Chengdu California Garden Hote

... in their classes have "English names". We met Lily, Tony, Tim, Angela, Sarah, Rebecca, Horace, Frank, Harry, Evelyn, just to name a few.<br><br>Tonight we have been invited to dinner by two teachers and their families. These teachers have been at Jenks high school as part of the exchange program with Chengdu #7 high school. Although the traditional Chinese food that we have encountered has been pretty good, we are hankering for some pizza. No jam, please!<br>

12/9 - Chengdu: opera<br>I flied to Chengdu, checked-in, took a shower and went to the opera. 2 Israelis girls went too, they won the ticket on that afternoon, by singing to a TV program. The "opera" is excellent, also include hands-making-shadows, masks game etc. It is not a real opera. I love the songs - the women have such voices! Girls also sing when they prepare dinner - magic.<br><br>13/9 - Chengdu: Wenshu, bamboo gardens, people park<br>I went to buy a Panda ...

... Our hostel had helped us buy a PANDA card availabe to tourists for 50 rmb which includes free transport from your hotel, entrance to panda breeding centre and free entry to over 12 other attractions. Considering the ticket for the pandas is 50 rmb alone - this was amazing. We went early as feeding time was 9.30 and they are at their most active before eating. <br>We started with the adults who had huge open enclosures, separated from us only by a dry ...

... like clenched fists, stone knuckles punching high into the grey sky. They were steep sided, the upper parts covered in dense forest. The lower regions were cut into farming terraces that followed the curve of the mountain like contour lines on a map. A wide shallow river snaked through the value, the silty water flowing over rocky wiers. Squat houses lined the river, poorly made so ...

... point, since it is a rather interesting looking area.<br><br>Finding myself alone for lunch, I went back to the same place that we&#8217;d eaten breakfast, much to the amusement of the vendor. She talked to me and about me in very fast Sichuanhua that I sometimes understood parts of, and I think she teased me for speaking slowly, but I did manage to order two baozi and a Fanta, which I carried home and ate in the dorm room. I was glad I got the Fanta because the baozi ...

... truth, I don't think that Chengdu is any more or less polluted than Jinan, indeed the streets are much cleaner, but the pollution is a different type and Jinan has a flipping strong wind that blows all the gunk in the air away. Elsewhere. That made me a little less eager to move to Chengdu permanently. Nonetheless, it is an extremely nice place to spend less that 24 hours in and I was very sad to leave it. Although not as sad as I would have been had I not been on my way to Jiuzhaigou.

... and went while Lisa and I shot pictures and video of the Pandas that seemed to almost be posing for us. I was very glad that we had decided to take the bus ourselves instead of joining a tour group; otherwise we would not have had nearly as much time in this perfect spot. The tour actually cost 80 RMB, so we saved ourselves more than half the cost by doing it on our own as well. After an hour or so, the pandas were fed something from one of the keepers ...

... Quarter and had lunch in a small cafe. The People's Park was unimpressive, although areas were being rennovated. Chengdu didn't really have that much of any real interest to either of us - just another big, humid city - albeit with blue skies (other than when it rained for an hour in the afternoon). We took a 6am taxi to Chengdu airport to catch a flight to Guilin.

... requested more items, like tarps and clothing and we are finding these items today. We also will be buying some things for the children to keep them busy and give them something to do. I am planning on going with the team tomorrow to help deliver the items we purchase today and to be able to interact and play with the children in the camp. Love, Wendy

... to make such a pretty park? We also found a fun-house in the park. For 5 kuai, we had to check it out. It was in an old underground bomb shelter. We walked along passing old manikins of tigers with spaghetti hair, and a monkey wearing a toupee. The actual fun-house was a maze of plywood walls in the pitch blackness. As you turned each corner motion sensors activated monsters of cheap masks and neon sheets to rotate back a forth and make weak squealing noises. It startled me each ...