Day 62 - Chengdu

22.09.09

I'm not going to lie, not so fresh this morning. Eventually getting out of bed at around 10.30, I put on some washing and make my self my porridge breakfast before heading over to the local WANGBA! (Chinese for Internet Cafe), where I spend a good few hours answering emails, getting music, writing for this page and general non intensive activities. After my bash at the internet, it's a walk around Chengdu for one last time to have a look down it's old back streets as I am heading off to the wild west of China next and taking the Sichuan-Tibet highway as close as I can to the Tibet border without angering the local police force. To actually get into Tibet it seems you either need to pay over a thousand pounds for less than a weeks tour or sleep with the Chairman of China to get a permit for the area, both of which aren't really possibilities for me. Come the evening it's time to grab a bite to eat at the local kebab stall just outside the hostel and I go wild on grilled meat, tofu, dumplings and vegetables.
Today was a rest day.

Day 61 - Leshan, Chengdu

21.09.09 (24 today)

Awaking a new man and at 24 with a whole new set of skills and knowledge bestowed upon him... or just seriously tired as I need to catch a 7.30am bus from the station in the south of town and so have to wake up at about 5.30am. I get to Leshan nice and early at around 10am and take a walk around the complex, The majority (99%) of tourists go straight to the giant Buddha and that's more or less it, which means I end up having the rest of the complex more or less to my self which I take full advantage of. The temples and gardens are very peaceful and although it's quite sad I brought some Moon Cake (a type of Chinese cake that is extremely popular and originates from the moon festival in October) and sit down with around 100 Koi Carp beneath me and tuck in. When I do reach the big Buddha is it is a colossal statue chiseled out of the side of a cliff over many many years. It was built to try and calm the river beneath it and the process of dumping thousands of tons of rock into the river during it's sculpting, actually filled in the hollows of the river bed and did indeed tame it. A person can comfortably sit on it's big toe nail it's that big. Leaving the Buddha and the complex I jump on a bus back to Chengdu and run into an Aussie guy and his partner called Andy and Lauren who are also staying in Mix hostel. He is interested in organising events back in Australia and so we end up having a lot to talk about, his aim being to throw big outside events in tents! When he finds out it's my birthday today he says I can't celebrate it on my own and from this point on (about 5pm) the fun begins.

When we get back to the hostel we head straight to the beer garden and Andy gets in some beers. We are shortly joined by some more people from the hostel, some of whom Andy met yesterday and before I know it there are 9 of us all sitting down outside finishing off beers and about to head to the local hot pot restaurant for a large meal. It's a fantastic meal and we end up doing shots of a Chinese spirit which is distilled from rice and sits at a comfortable 50%. After the meal where we are joined in multiple toasts by people from other tables the route back to the hostel is via one of the Chinese outside communal gyms and we have a slightly drunken play on the machines. The night ends with drinking until 5am and Andy even gives me a gift, a stubby holder for bottles of beer that keeps them cool if you're in hot countries, he designed it himself and is for the promotion of his events company.

It has turned out to be such a great day and so unexpected being so far away from home. It's all thanks to a random meeting with an Aussie couple, maybe the visit to the giant Buddha did indeed bring me a great birthday...

Day 60 - Chengdu

20.09.09

The train gets in late at about 3pm and I make my way to Mix Hostel, the only reason I chose it is because on the flyers it says that there is free music exchange for mp3 players and you can load up on tracks. A short hop on the bus and it's into Mix Hostel which is like a Tardis, it looks small on the outside, but has an outside beer garden, large inside restaurant bar two floors of rooms and a roof terrace. After dropping off my stuff I check out Wenshu Monastery which is just around the corner. It's a massive complex and is the biggest in Chengdu, with lovely gardens and several big prayer hall/rooms, monks shuffling around in red an orange robes, it's a great place to spend a few hours. After my religious excursion I get in the thick of it and walk to the middle of the city in search of a Sichuans famous 'Hot Pot'.

The meal involves a big pot full of oil, stock and lots of chilies, where you throw in various ingredients of your choice and allow them to be cooked in a kind of Chinese spicy fondue. I end up empty handed and settle for a meal in a standard Chinese cafe before visiting my local mega mart and getting some shopping. Chengdu seems like a pleasant city, but with nothing I really want to see here I make the call to head out to the giant Buddha at Leshan tomorrow and make my birthday day trip one of seeing the biggest seated Buddha in the world. I'm a bit sceptical of the day ahead and don't think it will turn out to be one of the best birthdays, being away from home with no one around, but we shall see.

Day 59 - The Train

19.09.09

Saying goodbye to my new friends and heading off to Guilin to start my train journey north into Sichuan province for the penultimate stretch of my China journey. On board I know that the train leaves at 1.30pm and arrives at around 2.30 the next day, but in my head it's just over 12 hours. A woman who lectures in psychology back in the UK promptly puts me right and tells me that we have a 25 hour journey to Chengdu and I realise that I'm back approaching trans Siberian train journey lengths. I spend my next day chatting to her about her travels and mine and then meeting a Chinese man called Han from Chongqing, about 4 hours away from Chengdu. I think he wants to speak to me to practice his English and he tells me how he works in Guilin selling minerals and rocks like Quartz, Granite and Marble to people in America, France and Germany and is travelling to Chongqing as that's his home. He has learnt English by listening to a tape in the same way that I am trying to learn Chinese and considering he hasn't learnt it from a teacher his English is extremely good. When he finds out that it is my birthday in a few days, he offers to take me out in Chongqing and says I will not have to worry about anything while there. I am tempted, but I need to get to Chengdu and then move on to other parts of Sichuan Province and Chongqing would mess with my schedule. He's on business trips to America next year and also France and so wants to learn English so his travels and business will be easier. He is definitely up there with the business men of China and I think he isn't joking when I said he would sort my accommodation and everything else if I went to Chongqing.

