What have we been up to since arriving in Chengdu? A special post for J&S, Roger Federer and Konijn met Pruimen. (Don't worry if you don't understand this part, perfectly normal)
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Renmin street in Chengdu, the main street. You notice how gray and hazy Chengdu is; this is apparently a typical day, even quite good in terms of haze...
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| Tianfu square, the "centre" of Chengdu |
Big cities are not our cup of tea. Chengdu is not too bad however. It's huge - 10 million people in the city itself, 15 million in the city area... That's more than Belgium!!! As most Chinese cities, it's a well planned modern city, with a lot of space, good public transport and lots of things to enjoy. And: it's a great food heaven!
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| Wide boulevards, pedestrian crossing bridges, traffic, haze, lots of buildings and little green - a Chinese city! |
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| Tea time! |
We've been enjoying good food, for sure. First of all, we had western food for the first time in long; twice! We also had some great Belgian beer, many places have a good selection here and it's not too expensive either - I mentioned that before. We also enjoyed, a few more times, delicious Chinese food - like the famous Sichuan hotpot (again). We didn't cycle but we walked a lot; yes, we used the subway too, but walking is such a good way to explore and experience a city. So we did around 20km of walking, every day. Days start late here, at least compared to the previous months, we get up quite a bit later. Then we walk to the bakery and get some good, fresh bread. We enjoy a long breakfast, do some online stuff, and by the time we get out it's afternoon already. We walk around, to the Bamboo park (Wangjianglou Park), People's Park, Wenshu Temple, Jinli (which was way too busy for us) or just through the city, and enjoy the sounds, sights (and smells).
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| Bamboo Park, very nice, peaceful and not on the tourist map... |
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| People enjoying a cup of tea in Bamboo Park (and, front right: getting their ears cleaned) |
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| In People's Park, people are welcome to stage their performances; fantastic to see how the Chinese are really enthusiastically enjoying this! |
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| Another performance |
Our bicycles have had a full revision, they were actually still in good shape so nothing major had to be done, and they've been packed by Natooke, ready to fly tomorrow. We've been spoiled at Larry's place, we really had the apartment all to ourselves, it's been great to have a home for a couple of days, to hang around, do laundry, feel comfortable. Tomorrow morning 5am we'll be picked up by a driver who'll take the boxed bicycles as well, and we're off to the airport, on our way to the next destination: South Korea!
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| Wenshu temple was partially closed for renovations, but the part we could visit was very beautiful and we were lucky to witness some Buddhist ceremony. |
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| A monk preparing for the ceremony at Wenshu Temple |
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| Soon followed by his colleagues |
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| Beautiful details at Wenshu Temple |
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| Can't get enough of it... |
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| Young leaves in an old temple |
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| Happily enjoying Sichuan hotpot! |