Chengdu

Day 6:

Another early morning to catch the first subway and express train to the airport. We got there on time and checked in but then got caught in the security line. We had to line up so that security can check everyone's paper work before going through the scanners. By that point it was already 10 minutes past our boarding time and we've already asked 2 security guards. They just laughed and said we will be fine. Luckily we found a lady security guard and she took us to the front of the line. We literally ran through security and all the way on to the plane. When we got there we still had to wait for all the other guys waiting in the security line.

On arrival in Chengdu we managed to get a taxi after fighting through a whole crowd of taxi hungry people with a trolley and two huge backpacks. The taxi took us directly to Werner's house. Werner is one of Salome's friends from years ago and haven't seen him in ages, so this was a perfect reunion and what's more perfect to meet again in China.

Werner and his girlfriend lives in a beautiful home in a place called 'The Waterfront'. It's a duplex apartment with a beautiful view. Our first stop in Chengdu was the Giant Panda Research Facility. I was super excited, cause I love panda's and have never seen one before.

We saw quite a few panda's and it was truly amazing. It was probably one of the most incredible experiences in my life and will never forget it. It's such a shame that they might not be around for much longer. I wish everybody can go there and just get their eyes opened and try to conserve everything around them. It's important to leave something for the next generation, so appreciate everything and look after it! Panda's are beautiful creatures and just sitting there observing them was amazing.




After the panda's we finally got to meet Rachel and Werner. That night we went to Rachel's office dinner to say good bye to one of the ladies she worked with. At first we thought we might be crashing the dinner, but it turned out to be very interesting and fun. We went to a very exclusive Indian restaurant and had delicious food. Thanks for dinner Werner! After dinner we went back to the apartment and then to one of their friends' flats. We had a few drinks with other expats and then turned in.

Day 7:

We woke up to the lovely smell of Rachel's omelets. As if that was not enough, Werner brought out the Marmite. My day was made. I've been craving Marmite soooo long! All of us packed our bags and went for a drive to the country side. It was so nice to get out of the city and the country side was beautiful! For lunch we stopped at a little local restaurant for jummy food. Apparently UNESCO has a food list and Chengdu is on there. Pretty impressive don't you think? The food was incredibly spicy but we had some peanut milk to take the spice away. After lunch we found a Daoist Temple. I'm not a big temple lover, but this one was really nice. It was authentic and in the middle of nowhere. O and you didn't have to hike up a mountain to get there.





The rest of the day we just drove around and even went through a ghost town. All the time driving we were planning the 'braai' for when we got home, or even the next morning. At home we had a shower and then went to dinner. After dinner we headed to Buddha Bar, which is a really nice little cosy bar where we had some drinks. It was such a nice evening, we talked about travels and caught up on old times. We had a quick night cap at home, amarula on ice.



Day 8:

Unfortunately it was raining on Sunday so we couldn't braai but instead we made a Sunday roast. Rachel and I started on the food while Salome and Werner went shopping for some more goodies. I made a killer salad (with Feta - JUM!!) and Rachel prepared the beef, pork tender loin and chutney. For starters we had toasted bagels with cream cheese and herb sausages. Werner took us to the airport after lunch and off we went to Shanghai.