One fine day, my friend suggested that we go to Tibet and Nepal. Initially, I didn't know where was these two places. I even thought Tibet is a country by itself! That was a year ago. And my friend also told me - You have to save about RM10,000. I gawked! RM10,000! Oh my God! How am I going to make this happen? So, from then on, it was skipping meals, and no shopping. Well, it was definitely worth it!
Today, I will tell the story of my trip. We booked the cheap airflight to Chengdu. Our journey was to fly to Chengdu, take the 2 day train to Tibet, spend 9 days in Tibet, cross the Tibet-Nepal border, and trek 11 days in Nepal.
On 29th August 2011, we flew to Chengdu in the evening. And reached about 11pm. At there, we had our agent pick us up. We picked a local China agent, who helped us to do our Tibet permits, buy our train tickets to Tibet and ensure our Tibet itinerary as what we wanted. At the hotel, we paid the tour fees of RMB4,957. And the agent walked away carrying hard cash of RMB4,957 x 8 pax. Wow. Must be safe in Chengdu!
On 30th August 2011, we woke up to a very lovely weather. But it was so hot. This is where we stayed for the night in Chengdu - GreenTree Inn.
For breakfast, we ate as provided by the hotel. Had porridge with their vegetables. I love the vegetables!
After breakfast, we walked to the local Park. It was just 10 minutes' walk. We had the whole day to spare till evening. Our train ticket was at night.
Some photos in the Park. See the pants the kid is wearing. It's so easy when the kid needs to poo.
The cool part is the elderly were dancing in the Park. That is how the elderly spent their time.
And also, draw Chinese characters on the floor. With water. My friends did try writing but none of them were as skillful as the elderly who drew fine Chinese characters.
After the Park, we stopped a cab to bring us to the Old Street of Chengdu. It reminded me of West Street in Guilin. I went to Guilin in February this year. Anyway, back to Chengdu. I think each place in China has an Old Street to show people what was old China like.
Guess what food is below!! It's the intestine of the swine! OH GAWD! But anyway, it didn't smell bad. Seriously.
There were people selling candies. But the way they make the candies is special. First, the customer spin on a board that has different animal shapes on what type of candy shape they want. So, once selected, the seller makes the candy. So skillful! It's a dragon the guy is making!
And for lunch, we went to a mall. Which is located opposite the Science and Technology Museum.
The food court was on the 7th floor of the mall.
Now, this is a local cuisine in Chengdu, which is in the Sichuan province. It's famous for spicy food! So, this is a dish where it's mostly chilli. I can eat chilli, but not a dish full of chilli! Initially, when I ate the first few spoons, it was just sweet and nice, but then, it began to get hot. And my tongue said - stop.
After lunch, we walked back to our hotel. And on the way, we stopped to buy cup noodles for our ration in the train. We were told to stock ourselves as the food sold in the train is expensive.
Behind our hotel, there were some Chinese Muslims selling their food. I have never seen a Chinese Muslim before. We tried wishing them Happy Eid Mubarak because it was the first day of their festival, but they didn't understand. And we wished them in Mandarin too. So, I am not sure if they celebrate, but then again, Eid Mubarak is widely celebrated by all Muslims.
Anyway, they were selling bread and fried chicken. I bought the bread and it costs RMB5. The bread below has chunks of beef inside. I tried eating a bit, and I can't handle the taste. It tasted really funny. I had to throw the bread away.
And this bread below costs RMB5 too. But it is just made of egg and milk. So, I don't understand why is it as equally priced as the bread that has beef. It seems so unfair. Still, I bought to try it. And the bread is hard! And I really mean hard. I just ate the outer ring and can't finish the middle one.
But their fried chicken is awesome! Juicy.
That is the owner, I believe. Must be the mummy.
For dinner, we walked to a nearby eatery. A small restaurant that has bowls of cooked food dipped in chilli soup. Not spicy. But then, I only tried one stick. It cost only RMB0.50. Very cheap. It tasted sweet. I dare not try more, as I do not want to risk a stomachache, and definitely not one in the train!
So, this is the tastiest meal we tried in the restaurant. It was a bit salty.
After dinner, we took the taxi to Chengdu Railway Station. See how packed it is!
And that is my ticket. Look at the characters on the right. I am seated in the 3rd carriage, 9th room and the middle bed. The ticket price is RMB692, as printed, but we paid RMB712. I have not understood why we paid more. But RMB30 is something that I can still overlook.
The huge train schedule in the train station.
And this is the platform to wait. Can you imagine the train leaves at 8.59pm? Seriously. And I wonder, why not 9pm? Like that is going to make a whole lot of difference!
Also, not to fear, they provide hot boiling water in the train station. So, you can see people eating noodles in the station. The toilet... oh my... something not worth experiencing twice. But we experienced it for 9 days in Tibet. The stench is ... undescribable. I thought Malaysian public toilets were bad. And now, I think Malaysian public toilets are nothing compared to this.
At 8.30pm, the platform doors open, and we headed to our train. There it states, to Lhasa.
Here, begins our 44 hour train ride to Lhasa, Tibet. Which is in the next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment