Chengdu, China

From the Yangtze river we took the scariest taxi bus so far to the bus station. Our tour guide arranged transport for us but he was one crazy driver! They use their horns here even more than they do in Thailand. They have lines on the road but they just seem to drive wherever there is space, particularly when they reach traffic they will try and squeeze their cars into the smallest gaps and honk furiously at each other. Lawrence, I promise I will not moan about ur driving ever again Anyway after getting much closer to a cement truck than was comfortable we made it to the bus station and swapped to a public bus. We were spread out amongst the locals for out three hour bus ride to Chongquin. We had bad boys two in English to entertain us which must have annoyed the locals although lots of it was cut out lol. I tried interacting with the guy next to me by pointing at my ‘do you speak English’ phrase in my basic chinese book we’ve been given however after a shaking of his hand that was he end of that. We got to Chongquin after dark and ony had a short time to look around before tour guide Jerry took us for hotpot. This is a local delicacy to this area where everthing starts to get a little bit more spicy! It was a lot like a fondue but rather than cheese or chocolate we had a bowl of plain soup and a bowl of spicy soup to cook things in. Things ranged from mushrooms and pumpkin to beef strips and lotus root. The spicy soup was apparently the lowest spice but it was still enough to make ur lips tingle. However the dairy queen ice cream from a nearby stand that followed did the trick. Chongquin looks amazing in the dark. Many of the buildings are illuminated in multicoloured lights. Sadly we didn’t have anymore time to explore as we left early the following morning to get our train to Chengdu but with 32million people living in the city I think it may have been a little crazy! I also have to mention the motel we stayed in,it had the weirdest atmosphere. None of the rooms had windows but had artifical plants and flowers in glass display cabinets instead and it just had the strangest feel to it like it wa something out of a scene of csi or something.

We got a bullet train to Chengdu or panda city as I may refer to it now the following morning. We peaked at 196km/hr and it was the cleanest and smoothest ride we’ve had so far.We left later than we would have done on the bus and arrived earlier. Good times.

We have two nights in Chendu and our first day was free time so after a western lunch of pizza (although I think i’ll sick to the chinese food from now on) we had time to explore. We checked out the main Tian fu square which is a public square and is surrounded by numerous enormous designer shops. We managed to avoid the touts trying to take our pictures next to the various status and features in the park and continues on our mission to find the local wal mart to stock up on some snacks. Jerry had written us a note in Chinese to show people asking the way to the nearest walmart however after following a policeman’s directions no body else seemed to know the way!?! Our wandering brought us to another park which ws full of people watching the various things going on. Some people seemed to be takin part in dancing lessons others were flying kites or doing what I wan only describe as a cat walk show. There was also a number of stages with people singing so the park was just alive with noise and movement and is probably on of the most random things i’ve seen so far. We went for a coffee after that to take in what we’d just stumbles across and then found another shopping centre on ourwalk back to the hotel so we still managed to get some supplies after all!

That night we went as a group to a vey quaint place called Little China which was alive with street stalls selling food and gifts and also housed a local theatre where we saw a traditional Sichuan Oprah which didn’t have a single song in it but was a series of acts from hand puppet shows to comedy sketches, knife throwing and the famous changing masks. They literally change the masks they are wearing from one to another in blink of an eye or rather a swoosh of a cloak. Was very cool. We tried some of the street food after everything from spring rolls and won ton soup to sticks of various meats were available and very tasty. So all in all a great first day in Panda city.

Annoyingly I couldn’t sleep when I got back probably all the tea we’ve been drinking. I also got a phonecall at midnight which I didn’tanswer and is apparently a lady offering massage services. Everyone in the group apparently got a call!

The following day we went to Leshan tosee the giant carved buddah. At 71km high this carving is quite something. You start at the top where you can see the head and all the buns as they’re called on it. The you can walk down some pretty steep steps and see al the way down to its feet. Given the ear lobe is as big as two people its sheer size is just incredible. We explored the area round it including a temple housing three golden buddahs and some monks chanting and playing instruments. The relics in this temple were different again from any I saw in Thailand. After the buddah and another nail biting ride home we had free ime to explore the city however travellers fatigue meant I just wet to the supermarket for snacks for the next train ride and then bed. Others tried out a local bar but after waiting 2.5hrs for food they called it a night. We just really shouldn’t expect the chnese to do western food theway we expect it.

