A Korean in Sichuan

Sunday, November 25th, 2007



I’m not really Korean but everyone in China seems to think I am. And at some points when I try to tell them I’m Chinese, they think I’m lying. Now it’s just an on going joke we like to play, so I’m Korean!:)

So I’ve been a little slow on my blogs, I know. Last weekend…actually from last Friday to Wednesday, there was a group of 12 of us that went to Sichuan. Sichuan is in the southwest of China, near Tibet, but we went to the eastern part, including Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou, and Leshan. The trip to Sichuan may have been one of the nicest trips I’ve ever been to, meaning it was GORGEOUS! So I departed Thursday night, after spending the day at a hospitality expo which was fabulous and an experience! I got to be a VIP with DKSH. I tried a lot of things and also spoke to a lot of the companies at the expo. But anyway, back to Sichuan. There were 5 of us flying to Chengdu that night. We took the metro and the maglev to the airport. The maglev was super fast! It reached a top speed of 301 km/h and it took us about 8 min. to reach the airport, so fast! We met everyone at the hostel we were staying at and the next day we went to the Panda reservation. The panda’s were so cute! We got to see the big ones being fed and the babies in the nursery. I also got to hold a red panda for 50rmb. If you wanted to stand next to a big panda, just stand, it was 400rmb and if you wanted to hold a panda it was 1000rmb, crazy! Here’s a picture of me holding the red panda.

red panda

After the panda’s, we headed to the bus station to go to Jiuzhaigou but when we got there, we found out that the bus drivers went on strike. One point for China. We were told the bus drivers went on strike because of the oil prices, not good for us. So we ended up having to figure another way to get there since they didn’t know when the bus drivers would go off strike. Luckily, there was another bus station in Chengdu so we ended up getting tickets there but they were for the next morning. So for the rest of the day we basically chilled at our hostel and then just went out on the town. We had dinner at a hotpot, which Sichuan is known for. Their spicyness! But I stayed on the side that wasn’t spicy. Dinner was pretty good and it was all you can eat. Super!

The next day we got up early and headed to the bus station. Bus for 14 hours or so isn’t that much fun. At one of our stops though, we got to ride a camel! Camels are quite soft actually, who would have known! I’d have to say this trip was full of experiences and adventures. It snowed on our way to Jiuzhaigou at night and we ended up getting stuck in the snow so the ride took a little longer. Snow was wonderful though, it looked quite pretty. After we finally got to our hotel in Jiuzhaigou, we settled and then had dinner.

The next day, we went to the part where it was magnificentally beautiful. It was so hard to believe that there’s a place with such blue water and beautiful waterfalls.

img_5031.jpgIt was a day well spent. I really couldn’t believe how blue the water was. It looked so fake and that we were photo shopped into the pictures.

img_5126.jpg If you ever go to China, I would definitely recommend going there. Not only did we get to see the gorgeous scenery but we also had snowball fights, it’s been too long! The day was absolutely beautiful and I was so thankful that I had this opportunity to go.

The next morning we wanted to head back to Chengdu, only to find that the buses on this end also went on strike. China gets another point. This was really inconvenient since we all had to catch flights. Some of us went shopping for taxi’s which was an adventure. We ended up getting 3 taxi’s for 1000rmb each. That was 250rmb per person. A bus ticket to Chengdu is 120rmb. But it was our only choice. So our 10 hour drive began around 1pm and since there were 12 of us, it was 4 to each car. We were cramped and uncomfortable the whole time, but there wasn’t much we could do. We spent the ride talking and sleeping and eating at times. It was one heck of a long drive. Especially on the mountain and with crazy Chinese drivers that make you quizy when they drive. We finally got back that night and went to bed. We were beat.

The next day we went to Mt. Emei Shan and Leshan to see the mountain and the biggest Buddha in the world. How about that? I got to see the BIGGEST Buddha in the world! Not only have I seen the biggest one in the US but in the world! And it was huge. 2 of me could probably fit in it’s year alone. Imagine that. I don’t really have good pictures of the Buddha cause by the time we got there it was dark but I’m going to get some from a friend. We also got lost inside the park cause we didn’t know which way was out. But that’s okay. It was fun. Afterwards we just went back to the hostel and ate dinner and hung out with the owner. He was really cool so we enjoyed learning from him.

The next day I didn’t have much time before I had to catch my flight so I went to a monastary at Emei Shan and then headed back on a bus to Chengdu and caught my flight. My trip was done and I had to face reality. Lots of work. Ew.