Another On-Time Departure with Sichuan Airlines

Wednesday we are off to see the baby Pandas, so I am quite excited about that. Tuesday's airport experience was exciting. We were supposed to fly out of Chongqing at 9 am. We were up a 6 and at the airport at 7. Upon check-in we were told there would be a 4 hour weather delay. Mark checked off and on during the morning and was told the departure would be at 1:40 pm. At 11:25 we were finishing lunch at a Chinese fast food place and Mark went to check the board again—now it said boarding at 11:40. While Mark packed up, an announcement was made for final boarding of our flight. We rushed to security where the line was long, but a nice family let us in ahead of them, then ran a couple of blocks and staircases to the gate. No one was there. Nor any airplane. We searched around and an airline employee took us upstairs, consulted with a colleague, and we were rushed back the two blocks to a different gate, where we were the last ones to board. The flight took off at 12:40—when boarding was supposed to begin! Every Chinese flight we have made has left early—-but only by 10-15 minutes. This one gave us both near-heart attacks. But they did feed us breakfast—-on a 45 minute flight. Vicki

I had hoped our day in Chongqing might have included a hot pot meals, the local specialty. Prowling about the neighborhood of our hotel, I did find several such restaurants but discerned it was not the kind of dining experience apt for one or two, especially when there were no English menus nor English-speaking staff. But it was fun to watch. I also encountered a fancier hotel restaurant decked out in Mao and Revolutionary regalia, posters, photos, kitsch. Got some interesting pix.

The four hour delay gave me a chance to work on photos, so maybe tomorrow night I can get some more posted. Chengdu is China's 4th largest city, and looks it. We are smack downtown, a few blocks from the Tianfu Square, where the gigantic statue of Mao waves down the street at Cartier, Dunhill, Gucci, etc. Our 19th floor room at the Sheraton overlooks the municipal stadium—home of the Chengdu Bears (da Pandas)—and they are setting it up for a big Mei rock concert October 2. Hopefully, we'll be in Bangkok, en route to Kathmandu. Mark