Chengdu - Big, Bustling City. Big, Lazy, Lazy Pandas.

(Sigh.  Still playing catchup on ye olde blog - I'm winding down my trip in SF now, so this post is only 6 weeks late.  Sweet.)

Arriving in Chengdu from Lijiang, I was struck once again by China's amazing contrasts. Leaving a smallish, cute rural town in the mountains, Chengdu greeted me with its own particular mix of smog, traffic, and busy, busy people. Saving the day, though, was a visit checking out the city's most leisurely of residents - the pandas at the world-famous breeding center.

Chengdu's pretty big, and getting bigger. Whole stock markets' worth of companies are relocating here from the comparatively expensive east coast region of Shanghai, and that means Chengdu is a near-constant construction zone. And, just like the rest of big city China, all of these people, new cars, and the like mean smog, smog, smog, mixed in with a sizable dose of traffic anarchy.

I couldn't help but sympathise with the local traffic warden:

... trying to organize this intersection:

... filled with overly ambitious delivery moped drivers like this dude:

But, after a midnight flight got me to the city and getting set up in yet another amazing hostel - Sim's Cozy Garden - the next morning, I went out walking. Spurning the dubious safety of the local bus, I instead decided to trust my karma by being one of the braver sights in a Chinese city - a pedestrian.

45 minutes walking, including one brief stop at a local McD's for air-conditioning and a chance to watch the NBA Finals with basketball mad locals, brought to the massive downtown plaza. And, being China, any massive plaza means Mao... lots of Mao. In this case it was a huge statue gazing benignly over the chaos that only a mostly capitalist China can bring. Wonder if he knows what's been going on?

Even Chengdu has its own oases of calm though, and I had fun ducking into the People's Park, guarded in this case by a bold Communist soldier statue, facing off against a resurgent bank.

A pot of green tea at a teahouse sorted me out...

...and then I kept walking to the Wenshu Temple district - a restored street of shops and temples, more than a bit heaving with tourists. I kept going, hitting up the city's street of knock-off outdoor sporting goods, but then called it a day in the 90+ degree heat, and headed back to the AC comfort of the hostel.

The World Cup brought its own fun, as the hostel put on the matches, and I got to watch the US come from behind to tie Slovenia 2-2 in the early morning hours. Great time, with the bonus of no hangover. Excellent.

The next day was pretty much devoted to the pandas, with an early morning tour group taking us out there in time for feeding around 8:30.

It turns out timing is pretty critical with pandas, as even on the best of days, they can't be called energetic. Eating only bamboo, pandas get very little nutrients from each bite, so pretty much all of their attention is focused on eating, eating, eating, with the occasional look around to see what's happening.

And, much as I loved seeing these ridiculously cute guys, I did have to wonder... these bears that are hyper-evolved to eat only bamboo, whose libido is so low that biologists have to resort to all types of tricks to, ah, encourage 'action', and whose females often don't recognize their very early newborns as their offspring, and have to be prevented from roughly batting them around or worse... well, I'm more than a little concerned about their long-term prospects. I'm thinking Darwinism might be rearing its ugly head soon, especially as their bamboo habitat is shrinking fast - they probably won't be able to adapt fast enough to survive.

But, pessimism aside, I really hope I'm wrong - they were awesome to watch. We got to see the adults getting their grub on:

... including one's best "Homer Simpson" impersonation, as he combined full body reclining with breakfast.

The adolescents were a bit more active... if only a bit:

And, as a bonus, we got to see a baby playing and bonding with its mother:

Awesome.

Not to be outdone, we also got to see the panda's cousin - the red pandas. Much smaller and equally much more active, they really reminded me of North America's raccoons:

Getting back to Chengdu, it was tough to get fired up to see more of the town, so I just chilled out and got caught up blogging. After a power nap that turned into several hours, I headed out for a local restaurant where I got to try the city's version of "hot pot" cooking.

Wow. Tongue-burning, sinus-clearing spiciness, but wow.

Here's the deal, they set up two bowls of flavored broth, one mostly chicken-based and the other a sea of chili peppers. Fired up to a near-boil by the table's gas burner, you get to dip in everything from freshwater eels, pork, chicken, and little bundles of vegetables, and basically gorge yourself silly.

Like I said, awesome.

A critically necessary walk post-dinner helped settle the stomach, and I rallied nicely for yet another night of beers and World Cup soccer, before heading out to the next stop of Xi'An in the (very!) early morning.

Leaping Tiger, Crouching Gorge?

Leaping Tiger Gorge.  Cool name, WICKED hike.

(Note:  I'm wayyy behind on playing catchup on the blog back in the States - this was from mid-June.)

Sure, when I first heard it, I was initially sceptical, thinking that it sounded like a rip off that ground-breaking martial arts flick some years back.  But you know what?  After two days hugging narrow ridge trails and loving the ever-changing views at every turn, one thing is for certain - Tiger Gorge more than lived up to its name, and all the accolades as the famous canyon in Asia.

