Day 42 - Taking it easy in Chengdu

Waking at 6.00am when the lights and music began, we waited patiently for the next hour (which we could have been sleeping) to pass until our arrival in Chengdu - the capital of Sichuan province - known for its firey hot and spicy food. When the train finally stopped we farewelled our train-mates and stepped out into the masses towards the bus stop, and boarded our last bus to make it to our hostel!

Once off the bus we walked in the wrong direction (it's becoming a habit now) before finding a sign and a local to help us orientate - one of Chengdu's major hassles is its street-naming system, mainly the fact that there isn't one and street names suddenly merge or change, or have no name at all - don't even think about using numbers as 1 may be next to 300, and another 1 may be just up the road. However, we made it to our hostel, and despite having to pay higher prices than we're used to outside of the major cities, it was nice to finally get a room with a bathroom and treat Liv to a bit of luxury she was meant to get for her birthday. The signs of luxury include toilet paper and towels in the room, and an absence of creepy crawlies.

We collapsed into the small restaurant at the hostel too exhausted to deal with the streets, and attempted to replenish our malnourished bodies, it was nice to have a proper meal after the last 24 hours! After a shower (to clean off the last week's worth of traveller's scent) and a rest we headed around the corner (literally) to Wanshu Yuan (Wanshu Monastery), the biggest Buddhist Temple in Chengdu founded in 605 A.D. Here we wandered through the gardens admiring the elegant statues, ancient and huge bells, and very impressive Chinese multi-tierd architecture. We also made our way to the temple vegetarian restaurant where we ate dumplings, veges, and meatballs (even though it was a vegetarian restuarant in a Buddhist temple, Liv still had to check that the meal was meat-free - it was). The meal was absolutely delicious and served as a late birthday treat - as at Lugu Lake our dining choices were limited to the basic hostel cafes!
We finished the afternoon walking through the streets of Chengdu, all with their own unique charm. We stopped for icecream and made the mistake of purchasing before asking the price, which led to a ridiculously priced and less than tasty treat. We then made our way to the the big Carrefour supermarket to stock up on travelling supplies and chocolate for Liv. This expedition proved to be much less enjoyable than anticipated (noise, crowds, kids peeing in aisle rubbish bins, and almost being charged double for our cheap peaches), and although we walked away with two bags full of supplies, the store had taken some of our good mood!

Luckily some cheap and yummy cake (had to get the birthday cake sooner or later) and cookies on the way home restored our good mood, as we made our way back home.
Catching up on the blog (experiencing the typical computer issues that come with computers being in Chinese - means photos will come later), we now plan to have a light tea and settle in for an early night with a dvd in our room - we told you it was luxury!

Adlibing it into luxury.