冒险娘之旅 Part 14 China train ride from Chengdu to Zhangjiajie

It was a hassle travelling from Chengdu to Zhangjiajie since there was no direct train or bus.  First, I got to take a 15 hours train ride from Chengdu  成都 to Huaihua 怀化. Then its another 4 hours ride from Huaihua to Zhangjiajie 张家界. The 15 hours train ride were comfortable at least since I managed to get a soft sleeper 软卧 which consisted of 4 padded bunk beds in each enclosed compartment. When I arrived in Huaihua at 10.30am, I realised that I was booked on the 1.45pm train ride to Zhangjiajie! Since I have ample of time, I queued up at the ticket booth to try changing to a earlier timing. Lesson learned, I should have confirmed the times with the counter assistant when booking train tickets to avoid these hassles. There will always be one booth open in the railway station for ticket refund or amendments but the queue is always long and slow. Lucky for me, I got the 11.30am ride, sad part was there was only hard sleeper ticket  硬卧 available. This type consist of a open area in each compartment with narrow rows of 3 levelled bunk beds. I was unlucky and got a bed near a toilet and it smelled bad throughout the journey.

My first train ride in China

Luckily I got to know a guy from Zhangjiajie who got the bed opposite me. He is 黄大哥, a Tujia man in his forties and on his return trip from Fujian. We chatted and he was kind enough to list a few good attractions in Zhangjiajie for me. Later he mentioned that his wife is making a business trip to Fenghuang 凤凰古城 the next day and invited me to join them. At first I was apprehensive since he was still a stranger to me. But after seeing how sincere he was, calling his wife to confirm and all, I decided to take the chance and accepted. 黄大哥 was kind enough to gave me a free car ride since his brother-in-law was there to fetch him and took me to a 7 Days Inn. The inn 7天张家界回龙路步行街店, that he recommended was newly renovated and it turned out to be a very comfortable stay at only 157rmb a night. It was at Huilong Road Walking Street 回龙路,  a shopping district and just above Bubugao Department Store 步步高百货. There is a supermarket at the basement too. The spicy cold noodles from 二姐凉面 stall just beside the building was super good.

That night, taking 黄大哥's recommendations, I went for the Tianmen Fox Fairy show 天门狐仙. The show was outdoor with Tianmen mountain 天门山 as the background and was spectacular. You got to see it for yourself to know how good it was. I met a nice taxi driver who bought the originally priced 253rmb ticket at 180rmb for me and fetched me to and fro the theatre for only 40rmb. I told the nice taxi uncle that I am travelling alone and he reminded me to be careful as security was not best in these areas. He mentioned that Tujia people 土家族 used to be robbers and gang members so they are dangerous and fearless. I told him I only encountered good people all the way in China. Imagined what he would say if I was to tell him that I am going Fenghuang with strangers tomorrow. Hmm...

Tianmen Fox Fairy

And when the show ended, they reminded us to go to the loo...nice.

冒险娘之旅 Part 13 Panda and Birthday

Panty, panty, panty! Panda. panda! Today was a special day because it was my first time away from my family during my birthday. In the morning, I took the panda tour with Lazy Bones at 135rmb. Together on the tour were 1 Harbin lady, a Finnish guy and his Caucasian and our friendly driver cum guide. We gathered at 7.30am as we were told that the giant pandas were only active during morning. True enough when we arrived at 8.30am in  Chengdu Panda Breeding & Research center 大熊猫繁育研究基地, we saw a group of giant pandas eating bamboos and we had fun taking photos of them. At first, the Harbin lady, Luo Xiao Mei was shy and reserved but after a while she warmed up and we chatted and joked along with the guide. Poor Caucasians had to tag along missing the fun since both of them do not understand mandarin.

This was the point where I find that the Singapore government or rather Mr Lee Kuan Yew's vision of 2 languages was really a good advantage for Singaporeans. Here, I can communicate with both the Chineses and Caucasians without a problem. In fact some locals have the misconceptions that Singaporeans only speak English and I used to get compliments on my good mandarin by them. What they don't understand is that I am of Chinese descent too. Both my parents were Chinese-educated and we communicate via Mandarin at home. It was because we were educated in English at school and that was what gave us the edge over the rest.

Back to the giant pandas. The adult pandas were calmly munching on bamboos without stopping. It is known that giant pandas have to feed non stop and move as little as possible because the bamboos do not provide them with enough energy. But the little cubs were energetic, climbing trees, exploring the ground and playing with each other. After that we visited the little pandas aka the red pandas as well.

In the afternoon, Fan Yang came all the way from his university campus to join me for lunch. I was really touched as he needed to take more than one hour to travel by bus to town. He took me to Chunxi road (again) and we had spicy pig intestines with vermicelli. It looked really oily but tasted quite good actually. After that we went to the People's Park 人民公园 for a stroll. The park was full of seniors dancing, singing and having fun together. Guessed we were the youngest among them all that day. We had a good chat by the lake. After that we went to Wide and Narrow Street 宽窄巷子 for some old town feel but the place was under construction so it was a little messy. Fan Yang will be graduating this year so I wished him the best in his future endeavours.

East meets west. Sun Yat Sen would like some Haagen Dazs too.

Star buck in ancient times?

In the evening, Yumin came all the way from her work place in the airport to meet me for dinner. I really felt special and honoured to find such great friends in Chengdu. I invited Luo Xiao Mei to join us and we went for Chengdu Mala hotpot 麻辣火鍋. The hotpot arrived with a thick layer of red chilli oil on top and bubbling with some orange looking concoctions from the bottom of the pot. It really looked and tasted lethal. By the 2nd bite, my tongue was numb and everything tasted weird. Only Yumin looked calmed while the both of us were hot and sweating from the 麻辣-ness. Yumin told the waitress that it was my birthday so they gave me a free bowl of long noodles 长寿面, sang a birthday song for me and gifted me a big mug. In singapore, I don't think you can get any restaurant that would bother celebrating your birthday but obviously it was a norm in China's restaurants. I have fun catching up on our Lijiang trip with Yumin. She mentioned that she was also burned out after the horse riding trip and slept through the day. Hahaha. Misery loves company.

