Chengdu (known as "The 'Du" to expats) is probably most famous as a tourist destination to see the giant pandas. It's also in the heart of Sichuan province, which means lots of spicy food, especially hot pot.
I traveled to Chengdu over spring break with another teacher, Lisa, and we had a most amazing time trying to navigate our way through the city with next to zero Mandarin, iPhone apps, vague Lonely Planet entries, and terrible tourist maps. We lucked out quite a bit, and overall had a great time. The beautiful spring weather made a lot of our blunders much more tolerable. We got to see quite a bit in a very short time: touristy parts of Chengdu, the giant panda breeding research park, the giant Buddha, a 3000-year-old irrigation project, and Sichuan theater and opera.
Take a look at all the photos here. I actually snapped 446, then narrowed it down to about 360 that I kept on my computer. Then I picked out the 153 BEST to share with everyone. Nearly half the photos are of pandas because they're so adorable and just irresistible!
If you want the full rundown of our crazy time in Chengdu read on... and keep these (mis)adventures in mind the next time you get frustrated at an airport, in traffic, or at a restaurant. *Please excuse the lazy composition - I drafted it on my iPad over a sandwich and fresh juice before heading to the airport!
Saturday
Up: easily found a taxi and with a phone call to the hotel were on our way from the airport
Up: hotel was clean and comfy at check-in
Down: mapo dofu restaurant closed between lunch and dinner
Down: frustrating lunch at the first place we found: no squid, no peanuts, lotus instead, yes peanuts, pasta instead of pizza
Up: fun stroll through Jinli Lu including ear massages
Up: quick walk back to mapo dofu restaurant
Down: food too spicy for lisa and dan dan mien not what i expected
Up: guy selling roasted potatoes outside the restaurant was really cute and damn good potatoes
Day - Up: 4 Down: 3
Total - Up: 4 Down: 3
Sunday
Up: pandas were awesome first thing in the morning! No crowds, active bears, beautiful weather
Down: mayhem at the photo stop, tons of school kids
Up: 8 pandas still eating and frolicking late in the morning
Up: delicious lunch at bookworm
Up: cheap foot massage right near the hotel
Down: trouble to find rabbit restaurant, then disappointed by menu
Up: delicious dinner at bookworm
Down: idiot driver couldn't read taxi card or find hotel and had to call his friend
Day - Up: 5 Down: 3
Total - Up: 9 Down: 6
Monday
Down: busy breakfast after sleeping in
Down: no train tickets for mountain
Up: nice guy in line helped us buy train tickets for the next day
Down: no cars available to drive to Leshan
Up: booked theater tickets for tuesday night
Up: car available for leshan
Down: bad traffic to leshan
Up: rather scenic drive along colorful farm towns
Down: ridiculous crowds around buddha, long wait, near panic while smushed on first viewing platform
Up: amazing buddha, especially up close while descending to giant toes
Down: long ride back to hotel
Up: shower
Down: failure to find Lazy Pug with first taxi, driver chased us down to get fare
Up: next driver knew where to go
Down: restaurant closed
Up: short walk to Peter's Tex-Mex
Down: loud restaurant and mediocre food
Up: good drinks
Day - Up: 8 Down: 9
Total - Up: 17 Down: 15
Tuesday
Up: up and out the door by 5:45 to catch 6:32 train to irrigation project
Up: good seats, nice train ride
Up: nice guy at train station helped us find the right bus to site entrance
Up: cheap bus took us right to entrance, enjoyed quaint town along the way
Up: quiet and pretty park with cool stuff to look at
Down: unsure how to get to big mountain
Up: hot noodles at the gate
Up: good walk up to hillside temples
Down: still unsure how to get back to buses at main gate
Up: found the right street and enjoyed being center of attention of the whole crowd, followed by nice stroll through pedestrian area
Up: hopped right on correct bus to mountain entrance
Down: longish ride on crowded bus, traffic at entrance
Down: no return train tickets to chengdu
Down: too hungry and tired to fight the lines and crowds again
Up: successful use of translator app to take taxi back to irrigation train station
Down: no train tickets to chengdu
Down: agree to pay ridiculous price to old man in old taxi to drive to chengdu
Up: old man pulls over and hands us over to chengdu taxi in better shape (and decent music on the radio)
Down: another long ride back to the city, pit stop with meowing man included
Up: nap and shower, ready for early dinner
Down: no wifi at Starbucks, fail for Trip Advisor
Down: hot pot restaurant we choose is not where we first though, metro to general area, still not easy to find
Up: finally find some place, looks decent
Down: no photo menu or english menu
Up: chris answers the phone
Down: sounds like they just want to rip us off
Up: quick walk to Shamrock's as last-ditch effort to get food
Down: terribly slow, mediocre selections
Up: taxi easily finds theater
Up: tour agent is ready and waiting to bring us to theater
Up: cool show, along with fight among local patrons and staff
Day - Up: 18 Down: 13
Total - Up: 35 Down: 28
So, according to this rundown the trip was indeed a success. Sure, we'd do some things differently if we knew better, but that's what traveling is all about - live and learn!
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