Itinerary: Maoxian-Chengdu
This was to be a major detour by the tour guide to some more shopping excursions! I recalled vividly that the tour programme specifically mentioned that this tour was to have "NO SHOPPING"! At least that was to be for my case! The tour guide seemed to know it that at every shopping stop he would inform me that I do not have to join in!! For yesterday and today, we were "forced" along to a total of six shopping stops, some disguised as a tour-of-sorts. Each stop was at least an hour (even though the tour guide said that each stop would not be more than 30 minutes!), plus the waiting time to gather everyone to board, a couple of stops were at least an hour an a half to two hours.
Today we went to a factory making guasa combs and other ornamental pieces from bone, a medicine and herbs place and one factory making stainless steel knife sets made using space age technology.
There were no siteseeing tours planned for today, only an optional one to Dujiangyuan which no one wanted to go or the majority of them had already been. Hence that optional tour was scrapped totally due to zero participation.
3 snapshots taken from the moving...........wait a minute, what am I talking about, correction!.....a SPEEDING coach:
The steppes!
We reached back to Chengdu at around 1~2 pm, some dropped off along the way within Chengdu city, the rest disembarked from the same point which we boarded the coach. I suddenly realised that the whole group did not even take a single group photo!! Too late now!
I took a taxi (打车) to my hotel at 琴台路，checked-in, showered and took a rest before do some walkabout round the hotel area. It was an old style street with many old style buildings which I did not get to see the first night I landed here as it was very late. There were 2 parks in that area - 文化公园 & 百花潭公园 and I could not believe how crowded the parks were on a Sunday! Both parks were so conducive that I could stay there all day long and sleep on the open grass (with a mat of course!), it was that relaxing an environment. There were people playing mahjong and sipping tea, children amusement parks, tea houses, children taking rollerblading lessons, families fishing together etc. What a LIFE! This is what parks are meant to be, however small they may be. No such environment in Singapore for such lifestyle! Way too hot and humid in Singapore and the air sucks too!
The hotel
The front yard of the hotel.
The floor I was staying.
The hotel from across the road.
Start of 琴台路。
End of 琴台路
Water activities
Tea house & mahjong
Water activities
Rollerblading
Fishing
Flower Power!!
Tea house
Leisurely escape!Next stop: 锦里古街 - 西蜀第一街 Jinli Street - The 1st Street of the Kingdom of Shu.
Located next to the Marqui of Shu Temple (武侯祠), a temple dedicated to the famous 卧龙-Zhuge Liang. Unfortunately the temple closed early only on Sundays, I could not make it in time. I love the Three Kingdoms classic, it was THE read of all Chinese classics in my personal opinion. The characters, the history, the war strategies........there is so much to learn from!
The only snapshot I could take of the inside of Wuhou Temple.
Old style hotel
Full of such small food stores on Jinli Street and in many varieties too!
This one Bamboo Container Rice.
Night Scene of the Food Street
Pubs & drinking places
Picked up from a book stall on Jinli Street, a Chinese travel guide book on Lhasa - the place I'd be heading to early tomorrow morning. It was the latest release (just RMB35!) with lots of updated info on places to stay and suggested itineraries, literally pays for itself with the wealth of info inside!!
Dinner:
小笼包Steamin' HOT! Very juicy and aroma enhanced by the leaves beneath.
牛肉辣面Spicy HOT! The sizes they use 量 as measure.
By the end of this I was sweating from the chilli hot.
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