After dinner we took a long walk back to hostel to remove all the guilt from the oil we consumed. Apparently Yumin is getting married next month. The guy whom she mentioned before actually agreed with her crazy marriage proposal. I was shocked and wondered if I should congratulate her or not. In a way, she is getting married and that was what she had wanted so I should be happy for her. But the terms and situation that led to the marriage were a little unusual and I wonder if she will regret in time. She is after all only 23 years old.

Again Chengdu taxi failed us that night. It took us a while before Yumin can find a taxi back. Sigh. All in, I had fun on my birthday, great thanks to both of my Chengdu friends.

Fiery Mala hotpot which took my tongue

The free 长寿面 which I dip the cooked food in to remove the oiliness

冒险娘之旅 Chengdu Lazy Bones Backpackers Boutique Hostel

Lazy Bones is a great hangout place for backpackers. They provide a huge lounging area with a pool table in the middle, sofas, mini bars and dinning area for interaction among the guests. Most of the staffs were friendly to me, can speak english well and will chat up with you on their free time.

The location of the hostel is very good. There is a subway train station entrance just directly opposite the hostel which can take you down town and to the central railway station as well. There is one supermarket along the same lane and another just behind the hostel. There are great food stalls and restaurants around the vicinity.  I asked the staff to book my bus ride to Jiuzhaigou and a half day panda tour which turned out great too.

I would recommend anyone for a cheap and clean stay. My room with en suite bathroom costed 130rmb per night.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] Like their panda logo.[/caption]

冒险娘之旅 Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Resort

9 freaking hours. That was how long it took for my bus ride from Chengdu  新南门汽车站 to Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟. My advice if you happen to take a long distance bus in China, please do not take seat number 1 to 4 as they are the front most seats and do not have enough leg space. The scenery along the trip was beautiful actually but I slept most of the time. I have heard that the toilets would be dirty along the trip but it turned out that the paid toilets were mostly clean and only costed 1rmb. I have no problem with squat toilets along the long drain since my legs are strong. Just don't look down or around since there are no doors. Haha.  After a long ride, we arrived at the bus station in Jiuzhaigou. The station was a 10 minutes walk from the scenic area entrance. I took a taxi from the station to my hotel which was really unnecessary since it only took an easy 10 minutes walk down the slope.

For this trip, I chose to stay in Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Resort 九寨沟喜来登国际大酒店 for 3 nights. It was a good decision since after a series of hostel stays, I was in need of some pampering and luxury. The hotel was pretty well-kept and grand looking from the entrance. The room was spacious and decorated just like a Sheraton would be. I am so glad for the familiar space and aroma where I can totally relaxed. After 9 hours of fasting on the bus ride, I gave myself a treat to the dinner buffet in the hotel. The buffet was well spread and delicious but food was not of finest quality as expected of a five-star hotel and the price. But since Jiuzhaigou is far from city, fine food would scarce and expensive. After dinner, I retired to my room for a good sleep. Finally got a soft bed to sleep in tonight. Yah! I realised that the beds in most of the china hotels and hostels were too hard for me.

The next day, I got a map of the Jiuzhaigou scenic area from the receptionist and took a relaxing 20 minutes walk from the hotel to the scenic entrance.

Saw a white yak along the bus trip.


Sheraton entrance with a view of a misty mountain in the morning



Followed the stream from the hotel to the scenic entrance


Blue spring water flowing down from the mountains mixing with the canal stream flowing down the town creating this 2 toned river.

冒险娘之旅 Part 12.2 Jiuzhaigou Valley Day 2

New advice, if you are travelling in the low season in Jiuzhaigou, you can finish all the attractions along the bus routes in a day. So for my day 2 in the park, I had pretty nothing much ado. I woke up late and grabbed a sandwich and some snacks from my hotel for a picnic in the park. Really taking it slow today, sitting down, admiring the colours, feeling the wind and hearing the rustling of the trees. Taking in all that nature can give. Life can be enjoyed in such simple yet beautiful way.

Listening to The Man Who album by Travis:



Having an apple by the Five Flower Lake.


When the gentle wind blow on the lake surface, it will create different sizes of ripple.


With the sun shining and wind blowing at the right angle, the surface of the lake will glisten like diamonds.


Fishes in the lake.


Quiet Panda lake with no panda.


Having a sandwich slowing by the rushing waterfall is quite a way of life.


Slow down your footsteps...


Back to Long Lake, my favourite spot in Jiuzhaigou. Still as beautiful in the sunny afternoon.


Long lake, beautiful from all angles


Squirrels love Long Lake as well.


100% reflection in the Tiger Lake


Making baby album in Jiuzhaigou. Not a bad idea.

In the late afternoon, not wanting to finish so easily, I took the walking trail from Tiger lake to Shu Zheng lakes. It took me an hour and I met zero human being. Woo, imagine that! I saw more insects, squirrels and birds along the way instead. I realised I was skipping along the way at some point of time. This place really brought out my happy. We do not have such magnificent waterfalls, colorful lakes, thick forests or snow-capped peaks in Singapore, so every sight will be cherished in my mind. I shall plan another trip here in the autumn season some other day perhaps.















Along Shu Zheng walking trails










Shu Zheng waterfalls








Shu Zheng mini lakes. There were 19 of them of which I only spotted 9.