Satani Bat Bi: Chengdu & Leshan, Part 1

Last Friday I met Husband at his work, backpacks loaded, and we hopped on the subway up to the airport.  Our destination for the weekend - Chengdu and Leshan.  Our flight up to Chengdu was pretty uneventful - until we got ready to land.  It felt like all of sudden, EVERYONE on the plane was talking to each other and in the absolute loudest voices possible.  It happened so suddenly, we looked at each other as if we'd totally missed something. What's going on??  Nothing, apparently.  We landed smoothly, and IMMEDIATELY we heard just about every seat belt on the plane be unsnapped.  We're still slowing down from landing here!  The plane hasn't even left the runway to taxi to our gate and people are getting up, pulling down their overhead luggage as if the seatbelt signs mean nothing.  Having been on many a flight when the flight attendants are so firm and serious about not even twitching until the seatbelt sign goes off, this was so wild. I think the best part was the SECOND the plane was at the gate and stopped moving, multiple people BOLTED up the aisle, pushing others out of the way!  Was she on her way to deliver a baby?? Calm down people.

Exiting the airport, we saw a huge mustard yellow bus that said "Chengdu" in the window.  Looks good!

Our ride to downtown Chengdu:

We hopped on the bus for the 30 minute ride to downtown for a few bucks each, and once we arrived downtown used our Google Maps app on the phone to walk the remaining 15 minutes to our hotel.  It was tucked away in a back corner, right by a police station.  We checked in, they made copies of our passports, and got the key to our room.  There was a bank of three elevators, and we took the closest on the the right up to our room on the 17th floor.  By about the 3rd floor, I was convinced it was one of the most rickety elevators I'd been in (and that includes the one in Cairo that had an iron gate closure and a winch mechanism!)  We got up to our room, and our key card didn't work.  So back down to the front desk - this time we took the elevator on the far left (the call buttons for each of the three elevators worked independently).  Hmmm, the carpeted floor felt crunchy beneath my shoes and hearing the cables rattling around didn't instill more confidence than the first elevator.  Back in the lobby we got the proper key, and the bellman escorted us back up - this time in the middle elevator.  Ahh, the goldilocks choice - just right!  A smooth ride later, we were back on the 17th floor and the card worked.  Our room was great - free bottled water, comfy bed, and white saloon doors that led to the bathroom!  It was around 1:30 am at this point, so we went straight to sleep.

Saloon doors:

Next day, we went up to the 23rd floor (via the middle elevator) for the hotel's included breakfast.  We heard the food in Sichuan province is the absolute best - spicy and flavorful.  Breakfast had some of the usual (eggs, sausage, toast, cantaloupe), and some of the Sichuan (Sichuan pepper noodles, spicy greens shoots, roasted peanuts) and just some random (corn, hot orange juice).  Pretty good overall.  Day bag packed, we left the hotel for the Xinnamen bus station (aka tourist bus station).  Using our trusty Lonely Planet guide/map on phone, it was about a 20 minute walk through town and across the river.  The sign outside was translated into "Tourist Distribution Center." Ha!  Got tickets for Leshan for the two hour bus ride for about $8 a piece, and went to hop on board.

The bus station:

 Heading out door 9:

An interesting note on language:  I do not speak any Cantonese or Mandarin (besides hi, thank you, and here (as in asking a taxi driver to pull over "here").  And yet there hasn't been a single instance in the past two weeks that we haven't been able to communicate our questions, clarifications, or thanks.  Pretty amazing.

Here are some photos heading out of Chengdu, and the ride to Leshan:

In Chengdu and in Guangzhou, there are so many dual trash/recycling bins - which is great for this recycling-loving lady.

View from a "flyover" (aka overpass) of the green taxis, loads of bikes, scooters, and pedestrian traffic navigating their way in the city.

I think these bubbled-out sun room/balconies are pretty unique.  Maybe since it's a bit colder the rest of the year in Chengdu, that serves as a good way to still get in sunlight without the cold?

And once we got out of the city and into the country between Chengdu and Leshan, I kept seeing these icons on the side of the white-washed houses.  They were all black and looked like a large, spray-painted butler with a circle around him - very Banksy-ish (see Exit Through the Gift Shop).

Any thoughts on what these are?  Later on I saw a similar notion - matching icons on the sides of white-washed houses - but these ones were a colorful cartoon-y set.  I know the photos aren't too clear - it was taken from a bus at highway speeds after all - but you get the idea.

I'm so curious! Would love any musings on what these could mean (or, maybe they are just coordinated neighborhood decoration...?)

More to come on Leshan and Chengdu!