Now, heading this way wasn't even on my original agenda... I had instead planned to go hiking in the Shei Shan mountains near Chengdu, a multiday forest hike that had the unique prospect of crashing with monks every night.  That sounded like a winner to me, but a discussion at Yangshuo with another backpacker over several beers convinced me to change plans a bit.

And man, did that work out well, I just wish I could send that guy an e-beer by way of thanks!

Getting out to the Tiger Gorge by local bus was easy enough, and I headed on the trail, en route to the Naxi Family Guesthouse, a farm/hostel a few miles in.

Except... well, except for the minor detail that I missed the trailhead, and found myself walking down a very dusty construction road being built for tourist buses much lower down the canyon.  The hospitality of the Chinese only compounded things, as with a grin and a wave, a guy driving a  passing tractor offered to let me hop up on his tractor... again, going even farther down the wrong road.

Sigh.  Grumble.  Shit.

Right, there was nothing to do but enjoy a long, slow, and frustrating hike back to where I started.  But, like most travel setbacks, it actually worked out for the best - as I got a room at Jane's Hostel in town, where I got a killer combination of a cold beer, two friendly (if slightly psycho) cats, and best of all, ended up meeting some great hiking partners.

Our group hit the road the next day, and started up the infamous 28 Bends - a whole bunch of twisting and turning up a mountain, which translated to about three hours of near constant up, up, and UP.

Oh, for sure, at the beginning, we were all full of smiles:

... but by the halfway point, we were more than ready for a break at this trailside stand, whose friendly proprietor did well selling all the essentials - cokes, Snickers, and even the odd bag of ganja.

Recharged by nicotine and chocolate, one of our group even found comfort in relaxing - Chinese-style:

Like the classic Willie Nelson track, it was back on the road again, as we kept going up, up, and still further up.  The hike was equal parts brutal and amazing, as we soon found ourselves above the clouds; always a great feeling.  The Frenchman and I even found a perfect vista point:

... only to get shaken down for $.80 by a local farmer who supposedly owned the land.

Once our legs got over the trauma of the 28 Bends, we got to enjoy the next few hours of gently rolling trails, just taking in view after view.

We stopped at the Tea Horse Hostel to rest our feet, only to get a nice surprise of free tea and biscuits, along with great views and a friendly dog.  Awesome, but had to chuckle at their local garden:

The last bit of the trail was fantastic, but we did have a scare, when we all stopped short - "hey, did you hear something?"

Short answer?  Yes... yes, we did.  A few seconds later, we could see a huge old boulder crashing down over the trail, snapping trees as it went.  We took off running top speed, and only a frantic sprint helped a Dutch couple get out of the way in time.  Here's the aftermath:

Oh, and a funny thing about travelling -  seems like the more dangerous the event, the funnier it becomes afterwards.  And, sure, this was no different, we were definitely giggle-prone for the next half hour, although we were listening very, very carefully, as we hiked over more precarious trails...

...and passed the odd pensive shepherd here and there...

... all the while seeing trailside marketing for hostels down the trail:

Thenkfully, we finally arrived at Halfway Guesthouse.  Simple and basic to be sure, but a fantastic way to just soak up the wonder of being in such a sublimely beautiful place.  The combo beer garden and restaurant had million dollar views, and we took full advantage, talking far into the night over many a Dali beer.

The highlight though had to have been Hervey's conversation with the 80 year old father of the hostel's owner.  Through Hervey's sheer exuberance, and their mutual sign language and guessing, we found out that he used to hunt tigers and bears 40 years ago, fought in WW2 against the Japanese, and in all other ways was a pretty tough dude.  Eventually, other tables started listening in too - we were all loving the chance to hear his stories; I just wish I could even get by in pidgin Chinese - sign language only goes so far!

The next day was much easier, just heading down to the hike's end at Tina's Guesthouse.  A trailside temple and a gushing waterfall were nice surprises, as was a sublime view of the entire length of the gorge...

Catching a minibus back to Jane's Hostel, we thought the adventure was over, but the taxi driver did his best to add a bit of excitement, as he barrelled along a super narrow and bumpy dirt road at top speed.  With nary a guardrail in sight (this IS China, after all), he also loved taking his eyes off the road to talk loudly on his cell phone.

Dude.  NOT the time to take a call, buddy.  Seriously.

A firm word from Johan, our Dutch friend, plus some barely contained gasps as the car swerved suddenly towards the edge thankfully put a stop to that, and we were able to get out on shaky legs at Jane's Hostel, tired but triumphant!

Lijiang: Twists and Turns a' Plenty

Two days in Dali can sure spoil a guy... a great hostel in the Jade Emu, with cold beer and the World Cup on the telly, complete with dry British commentary, is damn hard to beat.  But I was able to finally motivate myself to book a bus out, and on to my next stop - the hillside town of Lijiang... a curvy three hour bus ride away.

Sure, I'd heard great things about Lijiang before, but arriving was another thing entirely.  I set shop in Naxi Mama's - a legendary hostel whose proprietor was a veritable whirlwind of energy and hospitality that couldn't help but make you smile.  Within a minute of walking into the door, she'd taken me by the hand, sat me down, gave me a banana, plopped down a cup of tea, all the while  checking me in and calling me honey.  Awesome.  Awesome plus a tasty bonus - her hostel cooks up a daily six course communal meal for about $2.

