Trip West -- Chengdu

When I first planned our trip, I knew that the bus ride from Songpan to Chengdu would be the longest. My hope was that with recent road improvements, the ride would at least be faster than the 12 plus hours it had taken me the first time I made the trip from Chengdu to Songpan. My hopes were confirmed when I bought the tickets. The trip would take an estimated eight hours, which is still a very long time with two children. On our walk on the last evening in Songpan, we had purchased some creative toys and art tools to help keep Josiah and Amelia occupied.

Around six in the morning we boarded a comfortable, new bus. The old, cramped, bouncy buses I had to take only three years before had all been replaced by these beautiful coach buses. With the children still asleep and the sky still dark, we set off on our way. The road followed the river flowing through Songpan as it twisted through deep, narrow valleys almost all the way to Chengdu. Becky and I both knew we should get a little more sleep before the children woke up, and the motions of the bus soon induced drowsiness. But, alas, sleep was impossible because the scenery was too spectacular! Streams plunged down rugged, steep mountains covered with forests into the ever-widening river. Tiny plots of ripe corn and other crops nestled onto small terraces on the hillsides dotted the scene. Villages flew by with their picturesque wooden cottages. Villagers dressed in fabulous traditional clothes walked along the road with their flocks and herds slowing down our bus. Unfortunately, my seat on the bus was in a bad spot to get any pictures, so I had to content myself with just cataloging it all in my mind. As we drove on, the climate and the scenery gradually changed. Forests became bushes and then dessert. Then everything became tropical as we went lower and lower into the heart of Sichuan. At about three, we arrived in Chengdu.

Our hotel was called Bob's Guesthouse, and it is pretty well-known among backpackers. It cannot be called luxurious, but it was relatively clean and inexpensive. Most importantly, it is located in the center of the city. The courtyard of the hotel has a very lush garden and tea house creating an old-China feel.

On a previous visit to Chengdu, I had been introduced to a special place called Peter's, Chengdu's Mexican restaurant. I now had a chance to take Becky! The place was well decorated, and the atmosphere was very fun. We were shocked by the number of foreigners who all seemed to know each other. Our food was delicious, and Becky and I even got a few moments alone as the kids played in a little play area.

The morning we got up early to head to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. We fun morning strolling along bamboo lined paths watching the pandas. Our favorite spot was the baby panda enclosure. Josiah and Amelia were thrilled watching the one-year-olds playing, wrestling, and chasing the keepers. Josiah even pointed out that their play resembled how he and his sister like to play (and fight).

The night before I had used the internet to reserve a special hotel as a treat for Becky having endured so many nights in one and two star hotels along our journey. Anyone who knows Becky knows how much she loves cleanliness above most else. She had learned to endure and possibly enjoy our less-than-immaculate places. Now I decided to make our last night in Chengdu really fancy. So I hunted down a good four-star hotel at a good price. After lunch following our visit with the pandas, we walked over to our new hotel. We were delighted by the luxury and cleanliness of our new room, and we spent the afternoon reveling in it.

After a wonderful nap, we went out to explore downtown Chengdu. We especially enjoyed the large, lively pedestrian street lined with lots of store and restaurants. While meandering, we stumbled across a pleasant surprise. To our delight we found ourselves standing in front of a Swenson's Ice Cream restaurant! We could not pass up that kind of treat, but dinner would bust the budget. So after an inexpensive fast food dinner, we returned to our scrumptious discovery. We have saved on dinner, so we went all out for dessert. Memories of my childhood came flooding back as I stared at the Earthquake pictured on the menu. Sentiment overcame sensibility, and I ordered it. An hour and ten scoops of ice cream later (of which I ate the majority), we sluggishly and happily headed back to our hotel for a night of sound, comfortable sleep.Through mutual friends I had contacted a foreign family living in Chengdu. On Sunday morning we had an opportunity to go to their home for a time of fellowship with them and a few other foreigners. They were a blessing and encouragement to us. Although our time with them was much too short, we said goodbye after lunch to our new friends. Then we made our way to the airport.

Several day before, unable to obtain train tickets, we had no choice but to buy plane tickets. Now, late on Sunday afternoon, we experienced a smooth ride to the airport, and anticipated a smooth flight home. We had saved telling Josiah about our decision until the last minute. Now, Josiah was ecstatic. He was going to fly! We walked up the check-in counter presented our passport. The lady behind the counter began searching on the computer for our reservation. Then the smooth day came to a sudden halt. Our reservation for some unknown reason had been canceled. We been a flurry of phone calls to track down the travel agent. He profusely apologized. He had mistakenly canceled our reservation! Now, there were no tickets available until early the next day. We explained that the next evening we had an important engagement, but they insisted there was no other way. Josiah was devastated at being deprived of his flight. We were stuck in Chengdu for another night.

So we were forced to return to our hotel for another night. We used to extra time to check out a pizza restaurant that an American friend had recommended that morning. The calzone was indeed quite good, but the Hawaiian pizza was just plain excellent. In three days we eaten Mexican food, Italian pizza, and American ice cream. We had to admit it. We were spoiled!

Monday morning we made our second attempt to leave Chengdu by air. This time we were successful. Four hours later, we walked back into our pretty, comfortable, familiar home having just completely a very special trip. Almost instantly, it seemed incredible that we had done it. And almost instantly, we began looking forward to our next adventure.