Lights off at 10pm and the sleeper carriage becomes a bedroom on wheels transporting us 50 or so sleepers north back into the mainland of China and up away from it's tropical south.

Day 58 - Yangshuo

18.09.09

None of us could get a room in 'Giggles' for tonight, so we all head into Yangshuo town and manage to get a hostel with a room for all of us. Albert decides to stay and do some more work, joining us later, while me, Wolfram and Muriel head off on a bus to Yangdi for the 24km trek to Xingping. When we reach Yangdi we manage to avoid being scammed by a woman who tries to sell us a one way ride across the river to the start of the trail for 15 yuan, when we can buy an official trail ticket that gets us three crossings for 16 Yuan. She's a menace.

The start of the trail leads alongside the river and past small villages, farmers and their animals, rice fields and the peaks of the area. We stop off for some lunch that we packed with us and then continue on towards Xingping meeting Albert at the last crossing. He hired a bike and travelled in the opposite direction to walk back with us, we catch him chatting away to the locals at a shop, improving his seriously impressive Chinese language skills. It turns out to be a power walk back to Xingping as nightfall is setting in and we need to make it back for our 7.30 bus or face being stranded in Xingping. On the route back we pass the famous scene which is on the reverse of the 20Yuan notes. In the sun set it is beautiful and there is even a bamboo raft on the river to make it exactly like the picture.

When we get back to Yangshuo safely on the last bus, it's the feast of the trip so far and we end up having eels, snails, rabbit and beer fish (a catfish cooked in beer). It's a great meal if not a little pricey, but it is Yangshuo tourist central and is a lot better than my bill at the Giggling Tree, which turned out to be quite large considering I was only there for two nights. I thought the buy now, pay later deal would get me. After dinner it's off to the local bars where we drink until the early hours and meet some Canadian girls and a guy from Manchester called Frank. My fellow Brit was the best of your obnoxious and sarcastic home grown talent and opened his introductions with true British Sarcasm towards Canada, Germany and Switzerland. Me and him ended up having a good old English sarcasm insult death match and I am embarrassed that the only British guy I meet while in out in Yangshuo is an arse. To everyone else it just seems as if we are having a quirky conversation, and Albert is loving it and said he wished he could speak English well enough to be sarcastic. The night ends well and it feels good to have a good night out, they say it's a pre birthday celebration and I hope the 21st turns out just as good.

Day 57 - Yangshuo

17.09.09 Today it's bicycle time. With Wolfram and Muriel, we rent mountain bikes from the Giggling Tree and head up to the Dragon Bridge on the Yulong River, which is about 3 hours away with a leisurely cycle and a few stops. The scenery along the way is outstanding, rice fields, peaks springing up from the ground in a way they can only do in Asia, ducks wading around in the streams and the river winding off into the distance. When we reach the bridge it's just in time for lunch and we feast on beer fish, various vegetables and some stir fried pork, washed down with an ice cold beer or two. What makes it even better is the fact that we are eating on several bamboo rafts tied together and are floating out on the river, it couldn't get better and the surroundings have to be up there with the most beautiful scenes I've ever seen. After lunch, it would be rude not to have a swim in the river and so we jump in and for some reason the local children either like me a lot or hate me and decide that they are going to play with me. 'Playing', entails jumping in and bombing next to me so I get splashed and then teaming up to splash me, I'm not the strongest of swimmers by a long shot and at certain points I catch mouth fulls of water and am severely outnumbered, so I retreat to the shore and away from my attackers. We are shortly joined by Albert who cycles up and then we make the journey home, leaving a bit too late so we are cycling in the dark. My head torch comes in mighty handy.



The evening sees many beers and a meal in the 'Tree's' restaurant/cafe/bar. It's deceptive as they don't take money off you there and then, instead charging it to your bill, so when you leave you pay it all together. It's a nice system as you don't worry about it, but at the same time you could run up a costly bill with out realising it. Watch this space.

Day 56 - Yangshuo

16.09.09

In the morning I have the Chinese breakfast of noodles and vegetables with Wu Ming, which actually goes down quite well, although quite heavy for early morning. She tells me of how she is studying and training to be an air hostess, which in China is a top job for a girl. She also explains how her parents have an arranged marriage for her to a man who is nearly ten years older, their view is that he is a successful business man and she will not have to worry about money or anything once she is married to him. Her view is quite different and she doesn't want to marry someone she doesn't know or care for. It turns out she has started travelling so she will be away come her marriage date and so avoiding the ceremony, she is in a massive dilemma about what to do and it sounds like an extremely hard situation to be in. For some reason arranged marriages is not something I associated with China, but apparently it happens quite a lot.

In the afternoon I make my way to the 'Giggling Tree', a converted farmhouse run by a dutch couple located around 4km away in the the countryside which is where I am staying for the next two nights. I decide to walk all the way and absorb the scenery, in total it takes just over an hour and I'm glad to get my pack off my back when I check in. It's a lovely place and the wood trims are all painted in a vibrant sky blue, the dutch couple seem friendly and there are lots of dutch people staying who fulfill the stereotypes perfectly. It turns out that Wolfram and and Albert are also staying here and along with Muriel (a Swiss girl) and Unai (a Spanish guy), we go and take a swim in the Yulong river which is nearby and beautiful. A great day and I think I have hit one of China's most beautiful places.