I got organized and then headed out to wander the town.  It took just a few minutes to quickly realize that Lijiang is a bit like the Venice of China, complete with its own unique hillside twist.  Take dozens of narrow and winding alleys, a bunch of serpentine canals, coupled with unique wooden architecture spread out over a half dozen small hills.  It must be a postman's nightmare but it's definitely a tourist's paradise, as with each turn, you couldn't help but anticipate what surprise might be before you.

As a rookie navigating the town, I started out with dreams of finding a well-regarded pizza place called Don Papa's and promptly got utterly, gloriously lost.  I eventually got there, with a great thin crust pizza and world class people-watching, shopping, chatting or playing game after game of cards with friends.  But even getting lost was a huge part of the fun of a day in Lijiang.

Swarmed with tourists it may be, the town's still got a good friendly spirit, and even the most jaded vendor can easily summon a welcoming grin to the visitor.  Even the local dogs got in the act, as I got a warm slobbery hello from this ridiculously cute puppy:

Totally stuffed, it was time to hit the streets once more.  A wander up to the hillside temple overlooking the city brought its own surprises, from a pot of pu'er black tea in a hillside shop to watching a woodcarver over a wall hanging...

... to snapping a sneaky pic of a local woman just taking in the scene.

Without major museums or specific attractions, Lijiang itself was the major sight.  A few hours went by in a blur - from watching locals washing clothes in the canals just as in centuries past...

... to making friends with a Chinese kid who was packing some serious plastic heat.

The highlight though had to have been the tiny, tiny kitten who made its home at the junction of three lanes.  Mewing for attention, it must have sensed I was a soft touch, because as soon as I sat down next to it, I had an enthusiastically purring lap buddy.

I guess that must have been a funny sight, as lots of locals stopped and grinned at the two of us.  Thankfully it had a collar and presumably a home, as otherwise, I was giving serious thought to working out how to take the wee guy back to London!

The communal dinner was fun, as the six people sharing a total of five nationalities tried to decipher what exactly we were eating.  But that's the fun of Chinese cooking... especially with the more genuine back alley or home-cooked variety...almost invariably, the dishes surprise with their tasty mix of ingredients, as long as just like hot dogs, you never inquire too closely as too what exactly you were eating.

The rest of the night was long... very long.

Initially, an Irish guy, a German girl, and a Yank joined me in finding a bar showing the World Cup, especially the first US game against England.  All well and good, and we got situated at a really cool Dutch pub on the outskirts of the old town, thinking to get a drink in before heading back for a pre-game nap.

There was only one minor wrinkle to the plan.  We arrived at 7:30pm, and the US game didn't start until 2:00 local time.  After a few rounds, we made the somewhat foolish choice to just wait it out.  With the hospitality of the Dutch barkeep, many, many Tsingtao or Dali beers went down nicely, and then it got worse, as we started chatting to some American English teachers, playing a game of 'flippy cup'.

Simple game, but with brutal consequences.  Take ten people, five to a team facing each other, and each person with a half cup of beer in a plastic cup.  At the same time, the first pair each drink their beers, and then try to knock their cups in the air so that they land face down.  Once that happened, the next person goes as fast as they can and so on.

Simple, sure, but a blast... and one with a heavy toll, as a half beer every five to ten minutes gets... messy.

Still somewhat conscious though, we got to watch the US pull off a very lucky tie against England, with Clint Dempsey's somewhat ambitious long range shot was inexplicably bobbled by the keeper.  Sweet.

(Sorry to all my British friends, but once more - here's the pic:)

Less sweet was the stagger home... take the already confusing layout of Lijiang, and add in a seriously drunken haze.  A mile-ish walk became difficult.  Very difficult.

Luck favors fools or drunks, evidently, but at the ripe hour of 5am, I found the hostel and staggered to a well-deserved sleep.

*****

After such a long night, I didn't get underway the next day 'til after noon, and that was only very, very slowly... all things considered, I did okay, trying a local Naxi speciality of a dry rice flour pancake for breakfast before sorting out my laundry.

The rest of the day was pretty unexceptional, except that it was still amazing just being in Lijiang.  More playing with the kitten...

... then a wander around found me at a Tibetan place that served my favorite Nepalese dish of mo-mo's (spicy steamed dumplings), plus a shake and black tea.

A funny side note - I watched the local propane gas delivery guy load up his moped with a ridiculous number of cylinders, then rushing off down super crowded streets with 'nary a care in the world... coming from the States and the UK, I kept thinking "wow, that's a HUGE liability waiting to happen", looking for the local Health & Safety guy to put the regulatory smack down.  As this was China, that just  wasn't going to happen.

Dinner was pretty sweet too - at an Australian/Chinese couple's place that featured top notch imported Aussie pizzas, plus the finest Chinese tea.  Before crashing for the night, we got in a good chinwag about expat life in China, and fun ways to try to beat the Chinese internet firewall - you know, all the critical information that backpackers need to share. :)