Chengdu Highlights

Our visit to Chengdu was kinda unexpected (we only came here because we couldn't get a train ticket to our desired destination of Guilin, so we came to Chengdu to get out of Xian). Chengdu is a really great city - the people are so nice (especially at Mix Hostel), the food is all spicy, and it has a comfortable big city/small town feel.

SO, here are the highlights:

• Not being able to book tickets to Guilin or Nanning, and subsequently having no idea what to do next.
• Trying to get a cab... The first cab we hailed opened the trunk, and before we put our bags in zoomed off for no reason, trunk still wide open. The second one was looking at our hostel's address, until a security guard walked over and pointed at the cab driver like the evil Family Guy monkey, causing the driver to shove the address back into Michael's hand and floor it. Our third cab took us, but couldn't find it.
• Reading several dire warnings on the stall of a tiolet about Chengdu's famous hot pot, and the effect they have on one's gastro-intestinal system.
• "If you fail to plan, you're planning to fail you'll have one hell of an adventure!"
• Accidently booking a thirty-two hour hard seat train to Nanning, thinking it was eight hours. Returning them, and booking plane tickets to Guilin instead. A two hour flight beats two days of traveling, considering we only have five days left in China.
• Wenshu Monastery
• Walking for hours.
• Jinli Street - "Tibetan Street" - the delicious food and dried peppers and peanut mix.
• HOT POT. Om nom nom.
• The Panda Research Base Camp. Pandas (and red pandas) are so much cuter in person.
• Watching a video about panda mating and child rearing habits which included panda-on-panda rape and mother pandas bitchslapping their newborn babies.

PS - Still none...? =/