After we had our fill we move to the next location and saw more black a d white Panda. Then it was on to the lesser Panda who is actually a raccoon. The word Panda means bamboo eater and these little guys eat bamboo.
We both filled out 32 G cards and were very happy about it!!!
Then it was off to see a Buddhist Monastery. We learned about their religion and heard the monks chant before lunch.
Our first really tasty lunch was had in Chengdu! We went to a local place with Ping and ordered dishes off the menu. Yummy!! Poor John is getting pretty good with those sticks!
The afternoon was in an "old" part of town...read giant tourist trap. We quickly decided to have tea instead. When we got to the tea house local people were playing Mahjong. We asked Ping if we could play. She quickly agreed and began to teach us Chengdu rules! That was FUN says Cheri who won at least half the games! We learned to count in Chinese. Ping put the characters in order and we took a picture.
Then it was off to catch the 194 km/HR train to Chongqing! The ride was beautiful even though it was darkening and a bit foggy. We arrived at the station, the biggest train station in Chongqing to be met by our guide, Mike. We would only be with him for a short while, but he really packed in the information. We told him we needed to catch some dinner on shore before boarding the ship, so he quickly suggested a hot pot...the local specialty. We agreed and he and his driver zipped us off to their local favorite. The food was delicious if a bit rushed as we needed to be on board by 8:30.
Chongqing is famous for its Hot pot. there is a burner built into the table. The chef brings all kinds of food and begins to place it in a two part pot. One part has a very spicy pepper broth and the other part is water with many vegetables and spices. Then each diner has a little bowl where oil, soy, garlic and ginger are placed. When each type of food is cooked, the chef puts it in your bowl so you can douse it in the sauce. Then you eat! Delicious! We had beef, pork, noodles, mushrooms, bean curd, crab, and the list goes on!
We stopped on the way to the ship to pick up supplies, mainly water for us. Others were buying booze and snacks. We decided we didn't need snacks with the amount of food they were likely to serve on board!
Enjoy!
Cheri & John
How lucky were we?! We found a street market where the locals had come to stock up with all kinds of food, from veggies to meat. They load it on every type of vehicle from bicycles to motorized bicycles to carts....they then take it out to sell. Target rich environment! After they all went on their way, we walked down to a bridge and into a park. Never enough time!
Mr. Stone picked us up at 10 sharp and we headed for the Hutong or old village. There are a few places left in Beijing, a city of 20 million people, where the locals can still own the land and their humble homes. The rest must rent and after 70 years the government gets the apartments back. They took us through the area by rickshaw with lunch at a local home. Wow was it SMALL! Two families lived in the space so small....two rooms of 10x20 and two more on top. No bathroom. They all use public toilets to shower and do their business. 10¥ for a shower. The food was remarkably good. The man had been a chef for 34 years and it showed. He liked John! A theme that would repeat. People were fascinated by him throughout China.
We left there and headed to the a Summer Palace. I think there was smoke coming out of John's camera! There was a painted hall that was 700 meter long and had 10,000 painted pictures! He shot and shot.Cheri followed suit. Together they really depicted the hall, but upon reflection realized they only scratched the surface!
Reluctantly it was time to leave so we headed to the airport and our final, goodbye to Mr. Stone. The next thing on tap was Chengdu and the Panda Research Center. We were met at the airport by our guide Ping. We made sure she was going to pick us up so we could be with the Panda's by 8:30. She was reluctant, but agreed.
Enjoy!
Cheri & John
So we cajoled the guide and driver into taking us to two parts of the Wall and into picking us up at 7:30. We scavenged for breakfast since it wasn't included in our Marriott points. We ended up with awful coffee and a chocolate croissant for John and a half an egg and ham sandwich for Cheri. Breakfast of Champions...hee hee.
It was a beautiful Saturday and everyone seemed go be out enjoying it so the traffic was heavy. We didn't mind though as we watched the scenery go by. We arrived at JuYong Pass and it took our breath away...literally as we hiked and figuratively as we saw it for the first time!
Being us, there was no way we'd do it part way. As we began to ascend the first section, with all of humanity, thoughts of safety ran through Cheri's mind. Crowed, uneven, multilevel steps....straight up. All it would take was one mis-step by anyone and curtains! I quickly put that out of my head and concentrated on breathing. We made the first gate and turned to see the landscape below. Before we would finish we'd be nearly alone and up some 880 meters! We kept climbing and looking all around to see the scenery. Many images were made! The leaves were turning so there as some color in the trees.
Our guide climbs the wall 3times a week. He was fit as a fiddle and scampered easily up the steps. Of all the guests he sees, we were one of only two guests who ever hiked to the top of that section!
You could really imagine what it must have been like to guard a lonely section of the wall; some 7000 km long. We enjoyed every minute, even the painful ones. Who thought coming down would cause issues? Try doing the stair master for three hours and you'll see! We climbed back down about 11:30 thinking there would be lunch on offer and we were hungry! No such luck. Lunch wouldn't come for 2.5 more hours!
That was part one, now we were off across a mountain road to the next part of the wall; Mutianyu. About halfway there we stopped at Sacred Way. This was where the emperor's came to be buried. Then it was off to Mutianyu. We finally got lunch. Nothing memorable, but filling!
We arrived at the next section of the wall knowing we were going by cable car, and thankful for it. The last climb had sapped most of our strength. Alas, the traffic was heavy so we got pitched out to hike straight up for about half a mile before reaching the cable car! Yikes! And of course, there was a gauntlet of shops selling all kinds of junk. The vendors would call out...$1, $1. Come you look! Cheri bargained and bought a T-Shirt for $5.
The sun was cracking out as we ascended the middle section by cable car. We took more photos and enjoyed the day. After an hour and a half we came down for the long ride back to Beijing.
Being creatures of habit, we decided to head back to the same place for dinner; it was clear Beijing food was just OK, but nothing special. So for 100RMB or a out $16 US. We had two beers and dinner. It was time to get cleaned up! There was a marvelous tub in the room and Cheri decided sore muscles needed a good soak!
Enjoy!
Cheri and John
