Nov 19 - Chengdu

Nov 19

We made it to Chengdu! We have had a GREAT first day here in Chengdu!

This morning, we got up bright and early for our flight from Beijing. Our guide helped us check in. We had one bag that was slightly overweight and they let it go – so, I didn’t have to drink one of my precious remaining diet cokes. Our guide helped us check in and we said goodbye to her at security. Our gate was 25 and when we got to the gate, there was actually 25A-H. So, we looked up our flight on the board and proceeded to gate 25D. We were in a sea of Chinese speaking people and NONE of the announcements were in English. We are assuming this is like a typical puddle jumper gate area and we will be on a small plane. Well, after a while, we realize that people are boarding through the gate, so we start following. At the last minute, we realize the flight number has changed! Yikes! Over to the board again and sure enough, we must have missed the gate change announcement and people are boarding our flight over at 25H! We race over and get on our bus to the plane. When we board the plane we were astonished to get on an Airbus 330 – which seats the same number of people as our United flight from San Francisco to Beijing! We were seated 8 across and the plane was about 90% full! Big flight! We left and arrived on time and found our luggage no problem.

One crazy taxi ride later and we are at our hotel, the Yinhe Dynasty Hotel. It is a local hotel, and is very nice. We then settled into our room and met our guide Sandy for a little walk around the area. Man, there are a LOT of bikes here! Sandy says that there are 300 new cars on the road every day, but the bikes seem to far outnumber the cars. Rickshaws everywhere and bikes, bikes, bikes. Sandy took us to the grocery store for water and then on a little tour of the area. Our hotel is downtown, so we are in the middle of a lot of shopping areas. She showed us the department stores, which are government run, and the local private market stores in a pedestrian area. There were just so many people everywhere it was just plain crazy. Little street vendors selling food, jewelry, toys, etc. and people walking, riding bikes, mopeds everywhere. It is Sunday, so there were a lot of families out and about. Sandy went back to the hotel and we went back out ourselves to buy a few things for Jack for tomorrow. We found a cute stuffed giraffe that plays music and some crackers. We have found some stores to go to tomorrow to buy him some clothes and shoes and will also let him pick out a toy or two. Darby will be pleased to know that orange seems to be a very popular color here. Carter, the street vendors are selling little turtles about the size of your fist. I thought of you when I saw them, but I am sorry to say that I don’t think I could bring them on the plane!

Sandy says laundry is a little expensive, so while we were out, we bought a Tide soap bar to do our laundry ourselves. When we got back to the room, we washed our pants and it was completely disgusting. I can’t believe I was wearing those clothes. They were so filthy and we think it is just from the pollution and maybe the places we have been sitting. Now we have clothes hanging all over the hotel room and it will probably take everything 3 days to dry .

After the laundry, we met Sandy for dinner. We could not get a cab, so we took rickshaws to the restaurant – boy was that a crazy ride! We told Sandy that we like spicy food and that we wanted to try the Hot Pot, which is a local favorite. I have to say, this meal was definitely a major highlight of our trip so far. I am not exactly sure what all we ate, but boy was it good. The best way to describe Hot Pot is that it is the Chinese version of fondue. They brought out a huge bowl of broth with spices including a slew of red chili peppers and brought it to a boil on the burner under the table. Then they brought out a variety of things to toss in the pot; noodles, fish, spiced beef, lotus root, potatoes, other vegetables, some mystery seafood, sausages and I think some pork. We tossed this stuff all in the pot and then fished it out with a slotted spoon when it was cooked (with chopsticks!). We then dipped it in sesame oil with a bunch of garlic in it and ate it up. This was one of the best meals we have ever eaten! It was fabulous. Darby and Carter, you guys would have thought it was fun and we missed having you here for this! We ate at a table outside with a fabulous view of the city lights. We really had a great time.

Lastly, Chris may be holding out on me as he is saying that he is not sharing my misery, but I can barely walk without my quads reminding me of my day on the Great Wall yesterday! Man, am I sore! I have told Chris that I am sure it is because the steps were about waist high for me (okay, maybe not waist high, but they sure seemed it!).

So, now we are back at our room and the crib is here, all ready for Jack. We are all packed up for our trip to the orphanage tomorrow morning and excited to meet our new son!

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Sonja