Around The World Gaby and Gu 2006-2007

Hey Guys, In case you didn't notice ;O) we spent a great time with you in Shanghai. You showed us great restaurants, cool places to chill out...I mean...we really felt like we were part of the city life and not just tourists !! But most importantly, thanks for your hospitality and for making us feel like we were at home in a very easygoing atmosphear !! We will remember our time with you guys as the most memorable part of our trip to China Mainland !!! Oh and by the way...Sunny, we'll never forget your cooking ! ;o)

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We wanted to discover a more rural side of China and Sunny recommended us this one day trip to apparently one of the most famous water towns in China. What a cute town it was !! Really a good change from the big Shanghai ;O) but sooo crowded because of the chinese New Year. We want to see more of that stuff ;O)

Chengdu is such a modern city that it first surprised us when we got there. We thought we wouldn't find that much things to visit but there actually are quite a few things worth the visit, like the parks and DuFu's cottage (a poet's big property). And luckily for us, we could enjoy a glimpse of the Chinese New Year !! Yes, HAPPY NEW YEAR !! ;o)

Who is the sweetest animal on earth ? No doubt it's the Panda ! And who has the most quiet and lazy life on earth ? No doubt it's the Panda ! We definitely wanna join the Panda crew in Chengdu !! The breeding centre is actually the size of a small Zoo with all the commodities for them to really spend a nice and quiet life. It's just a pity we couldn't bring one big Panda back home. Should we have kidnapped one ? ;O)

The more we travel south, the nicer the people ! The highlight of Xi'An of course is the fabulous Terracota Army but the city is worth a good walk with its very lively islamic quarter, Bell and Drum Towers, 40km city wall and its many Pagodas, one of which offers what is apparently the largest water show in Asia !!

When we used to see them on TV or in a magazine, we would just let some sound of admiration come out of our mouth...but when you are in front of them, the admiration grows even bigger !! So big that our guide hated us because we were taking too many pictures and therefore delaying the entire group. Our latest resolution : No more tours for a World Heritage like that !!!

For our last day in Beijing, we decided to go to the Lama Temple (a typical Tibetan Monastery) and since the place was surrounded by Hutongs (those small alleys that are apparently so typical of Beijing) we decided to get lost in them and spent quite an interesting while meandering around and observing what they are all about ;O). To end the day in a nice way we went to Tiananmen Square for a walk before going to a Kung-Fu opera show !!! Really nice !

Despite our efforts to be willing to leave Beijing for a couple of days before flying to Xi'An, we couldn't easily find a train or bus ticket on time due to the chinese new year. So here we are taking it easy to discover the great places that Beijing has to offer. We especially liked the Temple of Heaven (a temple dedicated to sacrifices) for its relative tranquility and its very laid back people who often sing, play instruments or play cards within the park area.

We had planned to do quite a few things in Beijing after our trip to the great wall but we ran out of time since we had to run some errands related to a reroute of one of our tickets. So we just decided to take it easy and walk around for a while and go to the Behai Park, a very relaxing place but still with cold weather...brrrrr ;O)

Still freezing but this time with sunshine, even if very pale, we climbed one of the many parts of the Great Wall. We wish we had had a better weather but being there was already something very special since it was a long time goal for the both of us !

Freezing !! We were freezing while visiting the Summer Palace. A great place where the emperors used to spend...their summer...of course ;O). But to be honest, chinese history is so dense that we have quite some trouble remembering every detail of it. Enjoy !

Beijing ! We were quite excited about discovering China and its treasures but also a bit worried by the rumours of people being somehow rude with tourists...well, this is not a rumour : People are everything but nice to the tourists. Anyway, we just try to think of it as their culture being completely different and that helps quite a lot. Otherwise, as you can see, the sightseeing is amazing !