My rest was worthwhile as the following day we left early for the Giant Panda Breeding and Research Centre. As you can imagine this was something i’ve been looking forward to it didn’t disappoint. These creatures are truely awesome and we were there early enought to see them at their most active. There were two in particular play fighting right in front of us while mum just looked on eating bamboo. We saw some three month ol cubs too which were so adorable. I also took the opportunity to go and sit with a panda and have my photo taken. With only one thousand or so still in the wild it may be the only chance I get to see them up close however reading more about the breeding centre hopefully the will do something so save these beautiful creatures. We had to wear plastic gloves so I couldn’t really feel it properly the hair felt course but it was when it gripped my hand that was a really special moment. The keepers were feeding it apple while we sat with it to keep it entertained I guess. A truely awesomeane surreal experience. i’ll be sure to get some photos up as soon as I can. I stayed on to more time in the park instead of going to the silk museum to have more time with these awesome creatures howeve they seems to conserve their energy and mainly sleep in the afternoon. We even saw some sleeping in the trees which was impressive. Then I got a public but back where I met two other travellers who are braving China on their own. Very brave if you ask me! Since then we’ve been on the overnight train to Xian. Another 15hr stint which I managed to sleep most of even with people boarding at midnight making a right racket. I had the top bunk this time which as long as you don’t want to sit up is great for a bit of privacy. Its been a good chance to just take in everything i’ve seen th last few days and just relax. We have been warned it will be cold in Xian, like four degrees so i’m currently preparing myself for a shock. Will write again soon as from here we visit the terracotta warriors and the great wall!

Bariloche, Argentina

So, we’d been pretty frugal about eating out (extravagantly) in Chile, so it was finally time to splurge on some really, really good food here in Argentina. The first night, we each ordered insanely good barbecue in large portions and shared it around the table while yesterday, we filled up on fondue, pasta, and milanesa…

Today was our last day in Bariloche and my personal plan was to just relax, buy some souvenirs, buy some excellent quality chocolate (one of the things that this city in northern Patagonia is famous for, and for good reason), and see some of the city before we had to go on a 19 hour bus ride to Buenos Aires. After leaving the hostel in the morning, we all split up and agreed to meet at the statue of the man on the horse in the middle of the plaza at 12:30 pm. Kushal and I walked along on Calle Mitre dominated by many chocolate shops – some small, some large, all selling delicious chocolate. Some of them have adjoining cafes or ice cream shops as well. We started with a cup of hot chocolate and then proceeded to the shops. I bought a big box of chocolate at Turista and splurged at Mamushka, the chocolate shop in Bariloche…

We also walked to the nearby Cathedral on the lake, adorned with beautiful stained glass windows. It was mass during the time we walked in, and the priest delivered a memorable homily. Kushal left after a while, Hiyasmin caught the end of the mass, and we walked along the lake to meet the rest of the group back at the plaza surrounded by civic buildings reminiscent of German/alpine architecture…

We split up once more, Julia, Hiyasmin, and I taking a bus to an ascensor and rewarded with incredible views of the mountains and lakes that surround this beautiful town…

Rurrenabaque, Bolivia

Time for the jungle….. But first, to tackle the 18 hour bus journey which our guidebook had deemed ‘nightmarish’. Had we made a mistake not to fly? The answer was yes. The bus was huge with massive wheels and high clearance, this was an ominous sign. It was all smooth sailing as we headed down the nice tarmac’d road to Coroico (the replacement for the death road) but then the tarmac stopped…..I guess the dirt road was fine until a 2 hour roadblock (for roadworks!) stopped our progress. But once this lifted, our driver drove at breakneck speed to make up the 2 hours lost. We careered along the now single-laned dirtroad, just a few inches clear from the terrifying drop into the jungle valley. After the whole bus had moved to the right side (away from the cliff edge) the rain started and we held on to the seats in front for our dear life, not daring to look out the window any longer. After a quick dinner stop, we headed off again but before long we were getting stuck in the mud thanks to the downpour. We got stuck in the mud at least 3 times at which point our driver decided that there was no use carrying on until the rain ceased and so we bedded down for 3 hours to sleep (wait, did i mention, the bus leaked water?!) in the middle of the night and in the middle of nowhere. Even writing this is causing distress so lets just say 25 hours after leaving La Paz we arrived in the jungle town of Rurrenabaque (only) 221km away!! Needless to say, on arrival to the town, we marched straight to the Air Amazonas office and bought tickets back for after our tour. Never again.

