The beds in China are very much unlike those in the States. Unlike the plush, soft mattresses into which you can almost drown yourself, the mattresses here are a lot firmer. On my first night in China, I was not at all used to the hardness of the bed. Nevertheless, I adjusted quickly and got a good night’s worth of …
Today, we took a three-hour bus to Luzhou, about 330 km southwest from Chengdu. Several of our extended family live in that city, so we paid them a visit. At this time in our trip, I have gotten about two dozen mosquito bites, most of which are in my lower leg. They itch to the point where certain parts of …
Waking up before 8 o’clock today, we decided to go see the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, a.k.a the “Panda Park”. We originally planned to see it in our last week in China, but favorable weather persuaded us to go right away. About 10 km from Chengdu downtown and on the Bus 87 route, the park is the largest …
After breakfast, we take the bus downtown to the shopping center. There are many familiar global brands, especially fast food chains such as Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and Burger King. I counted at least four McDonaldses around the area. It is a running joke on the Internet that there are a ton of stores that impersonate American or Western brands. This …
It’s been six years since I’ve been back to China. But after an 11-hour flight to Incheon Airport, a 3 hour transfer to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, and luckily no legroom fights, we are back in my birthplace! Chengdu, especially the downtown portion, has really changed since I was last here. The first thing that you see when you exit …