Feeling numb in Chengdu

Photo: Chengdu, China - 06/11/10

Six months after my departure, I found myself on a big airbus a319 heading for the airport of Chengdu, located more or less in the middle of China. This country was among my list of countries to which I have been curious when I was a child.
China, is a whole new experience for me and it is so different than the countries where I have spent my last 6 months! To be starting with the temperature, I was nervous to not have enough clothes to protect me against the winter cold. From the moment I left home, I spent walking in 30 up to 42 degrees celcius. And now suddenly I would step into 15 degrees. Brrrrr, as at night and in the morning it will be around 4 only.
During the flight I was reading one of Paul Theroux's travel books, which I bought the day before. Coincidentally in his book he was traveling to China in 1986 ;) I thought that would be reading in style. I was reading a chapter in which he, together with a group travelers, he crossed the border by train from Mongolia into China. One of the guys from the group was screaming through the train that the border police had taken two guys for questioning as they were carrying an edition of 'the economist'. I got a little frighten as earlier I read somewhere that you are allowed to bring only one camera. Also books criticizing the county are not allowed in many countries! An there I was sitting in the plane, carrying two camera's - how could i leave my new lomo camera at home - with the lonely planet - which is banned in some countries for writing facts - and this book from Theroux who is very objective in his stories and can be quite explicit about some unspoken topics.
I had no idea what China is lime today, if they are still as strict and if I had to empty my whole bag for inspection. A view pages further I felt slightly better when reading they only search for pictures and pornographic articles or stories.

Wearing my blue jumper against the airco in the plane, I got out and stepped into China where I smelled the winter air and felt the icy cold and suddenly I realized that I am not the person to always spent in the heat. I thought so because I really enjoy the sun and warm weather, but after such long time in the heat and now arriving in the winter....i realized the winter is so beautiful. Only the smell already is soo nice!

Before leaving Kuala Lumpur I remembered Couchsurfing. I was hoping to find myself a host and dive into a new adventure. I ended up sending a request to Yuan, a Chinese girl sharing the roof-floor of a flat in Chengdu with her friend. Within a few hours I received a response from her telling me that she was looking forward hosting me on her couch. Thus, after arrival at the airport, off I was heading for the address she send me!
First with the shuttle bus to the city. Well arranged buses and ticket sellers were providing assistance in front of the airport. On leaving with the shuttle, the host of our bus was standing in the middle of our bus, armed with a microphone, ready to attack us. With a click of the power button putting her weapon on sharp, she started her 10 minutes speech in a monotone mandarin. Was it my first moment of Chinese propaganda? Or was the helpful lady welcoming us to Chengdu, providing information such as where the bus will stop? For me it was an interesting start of China.

With a short bus journey and a lost taxi driver not being able to read the house numbers, I found my way easily through the dark streets during the last minutes of Friday 5 November.
Yuan welcomed me down stairs at the gate and led me to the 8th and top floor, basically being the roof with an extra apartment build on top. After some talks and a hot shower I fell a sleep on the comfy and colourfully striped sofa.

Photo: View from Yuan's window over Chengdu - 06/11/10

Photo: Bus ride through Chengdu, China - 06/11/10

Saturday 6; exploring Chengdu
On the next day Yuan and I went into the streets heading for the bus stop. With two buses along the 2nd ring road of Chengdu, we arrived in the north of the city from where we walked a little bit, and took the next bus further to the center, crossing the main square with the huge statue of Mao. Two stops further we got off the bus and walked to the wide and narrow alleys. A nice walk in between the local tourists, lined by old wooden houses.

Photo: Wide Alley in Chengdu, China - 06/11/10

Photo: Wide Alley in Chengdu, China - 06/11/10

Photo: Wide Alley in Chengdu, China - 06/11/10

Chengdu is famous for the good food, and with an empty belly nothings better then finding a place to get some good food! Yuan ordered 6 different dishes, two different fried noodles, one thin with peanuts and one very thick with a sweet taste, a noodle soup called Suan La Fen which tastes like the German glühwein, dumplings, some veggies and a sweet flavored porridge.
The province, Sichuan, in which Chengdu is located, is famous for particular spices called Hua Jiao, also known as Sichuan pepper. Hua Jiao can be translated as the flower pepper. This particular spice makes your tongue and your lips feel numb. A very comfortable feeling which adds a new dimension to eating food :)
An extra benefit is that the numbness results in the food feeling less spicy so there is less trouble getting your plate finished!

We did some more walks through the city and arrived back home for some chilling and cooking, food and film, fun and music.