Chengdu Pandas and Dujiangyan
One of the things that I really wanted to do while I was in Chengdu was to go to a panda conservatory and see the pandas. The first time I was in Chengdu for just 16 hours (several years ago), we had time to go to a mall and see the giant fake panda climbing onto the...
Back to School: Teaching in China
The beginning of the semester is always fun as I meet my new students and run into old students. One thing I’ve noticed now is that as I walk around campus, especially during the times when the students are likely to be out, I almost always run into at least two or...
Exploring Chengdu (Sichuan opera and Chengdu Museum)
Before traveling to Chengdu, I spent my last morning in Chongqing visiting a park with another view of the city. It was green and beautiful, but by the time I left, it was also very hot. I was hoping Chengdu would be a bit cooler! Stone rope bridge For lunch, I went...
Fuling: Solo Adventure
I’d never understood the appeal of solo traveling until last summer when I ended up in Hawaii for a couple of days staying with friends of friends but on my own as far as sightseeing was concerned. Since I was in Hawaii for a friend’s wedding, I spent most of the time...
An Ancient Immigration Guild Hall and Yummy Food
Wendy was leaving in the afternoon today, but we still had the morning to explore the city, so we made full use of our time. After our normal breakfast of baozi, a steamed bun filled with pork or vegetables, we headed to the hospital with a staircase to the roof of...
The Three Natural Bridges
Today we were heading back to Chongqing, but first we would spend the day visiting a beautiful national park. We decided to have a relaxing morning first, so we took a walk around the resort again—it was beautiful in the morning, but it was starting to get hot by the...
Fairy Goddess Mountain
What a name! Fairy Goddess Mountain. I was thankful that Wendy helped me to find and plan pretty much our entire adventure outside of Chongqing. Getting out of the city and into the mountains was wonderful even though it was a bit of a long trip. We left our hotel...
Exploring Chongqing
Jack and Clara left today, but they had some recommendations for things that we could try. I always love following someone else’s plan because that means I don’t have to make my own and it’s a plan that has been tried and proven successful! Wendy and I also learned...
San Mao’s House and Other Adventures
Clara had some ideas for things we wanted to do today, but thankfully we got to sleep in first. I also wanted to wash some clothes, so while I waited for my friends, I washed some of my clothes in the bathroom sink. I didn’t expect to like washing clothes so...
First Day in Chongqing!
After breakfast, the boat crew told us that we needed to be off the ship by 8:30 a.m.! Not much time for a relaxing morning today. Ruby and I packed up and headed out. Since I am traveling for 3 weeks, I have a big suitcase, and as soon as we checked out, an older man...