Off the train just before 6am, brandishing our hotel name and address (in English), we get a taxi at the rank. 40 minutes later, we're back at the rank and 25RMB down, the driver not really knowing where to go [had to draw a picture and make train noises to get back to the station]. We get a bus instead, and with the aid of Kelly's map, find our hotel. Relieved to find they have our reservation. Sleep.
***
Emerald arrives at 3pm, having been to several other Jinjiang hotels in the city. She is apologetic, even though it is our fault. We wander around a nearby market area, and she takes an immediate liking to Kelly, clamping her arm within her own.
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| This dude bounced the doughballs off a drum, then they would ricochet off the wall and into the pan. Smooth. |
We sample some local foods for brunch, including the intestine powder and sad jelly. Not particularly appealing, but nice to sample. We also have a piece of a sweet bamboo-like plant, which one chews to extract the juice, then spit out the solid remainder. Emerald also recommends areas further afield to visit, such as Lijiang.
We potter about for a while, to the central square, before Emerald insists on bringing us to the shopping district. We obviously have no money for this, and the whole area is uninteresting to us, but there is no deterring her. She also has yet to let go of Kelly! She wants to take us to the financial distract next, but we persuade her to bring us to an older part of town, which is rather touristy. There she buys a tacky flashing heart for Kelly, while Dom and I devise the best way to escape her over-friendliness. Which sounds mean, but she's a very intense individual.
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| Kelly in the central square |
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| More staff dancing |
She also failed to provide the promised accommodation, trying to change hotels for us instead, to somewhere closer to her house. There's an almost sinister cuteness to it all, like the offer to go up a mountain for 85RMB. We've resolved to flee Chengdu as soon as possible.
It seems a rather bland city anyway, with nothing to give it character, bar the panda reserve. Heading there tomorrow morning with some fellow whiteys that Kelly conveniently befriended in the lobby. New blood! Should make Chengdu more bearable.
***
Haven't shaved since Beijing. Growth is sparse, slightly patchy. Hair is increasingly mane-like.
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Haven't seen any rugby yet, but Mammy, Laura and Irene have been great for keeping me updated. If I've got the tables right, there's a pair of southern-hemi QFs, and a pair of northern. Leading to one northern SF, and one southern. And therefore a final of north vs south. Ireland's in with a chance of reaching the final!
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