Spring Break: Day Two

The beginning of day two saw us waking nice and early to take the return bus to Chengdu.  We were expected to meet the remainder of our party when they flew in from Beijing around lunch time. The bus ride was a chance to get one final look at the Giant Buddha, perhaps more impressive as it receded into the distance across the river.

The bus stop in Leshan.  Not too shabby.

The drive back to Chengdu, while uneventful, was quite beautiful.  The scenery below was certainly helpful in keeping me awake.

 After we rendezvoused with our friends, we made our way to downtown Chengdu, hoping to locate our hotel.  This proved more difficult than expected, as our Chinese friend, in addition to never having visited Chengdu, was also unfamiliar with the Sichuan dialect.  Our 45 minutes of wandering did indeed prove rather fruitful, however, as it allowed me to take these pictures of the sprawling metropolis that is Chengdu.

If it weren't for the Chinese characters and bamboo, I would think I was in New York.

Funny how communism looks so capitalist sometimes... 

With the hotel found, we flagged down a cab and headed to our next objective.  For a brief minute we were quite convinced that our cab driver was merely driving us in circles, but, eventually, we reached our destination.

Warning: Not actual size

The Panda Reserve!  After the heartbreak that was the Beijing Zoo, I was a bit hesitant to get excited.  This place, however, proved to be a different beast entirely (pun intended).  The habitats for the pandas were well maintained, and there was plenty of staff on hand.  It appeared, however, that the pandas had made an agreement earlier that day to sleep with there butts facing in my direction as soon as I arrived, but there were some who didn't go with that plan.

Butt....

More butt...

FACE!!

Back to the butts...

Turns out they do indeed poop in the woods.

What, me?  Just chillin'.

That's a borrowed hat, I swear.

This is a red panda.  As the redheaded step child of the panda world, they are neither as famous, nor as cute as there larger brethren.  

The whole experience was wonderful, and a great chance to wash my hands of the Beijing Zoo.  If you want pandas, take the time to go here.  That night we enjoyed a responsible good time, and went to bed early.  This would prove to be a great idea come Monday morning...