Long-delayed Chengdu Post

I went to Chengdu after Gansu a few weeks ago. It was a great trip, though it was a hassle to get there due to unforseen travel issues. My friends and I stayed in a cute hostel in town. One of my friends had to take a 22hr train ride to get to Chengdu, after we'd already taken a 15 hr train ride to get to Lanzhou! The day after she arrived, though, we hightailed it straight to the Panda Reserve.

One of my goals going to China was to see a panda. I think I must have seen a panda sometime in my life, probably at the San Francisco Zoo as a kid, but I don't really remember it. I just love pandas. How can you not? They're so cute!

Pandas are found throughout a great area of China but are most native to the province of Sichuan, where this picture was taken. There are several panda reserves in the area but the one in Chengdu is one of the biggest. You can hold a panda or a red panda there. I was so tempted, but the steep 1000 RMB price held me back. Holding a red panda is considerably less expensive (only 100 RMB or about $15 US) but alas the red pandas were sick the day we went. I was a little heartbroken.

These pandas, though, were exceptional. We saw month-old pandas that were so tiny I couldn't believe that they'd grow to the phenomenal size adults reach. We saw pandas eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping... Well, that's all pandas do, pretty much. But they do a great job of it!

The picture above is THE ONLY PICTURE OF ME AND A PANDA IN EXISTENCE. My digital camera was a little the worse for wear coming out of the sandy Gobi Desert. Thus it didn't take well to my constant attempts to turn it on and was being quite stubborn. Fortunately, it acquiesced just long enough for this one very unflattering snapshot. Why it couldn't take a better picture at that moment, I'll never know. But I do look excited, I guess.

I had a lovely half day with the pandas, despite my raging bowel problems on that day (I'm sure you wanted to know that). And in the van on the way there and back, I was reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I'll probably write about that series in a little bit, because I'm really obsessed with it and have already finished all three books. (Thank you, illegal street vendor of English books! I love you!)

Hope all's well with you and that you, too, get to see a panda soon!

xoxo