Test blog in China

Though I've had the intention to blog, it struck me that Blogger may not work in China. But oh well, everything's good!!

I'm blogging from this lovely hostel called Sim's Backpacker. It's run by a Singaporean-Japanese couple (their 2 young daughters are just at the next table studying! Very adorable :( Little things like this make me happy). Got to this place by public bus from the airport. Wow! This is what I love. Get into the everyday lives of people. No matter if they were a rowdy bunch speaking in near-incomprehensible tongue (though if you listen hard enough, the Sichuan dialect is quite similar to Mandarin, just adjust the tones). It actually felt like home riding on those buses, somewhat like what we have in Melaka. It took about 1.5 hours getting from the airport to the hostel but well, it's worth that glimpse at everyday life in Chengdu :))

In the garden at the hostel now ... i's very breezy out here ... even a light shower just now. The general temperature in Chengdu is 30 degrees Celsius ... why have escaped the Singapore heat into another one!! Haha ... but soon I'll be out of it.

Think I'll head out to Emei Shan on Wed for some inner peace, dropping by the feet of the Leshan Giant Buddha en route. Should return to Chengdu on Friday and spend some catching up time with the friend.

Then probably Monday or Tuesday, I'll head out to former trading post between the Tibetans and the Hans - 康定 (Kangding). This is also the place the famous folk song 康定情歌 was based on. Next best thing since I can't get to Tibet... even so, being in western part of Sichuan, it's somewhat off-limits according to the travel agent here at Sim's, as long as I look and speak Chinese, shouldn't be much of a problem. At worst, I'll be deported to Chengdu.

Looks like I'll have to give up on the bamboo forests (属南竹海) this time cuz there's simply not enough time! My friend says Kangding is a more beautiful place, more culturally rich but of course.

Hmm ... ok, I'll have to give up either one cuz I'd like to really take the time and appreciate each place and this is supposed to be an ultra-relaxed trip!!! Haha ...

Update at 23:00

Took a walk around the neighbourhood. Feels like I'm finally seeing the real Chengdu. It's really bad going with tour groups as they only show you the best side of the city. Even in a city as modern and cosmopolitan as Shanghai, there are also the "heartlands", which we also discovered when we went on our own excursion around the city last year.

Last year too, Chengdu felt like a rich western city. Today I observe, for every rich man (there are some luxury cars zooming around town), there are many more struggling to make a living. Tiny homes double up as shopfronts selling dust-covered Pantene sachets and soft drinks. Little children sleep next to their moms who sew next to the window that opens up into a small cluttered bedroom, maybe about 100 sq ft.

Still, I saw computers in these tiny homes too. Mostly running gaming applications. Not sure if it's offline, online or MMORPG ... but the young 'uns were very engrossed.

And yes, people still use public phones operated by provision shop owners despite China being the fastest growing mobile market. Go west!!!