We took the train out of Cheng du yesterday after a visit to the Panda Breeding Center...funny name huh? The guide book made it sound like it was going to be run down and even a let down but it was great! I love Pandas now and am reminded of the the little yellow t-shirt mom and dad brought home for me when I was 2 from seeing "the pandas" in DC. They ARE really cool and now I too want to protect them. Actually they are hilarious, sitting up chomping down on bamboo like little couch potatoes. And after they munch down they sprawl out and sleep. I think I took more pictures of the pandas than I have of anything else so far (i will probably delete most of them...can't be that cool but maybe). So we have seen the pandas (only found in the mountains of Sichuan, China) and found them to be very endearing but Lucy and I think they would be even more endearing if they could be mini and and perch on your shoulder. Pandas were very cool. Afterwards we wandered around the Tibet quarter and found some fried rice and already I am giddy at the prospect of all those textures, colours, and amazing jewelry...I can't wait!
The train out of Chengdu took us through some lovely paddocks full of green-ness. The same green-ness that when thrown in a wok and mixed with some garlic has made us very happy travelers. Mike and I had nice conversation on the ins and outs of communist, socialist, and libertarian ideologies as we trained through the country-side. We arrived in Emei Train Station and got a taxi to the Bauguo which is through the gate and at the foothills of what is one of the holiest Buddist Mountains in China (used to be Taoist but switched over in like 600AD) and it is incredible. It can be meandered around and wandered through for days. There are monasteries along the way to stay in and many little moss covered bridges, pavilions, and MONKEYS! It is really really well taken care of and although there are some areas with lots of tourists (didn't see one foreigner amidst them) there are areas complete left to you. All those romantic ideas of a misty mountain China, this was it! Scene after Scene of beautiful picture and it was barely even mentioned in the guidebook. Hmmmph. Very glad we came down here. We wandered around for most of the day (legs shaky again from all the stairs) but it was great day that we finished off visiting one of the local restaurants ( we prefer the family joints to the bigger ones so we always seek them out upon arrival) with our garlic-afied greens, some super hot kungpao chicken and coke. Good day.
Tomorrow we are off to see the biggest sitting Buddha in all of China, then maybe to one of the villages from 'Crouching Tiger' and then back up to Chengdu to catch our evening train to Tibet. It's actually 51 hours from there. Ha! That will be a tale to tell. I hear that the squats in China (which can be horrific) have nothing on those in Tibet so we are in for a treat! I have refrained from telling my squat stories because I can't adequately express my horror in words.
on that note.
c&m
Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos & more.
1 comment:
oh oh ohhhh how cool! It all sounds so fabulous, again, can't wait to see the pix!
Happy 51 hours of training!
Post a Comment