The wildlife tour of the Pampas was excellent. We started at the Yacuma river where we travelled up stream in a small motorised canoe. Instantly we were treated to some exotic wildlife such as alligators of all sizes littering the banks of the river. We also saw capybaras, the world´s largest rodent with webbed feet native to South America. We saw ibis, comarants and loads of herons. We even took a dip with the rare pink river dolphin (don´t worry, they scare all the piranhas away). Day 2 we went anaconda hunting, finding 2 small ones (only 3ms) and in the afternoon we tried our hands at piranha fishing. Our final morning was a real treat. We watched the sun rise and after, saw a caimen (much larger than alligators) devour a large capybara, having just slaughtered it using the death roll. Even our guide was excited (good sign) .

Back in Rurrenabaque we had a chilled day due to Bolivia´s judicary election (first one ever in South America), which forbade transport on all of Bolivia´s roads and skies! Our flight back was beautiful if depressingly short after our mission to the jungle, but we were happy to be back.
We travelled for some R&R to Sucre, Bolivia´s prettiest city, and strictly speaking, its capital. Here we visited the worlds largest collection of dinosaur footprints. Jurassic Park!

We moved on to Potosi next, a once huge city under Spanish rule because of its massive silver reserves but now a quiet town, still living off the glory days of the silver boom. There we visited the caves of Cerro Rico (‘rich mountain’) where our guide Pedro (who wore a ‘kiss me, I’m irish t-shirt!) took us through the caves and introduced us not only to the miners (who we gave coca leaves and a bottle of fanta to, as per their request), but Tio, the devil-like deity that is carved out of clay and resides there and who the miners giver offerings of alcohol, cigarettes and coca leaves to in return for their safe-keeping.

Our next stop…………to re-create Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in the badlands of Tupiza….

Santiago, Chile

In Santiago de Chile angekommen empfing mich Sebastian am Busbahnhof. Ihn hatte ich im Hostel in Mendoza kennengelernt und er bot mir an bei ihm übernachten zu können. Gesagt, getan. Budgetsparend und einheimisches Wissen nutzen, so gefällt mir das. Demnach wurde am ersten Abend gleich eine Flasche Pisco probiert. Die ist ein rumähnlicher Schnaps. Ziemlich süffig. Am Tag darauf erkundete ich die Stadt und den mitten im Zentrum gelegenen Berg St. Lucia. Von der Spitze hat man eine hervorragende Sicht über Santiago und die umliegende Berglandschaft. Die Stadt ist wirklich sehr schön gelegen und sieht für europäische Verhältnisse ziemlich normal und westlich aus. Lediglich die zahlreichen Blicke und Reaktionen der Einheimischen auf meine Anwesenheit ließen mich wissen, dass ich nicht in Europa bin. Am Abend tauchten wir ins Nachtleben der Stadt ein. Es sollte eine Party in der großen Schwulen- und Lesbenszene in Santiago sein. Somit musste ich mich natürlich noch mit den entsprechenden Vokabeln bewaffnen um den Blicken nicht völlig hilflos gegenüberzustehen. Hat alles geklappt und ich bin irgendwann sicher im und alleine im Bett gelandet J Das Umland von Santiago habe ich ebenfalls erkundet und die typischen „Hot-Dogs” probiert, die es hier in zahlreichen Geschmacksrichtungen gibt. Diese werden mit so viel Ketchup, Mayo usw. gegessen das sie in Deutschland womöglich verboten wären oder zumindest die Lobbyisten der Krankenkassen mit Hochdruck daran arbeiten würden. Weiterhin sind die Preise in Santiago und wohl auch in ganz Chile nochmal ein bisschen teurer als in Argentinien. Somit muss ich weiterhin recht stark aufpassen was ich mir leisten kann und was nicht. Schlimmer ist die Situation allerdings für die Einheimischen. Denn anders als in Argentinien sind die Löhne recht niedrig. Daher ist die Stimmung im Lande gerade nicht besonders gut. U.a. kämpfen die Studenten mit großem Aufwand seit nunmehr mehreren Monaten gegen die enormen Studiengebühren. Das Spanischlernen ist in Chile nicht besonders sinnvoll. Wie ich erfahren habe und musste gibt es für nahezu jedes Wort einen speziellen chilenischen Ausdruck. Puh. Also muss der Intensivkurs weiterhin verschoben werden. Aber solange ich von a nach b komme und mir Essen besorgen kann und immer ein bisschen mehr dazu lerne geht das für mich in Ordnung. Jetzt freue ich mich auf die nächsten Tage an der Küste Chiles und auf nun hoffentlich ausgedehnte Strandaufenthalte!

Mendoza, Argentina