Yesterday was a travel day.  I decided not to walk the city wall.  I called mom and checked some emails instead.  We ate lunch and then flew to Chengdu and then dinner.  Spent some time walking around the city after dinner.  I found cheese flavored ice cream.  How does that happen?  Who thought that was a good idea?  Yes, I ate it.  It was sweet bland ice cream with a cheese after taste.  I cannot recommend it.

I didn’t see this, but some of the other people on the trip did so our guide explained it.  In Xian some people have birds for pets.  They take their birds for a walk in the morning.  They walk and swing the bird cage really high.  The bird then gets to fly in its cage (just trying to stay balanced).  This way, the bird gets exercise.  When the bird is ready to rest, they put them on the ground or hang the cage from a tree.  They cover the cages because they don’t want the birds to get scared or upset from seeing other birds or people.  Huh?  But if somehow two birds do see each other and they like each other, they will open the cage and let the birds visit and socialize with each other.  True story.

Fun fact: Chinese people cannot get social services outside of their home town without paying.  So children who live in rural areas cannot go to the city to attend school unless they pay extra.  Rural teachers don’t get paid enough so the teachers quit.  So, rural children don’t get good educations.  Sometimes the parents leave the home to work in the cities and the grandparents raise the children.  Ok, so that wasn’t really a fun fact, more like and interesting fact.

Today we went to see the Leshan Giant Buddha.  This involved a long drive to a boat dock.  We got on a boat and rode to a big Buddha carved into the rock.  It took 30 years to carve the head and shoulders, 30 years for the body and 30 for the legs. Then after lunch we went to a shopping area that was made to look like an ancient city, or it was an ancient city fixed up.  It was beautiful and fun shopping.  I bought something that looked like roti sai mai, (my favorite Thai dessert), but it was like fuzzy peanut butter.  There were people cleaning ears by sticking small brushes in your ear and then using metal tongs to vibrate the brushes.  I tried that.  Not sure my ears feel cleaner, but it was a unique experience.  The guy did a neck and shoulder massage after that was worth the price of admission.  For dinner we did hot pot. I think I’m not a fan of hot pot.  More walking around the city by night.

(c) All rights reserved Kimberly Fiore