Chad Is Everywhere

I just had to share this funny yet useful impromptu moment as provided by our wonderful tour guide from Chengdu. We were walking around Leshan Buddha site at the time. In a moment of rest she started to go through some Tai Chi. At which point someone mentioned they'd like learn how it went. And this was the funny basic series she provided to us. I'm sure its legit as a training method when introducing the artistic form to kids. I don't mind, I'm a big kid, and it brought on a smile. And as my former chiropractor always used to say. Why do we stop skipping? It's good for us, and it brings a smile. Forevermore I will always remember Tai Chi as slicing the watermelon in half and offering half to each side. Thank you Alina for this wonderful moment of levity on the trip. 

I took the opportunity to visit Layess, my former Brisbane flatmate, as a part of my Panda trip. The idea was that I could make a side trip to her home city of Chongqing from Chengdu. It was about 2 hours by train. This was easy enough to complete in theory. I just had to figure out myself how to get there.  Which meant navigating the long distance trains myself after managing to buy a ticket. Easier said than done. The first step was easy. I just had to retrace our trip from the Chengdu Train station we had arrived into. Then I just had to board the right train at the station. It was fairly easy on the way to Chengdu. But then we had guided instruction on what to do from the tour. Although we didn't actually have the guide with us every time we were inside the station we were seemingly under the safety blanket beingtold what to expect. This trip has no such support. I was alone and had my memory to rely on.   I had no ability to book my train tickets onlin...

  Chengdu as a destination wasn't just about Pandas. I mean sure if I left Chengdu and all I could say I saw was the Panda Base I'd still feel a sense of achievement. However There was much more to the 3 nights on the tour in Chengdu, and then the extra nights I stayed there after making a side trip to Chongqing. Immediately after the tour of the Panda base we went for a lunch at perhaps the most basic of the restaurants we visited whilst on the tour. Unfortunately for our guide this restaurant was awkward. There was no menu in English, and she hadn't really explained to us it was cheap. We were seemingly locked into a group lunch experience unknown relying on the guide to order. The main table which was mainly non vegetarians was fine. A mix of hot and not so hot dishes came out. Although we were still tentative about what to expect. However the vegetarians at a second table (due to the group size) were left to the whim of the hosts too. So they got the same long bean ...

Name one person who wouldn't want to visit to the Panda Research Base . This was in the morning of our first full day in Chengdu for The Dragon Trip tour. We spent about 3 hours in the centre all up. Click the video to see the baby pandas, not so baby pandas, and the red pandas. Below is just a handful of photos from the day. Baby pandas, baby pandas. Everyone stop life now, and check out the baby panda photos. 

Ha. I made a quirky little video presentation from the plaques of the panda we saw in Chengdu. Just a bit of harmless fun.

Yangshuo. Where is Yangshuo? That's exactly what most of you would reply. Or well some of you might add in a few might add in a few extra words. But same context of the response. My prior knowledge of China growing up was pretty limited. All we really learnt of Chinese history growing up focused on the Great Wall, the Mongol Empire, and Genghis Khan. If I were to refer to something more modern in history I'd admit to knowledge of the opium wars and then the resulting treaty that virtually created Hong Kong. But heck when I was young and learning of China I had no understanding opium was a basically heroin, and the British were basically a bunch of olden day methheads in the 1840s. Any description of China before this trip would omit any detailed understanding of the natural beauty of China. Sure I knew that pandas came from China. But it's only in recent times I even understood that you needed to go to Sichuan, and in particular Chengdu if you expect to visit them. The...

I had visited Hong Kong before on a stopover from Europe on the way home. That time was a quick stay in part to see friends, and to then also get a taste of the city without committing to a long stop. This trip with the goal of getting up into China it made sense to revisit Hong Kong, and then also get a chance to see friends I had short changed last time. I enjoyed Hong Kong the first time as it's a great mix of East meets West culture and food. Unfortunately for me it wasn't all fine blue sky. This was hot and humid end of typhoon season Hong Kong. Not that I minded to much. It had been so long since I had seen rain in Brisbane. And my lagging winter cough needed the humidity to help it disappear. So my time here in Hong Kong was partly exploring the tourist zones I had missed, and then exploring the taste buds. I managed to fit in some Michelin rated noodles restaurant, and visit some great Dim Sum catching up with friends during the stay. Initial plans to go into th...