In which we drive for a day and a half, but finally get to see some pandas.
After lunch, as we travelled further and further south and the sun rose higher and stronger, the mist began to clear and we were able to see something of the hills through which we were travelling. More young, jaggy, pointy, high hills with terracing all over them, allowing almost every inch to be cultivated, mostly, it seemed, with maize. We saw tons of the stuff piled up or hanging in bunches outside farms and houses having recently been harvested.
Here too the excellent roads simply cut through tall mountains or crossed deep valleys. Some of the tunnels were 5km plus long, often with just a brief gaps between them, long enough only for a quick glance left or right before being plunged back in to the flickering darkness of yet another tunnel. Occasionally, we'd see the old road twisting its way along the bottom of river valleys without a single vehicle on it.
Shortly after six in the evening, Will turned off the expressway in search of somewhere to camp for the night, so as not to end up cooking and sleeping in another petrol station. He did eventually find a small patch of rough ground in front of a small row of houses, and George (our interpreter/minder/guide) was dispatched to enquire of the locals if it was okay for us to camp there. It was, so we did. Again, after a quick meal, we all turned in, this time mostly in tents, which was just as well, as we had quite a bit of rain in the night.
Think maybe I'll have another beer.
TTFN - N
Days 101 & 102 (drive from Xian to Chendu)
Another long misty drive day today, starting with another slow escape from the city. Again, excellent toll roads meant that Will was able to eat up the distance at a steady 90kmh, and, again, lunch was taken at another motorway service station with another excellent, value for money buffet.After lunch, as we travelled further and further south and the sun rose higher and stronger, the mist began to clear and we were able to see something of the hills through which we were travelling. More young, jaggy, pointy, high hills with terracing all over them, allowing almost every inch to be cultivated, mostly, it seemed, with maize. We saw tons of the stuff piled up or hanging in bunches outside farms and houses having recently been harvested.
Here too the excellent roads simply cut through tall mountains or crossed deep valleys. Some of the tunnels were 5km plus long, often with just a brief gaps between them, long enough only for a quick glance left or right before being plunged back in to the flickering darkness of yet another tunnel. Occasionally, we'd see the old road twisting its way along the bottom of river valleys without a single vehicle on it.
Shortly after six in the evening, Will turned off the expressway in search of somewhere to camp for the night, so as not to end up cooking and sleeping in another petrol station. He did eventually find a small patch of rough ground in front of a small row of houses, and George (our interpreter/minder/guide) was dispatched to enquire of the locals if it was okay for us to camp there. It was, so we did. Again, after a quick meal, we all turned in, this time mostly in tents, which was just as well, as we had quite a bit of rain in the night.
***
The following morning, after stowing our now wet tent, and eating a quick breakfast, we headed off once more towards the Giant Panda Breeding and Research Facility just outside of Chengdu. We got there at almost exactly 11.00am, just as I finished my book – excellent, by the way.
It's a big site, set in acres of park land with an extensive network of roads and paths linking a couple of dozen buildings and enclosures, including administration facilities, hospitals, kitchens, research centres and, of course, a number of houses (including two nurseries) to accommodate their star animal attractions. They keep separate the adults, juveniles – which they call 'sub-adults' – and new-born pandas, some of which were only a couple of weeks old, still tiny in their human baby sized incubators.
After 3 hours of walking round and photographing as much of the site as we had the energy to see, we all got back on the truck, which took us to where I'm sat writing this now: Sim's Cozy Garden Guesthouse and hostel. The food here is terrific, the rooms comfortable and the common spaces – including very 'Zen' gardens (complete with free-range rabbits) – delightful.
Day 103 (Chengdu)
Having seen the pandas already and not wanting to walk around yet another huge dirty, noisy, smelly city, we've done very little today. Juli headed out after breakfast with Corinne in search of a market to buy some Chinese style shirts, while Adam and I sat upstairs on the balcony of the bar, overlooking one of the courtyard gardens, taping away on our keyboards, accompanied by the sounds of gently cascading water from below and another traveller softly picking out a tune on his guitar.Think maybe I'll have another beer.
TTFN - N
Thanks for sharing, nice post! Post really provice useful information!
ReplyDeleteGiaonhan247 chuyên dịch vụ vận chuyển hàng đi mỹ cũng như dịch vụ ship hàng mỹ từ dịch vụ nhận mua hộ hàng mỹ từ website nổi tiếng Mỹ là mua hàng amazon về VN uy tín, giá rẻ