounded by the oriental buddha park with more buddhas than you can count on 1 million hands and toes. The journey there was done by bus, coach and bus, first a bus to the local bus station, then a coach for over 2 hours then another little bus for 40 minutes (6p for this one). The coaches are very much like National Express Coaches in the UK, apart from little chineese ladies come round selling newspapers. There was a “Tea Lady” as well, but not serving tea – but to tell us where we were going, if I was to translate to English I am sure she said “Don’t try and have a crafty fag in the toilets because it is fitted with a smoke alarm but do sit back, relax and enjoy your journey up to the North of England”, or was that the North of the Great Buddha. The Great Buddha Park was a bit of a tourist trap, but all the same a magnicent site. A steep climb down to the bottom of the buddha put it all into perspective. What goes down then must go back up again, luckily I was one of the fit ones who got back up in one go, I didn’t envy some people though huffing and puffing after the first three steps. The journey back was interesting, the coach I caught (as instructed by the woman at the bus station) was only going as far as the south bus station in Chengdu and I was to find out that I would have to get a taxi back to the centre of Chengdu. However rather than leaving you stranded the Chineese give you some money back, so I was given 5yuan back in order to get a taxi. They did this with over half the people on the bus. Cute. Am taking to having showers late afternoon as the city is quite dusty and its nice to freshen up before having tea. Another plus side is that the showers are empty. They’re great showers really hot and powerful I could have stayed in them all night. The hostel is so clean, every five minutes someone is wiping the floor or cleaning something up, the only problem is washing will not dry. Time to get that hairdryer out, I knew I had brought it for a reason. Great tea – cost me 85p – very spicy noodle soup, I am becoming rather good with those chopsticks. Spent the evening chatting to a few english people who had done the world in reverse, from the Americas to New Zealand (we got on topic of how wonderful New Zealand was) to Australia to China to Thailand.

Chill’innnnnng Out

Saturday 25th November 2006

I am glad to be back in hostel land, although not quite the luxury of the past week it has an authenticity which I am thriving on. The temperature is equilivant of walking into a refriderator but the electric blankets really warmed up the place as there is no heating. I have been taking it easy today, wandered back “down town” to buy a jumper – all of £3.60 – a fleece. In china if you want to buy anything you get a ticket from someone then go to the cash desk to pay, they give you another ticket and a bag then you collect the item from the person who gave you the first ticket. Followed that? I also found some chineese thermal underwear, to keep me warm in the refriderator. These cost all of £1.80 so no big loss if I don’t wear them all that much. The numbers are painted on the back of the buses so its easy to hop on them – hopping off is a different matter so I suggest if you do end up in Chengdu that you give yourself half an hour to get off the god damm bus. Back at the hostel this afternoon to finally relax and gather together my thoughts as I have been chasing around for over a week and a half. Its nice to not have the pressure to have to cram so much into a day (or have a guide that won’t shut up). I think its finally hit me that I am out east far far away from home, I have finally wound down from work, london and the stresses that come with trying to live up to the expectations of the western world. I’m loving every minute of it even if my washing won’t dry, its freezing cold and I think I have a sore throat coming on. Time to phone home…

Cccrrrrgggakkrhhhpppptttt – Chengdu by foot

Friday 24th November 2006

Our last day together we had dumped the guide (maybe she got run ver by a pedicab) and experienced the real Chengdu by foot which I found really fascinating. So let me tell you a little about Chengdu. I am currently reading “Running a hotel on the roof of the world” by Alec Le Sueur – 50p from Wandsworth library over a month or so ago. As quoted from the book (page 13) Chengdu is the smellist city of the region of Sichuan where the sun never shines and it lived up to these expectations as it was like a miserable day in Manchester. Chengdu is also the capital of “cccrrrrgggakkrhhhpppptttt” – involoving snorthing from the back of your throat and throwing it all up in public. Lovely. There are ample supplies of cyclists in the city just like Beijing, cyclists have right of way over Pedestrians as well so beware when on a crossing and a cyclist just passes by and runs you over – a bit like London really. The only difference is the pedicab or two million that also do not give way to pedestrians. We left each other at midday to go our seperate ways, I was going 10 minutes up the road to a hostel and my friend back to Australia. Mix Hostel is where I have hit base for a few days, it seems quite nice, small, friendly and very clean but very very cold. A lot of people seem to have caught the flu here so they provided us with electric blankets only today so I was very lucky to have arrived today. I had a domestic day today posting parcels back to the UK (they would not allow me to post the DVD’s I had bought), washing (apparently it takes days to dry here – dammit I have run out of clothes) and catching up on afew emails and things. I had food at the hostel, which was all of about 70p for a big plate of rice and a local mug of tea. Most people are waiting for their permits to go to Tibet for a couple of days, I reckon I will give that a miss and just relax and gather my thoughts together. Later…

Things are not always as Black and White as they may seem

Thursday 23rd November 2006

Today was National “going to see Panda” day, this means that everyone who is in room 1822 and of the Australian or English nationalitiy must go and see a panda. So following local tradition off we went to see the Pandas at Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center, supporting the world’s only giant panda breeding and research base. Pandas are big black and white things, and they eat bamboo and to see them in the real was just awesome. What else can I say about this amazing creature? Not only did we get to see the big black and white ones but we also got to see some little baby pandas. Now imagine your big teady bear in black and white about about 2 foot high (or imagine that fluffy toy in Hamleys that you just loved the minute you saw it) now imagine them moving about a little trying to walk, you are now going into a deep sleep… (do I sound like paul mckenna?), how do you feel? Great? Yes, thats how I felt when I saw these amazing creatures. My friend wanted her photo with a panda (I wasn’t keen to be honest), paid up her money and made her dream come true, that was my friend set up not only for the day but the week, the month and the year, it was her year of the Panda that’s for sure. She then went on to have her picture taken with a little red panda. Little red pandas are not Red and White pandas as you may think (ever seen a red and white panda?) but actually look like foxes, not like evil city foxes but like little cute chineese foxes, they even have chopsticks in their paws and drink tea – how cute! After Pandaland we moved on to visit Wenshu Monastery, here we were to eat at the vegetarian restaurant which was really yummy. The chineese eat so much food, so much to even satify the fattest man on the planet, do not ever attempt to eat it all. I have now become an expert at eating with chopsticks. A visit to something called “Shu Brocade” – silk weaving which is a traditional craftwork of ancient china was very fascinating, it takes a day to weave about 7″ of material. The only problem with visits to these things is that they show you around for free then expect you to buy something at some extortionate price “we take credit cards” they tell us over and over again. Good for them. In the evening we went to the Theatre to see a Sichuan Opera, which involves all sorts of wierd and wonderful things including face changing, shadow puppets, dancing and spitting fire. An amazing end to a fantastic day.