More great views and the lure of Scrabble, needlepoint, email, "blogging," Fifa, Bloon, etc, etc. were welcomed distractions from the winding roads and near death passes in the left lane in our commercial busses. We reached the airport safely and survived a turbulent flight #5 en route back to Chengdu.
We were treated to an ancient custom upon our return to Chengdu: KFC with fries! This may as well have been filet and pinot judging by the unanimous celebration from kids and adults alike. We even heard a "food glorious food" chorus in the back of the bus.
More glorious than the fried chicken was our afternoon bike ride through expansive blooming yellow rapeseed plants that summoned thoughts of Oz. Obstacles like open manholes, dirt piles, swarms of bees, and oncoming traffic made the brief 3 mile ride very exciting! Some of the group was dropping like bees, falling behind the group to observe the bee keepers in action, taking a wrong turn off the red paved course, pausing for some Kodak moments, or even just manning the manhole, but we all convened at the end for our excursion to Old Chengdu Town.
The old town had great feng shui with Yellow Dragon Creek running down the quaint pedestrian way. We wandered the street lanes and saw the old water mill, herb shops, beautiful blooming flowers (iris and cherry blossoms), and the famous Sichuan hot chili peppers. Down off the Tibetan plateau, temperatures were in the 70s and boys bought waterbottle squirt guns to cool us all down with the spray - what a difference from the 40 degree weather we woke up to this morning!
Back on the bus and off to dinner, we suddenly heard chants of "Oh mani nemo yes a laida..." and looked up to see cars, rickshaws, trucks, and bikes dodging us as we barreled down a one way divided highway the wrong way!! We made it to dinner without even a ticket and enjoyed one of the best feasts of the trip with a spread of spicy Sichuan dishes.
It was easy to convince everyone that the early curfew was for their own benefit because we are all geared up for another highlight tomorrow: The Pandas!
Love,
All of us in China
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