December 18th - Chengdu, a relaxing city of spicy food
On the late morning of the 18th our plane descended into Chengdu. Over the plane's speakers a flight attendant spoke in Chinese about how you wouldn't want to leave Chengdu, and they were right.
Our first mission was to get to our hotel, which was a rented room.
Before we get to that, let's start with the Chengdu airport.
We finally found a buss that went near our rented room, and it dropped us off at a nearby intersection.
During the ride, almost every building we passed had plant life growing on the sides or on the roofs.
It was around this time I started noticing the air. It felt very heavy, but it was really relaxing. I suspect this is where the overall atmosphere of Chengdu comes from.
Now, this was a bit of a problem, as there weren't any obvious "hotel this way" signs. As a foreigner in China with foreign sim cards, our GPS did not work. We eventually figured out that we could spot the "hotel" (just a house) through a fence, and eventually figured out there is only one entrance to the entire block that the house is in.
This is a pretty common pattern in China - cities are made up of lots of small communities, and the entrance/exits can be regulated.
I don't have many pictures of our hotel from the first day. When we entered, we were greeted by another foreigner and a small dog. Directly inside the hotel had a very nice kitchen and bar, and the walls were decorated with art. Here's one of the art pieces I found amusing.
So, we unloaded our things and went in search of this famous Chengdu food. I think during the first night I didn't find the food to be very special, but that would change. Nonetheless, it was good.
We also got a haircut (and hair wash! so fancy!) on the way, which was $2.
So, we found our restaurant, which was on a street flanked by construction.
We then explored a local community, which had lots of smaller shops that reminded Yuxiu of her childhood. We even found one of her childhood snacks at a small store.
In China, community, family, and elders are very important. They have dedicated public buildings for old poeple to play Mahjong together.
On our walk back to the hotel, we got a close up experience of traffic in China.
We quickly realized that while our "hotel" was very nice, and had great hosts, it was not in an ideal place to tour Chengdu from. So, the next morning we would be leaving this hotel.