panda eyes

i arrived in chengdu with the equivalent of 90 australian cents in my pocket. on arrival, i actually had to climb over a barricade to get into a 24 hour bank for money (figure that one out - i couldn't). this one didn't eat my card and out poured the delicious ren min bi.

apart from a one-night transit in kunming, i hadn't been in a city for over a month. coming into chengdu was a culture shock rush. the blue sky is replaced with brown smog, the mountains and animals are replaced by massive buildings and traffic, and the peacefulness is cut away by the throngs of heathens all clutching at your throat (or your wallet).

but one adapts, doesn't one? almost too quickly. i found myself sitting in a packed public bus at 11pm that night crossing town eating a genetically modified apple thinking about how i had ever survived without a 24 hour supermarket ;) vive la difference!

i went out to the panda breeding centre the following morning. they're all 'cute and cuddly' and all that, but quite frankly they look like they'd kill you as soon as look at you, so i was glad for the barriers. there was a video on how they breed, and i couldn't help feeling that theirs is a genetic line that is on its way (well and truly) out. they've got hideous little babies you just want to throw in the bin and no maternal instincts whatsoever. in one clip (and it was like we were watching one of those dramatisations of crimes that occurred 50 years ago, music and all), they showed this mother spitting the disgusting little baby out of her vaginal canal, and after a moment's shock, throwing it around the cell like a tennis ball. it's almost like their DNA is saying 'let us go...!'

also visited the leshan buddha, which is the largest seated buddha statue in the world. boring as batshit. the highlight/lowlight was an absurd situation where i was barred from leaving a boat on the 'wrong side' of the river. i ended up having to push aside the officials and leap from one boat into another - james bond style - and bolt-hobble away from the convenience police.

apart from that, i just soaked up the city life. kiwis with walking sticks and posters of mao, crowds on buses and roads and paths, drunken escapades in hostel bathrooms- that sort of thing. you know how it is.

pics 1, 2, 3 + 4 - the pandas
pic 5 - the giant buddha at leshan