Saturday, July 14, 2018
Today was our trip midpoint, and something of a scheduled rest day. Our Mr. Orange transfer was scheduled to pick us up at the hotel at 8 am. We headed to the extensive hotel breakfast buffet at 7 am, and enjoyed some tastes of home while also having the option to try a few new things. We came down to the hotel lobby with our baggage shortly before 8 am to find our driver waiting for us. We loaded up and set out for the Xi’an North train station. This was a different station than the one we’d arrived on – much nicer and newer. It took perhaps 45 minutes to drive to the train station.
(This photo was taken while driving to the train station – but we saw people driving like this everywhere. It made my stomach flip every time.)
Checkin was quick and easy, and in no time we found ourselves in a spacious waiting area that had enough seating for us – that was a first for a Chinese train station.
Our train boarded 20 minutes before departure. We had two pairs of comfortable seats in a second class compartment for our 4 hour trip. The seats had lots of legroom, and a power outlet to share between them. Across the aisle, seats were 3 across. I think the main difference between these tickets and first class tickets are that the first class compartment seating configuration is 2 and 2, I.e. 4 across rather than 5.
The ride was smooth and comfortable. The high speed rail line between Xi’an and Chengdu was completed just a few months ago. It was a scenic trip – well, half of it, anyway. The scenic half passes mountainous countryside that flattens out into terraced agricultural fields near the tracks – and the occasional smoke belching power plant that explains why the sun has been buried behind smog all week.
The other half of the trip took us through dark tunnels bored into the mountains, and made our ears pop.
We disembarked in Chengdu, and found our next Mr. Orange driver waiting for us. We were on our way in the minivan less than 14 minutes after the train had arrived in the station. The drive to our hotel, the Chengdu Panda Garden Crowne Plaza, took about half an hour. It’s outside of the city, just a couple of kilometres from the panda research centre. We were able to check into our rooms right away, and again had two adjoining rooms, though this time they did not connect.
We went down to the pool area for a bit before dinner. Chengdu was quite warm, probably around 95F, and this was the first hotel we’d stayed at that had a pool. However, when we got down to the pool, we were surprised to learn that there is a mandate that all bathers wear a swim cap. I’m not sure if this is a cultural thing everywhere in China, or if it is specific to this hotel. We don’t normally wear swim caps at home for leisure swimming, so this caught us by surprise. Luckily, we were able to rent a cap from the recreation desk for 20 yuan/$4 CDN and still go for a swim.
For dinner, we elected to stay in at the hotel. They had an elaborate dinner buffet that contained a good mix of eastern and western dishes. After a week of nonstop travel and sightseeing, it was nice to have a quiet afternoon and evening, rest, and do some reading. On this trip I’m reading J. Maarten Troost’s “Lost on Planet China” and I find myself laughing and nodding along with it.
After dinner, we spent some more time reading and relaxing in our rooms. Chad went off in search of an ATM to withdraw more cash; China is definitely a cash-based society, and credit cards are not widely accepted. I went down to a public patio a couple of minutes away from our hotel for a bit. There were lots of people dancing there, and kids on a rollerblade course. Watching them all made for some good entertainment.
Cook Family Travels 