10th

Finally a blue sky day. Yes we are lucky to have 1 blue sky day in Beijing, pity we fly out today. The flight is not till 3.30pm. After breakfast we decide to take the subway to Tiananmen Square to see what it is like when it is not covered in smog. Cannot believe the amount of people here already. Anyway the square looks totally different when bathed with sunshine. Flowers blooming in immaculately maintained gardens.

We take some pictures and head back. We leave for the airport at 11.30am giving us 4 hours to get the 3 different subway trains to the airport. We make it with 1 hour to spare. The plane is boarded and ready to go at 3.30pm. But we sit and wait. We do not leave Beijing till 5.45pm. There was a lot of angry people on the plane including myself. No believable excuse was given.

Anyway we arrive at the JHZ airport at 8pm. Now we are in for a 2 hour drive through the mountains in the dark with a really bad taxi driver. There seems to be only one road rule in China. The law is there are no rules! He who has the loudest horn seems to have right of way most of the time. Shocking drivers.

We arrive at the Sheraton in Jiuzhaigou just before 10pm and take a short walk to find a place to have tea. Not many places have menus in english, but we are lucky to find one. We order Sichuan Chicken. Nice and spicy with lots of Sichuan pepper corns. These make your tongue tingle and have a very different taste than normal pepper.

11th

After breakfast we walk the 1.5ks to the park entrance. After paying the entrance fee we catch the overcrowded bus to see the parks highlights. There are so many people here, its hard to believe. There is so much pushing and shoving and line jumping when trying to board the bus. Nobody here has any manners at all.

The park is pristine with some stunning scenery. Lots of beautiful coloured lakes, pretty waterfalls and snow capped mountains. The air is so fresh and clean and with the smell of the pine trees makes it worth taking big deep breaths.

We were continually being stopped and having our picture taken by Chinese girls. Not sure why, it was like they havent seen a western person before. Was fun to start with but did get a little annoying after a while

The park is also home to Tibetan Villages, with Tibetan people selling the hand crafts. All very interesting. After leaving the park we take the more scenic path back to the hotel. It is a river bank pathway with lots of restaurants. Very pretty and not many people.

Today is a quiet day as it is a national holiday. Wish we went to the park today, as there is nobody at the entrance. Would have been so much better without the crowds. Anyway we spend the day doing very little.

12th

We are due to fly out at 11.50am. Taking into account the drive time we leave the hotel at 8.30 after a huge buffet breakfast. The taxi driver spends more time on the wrong side of the road than the right side. Passing cars and buses on blind corners. Many close calls.

As we walk into the airport the check in desk opens and we are the first to be served. The security here is way more strict than any airport we have been through, and its only a small regional airport. Suitcases are searched, and we are both padded down. Never have i seen such security.

The flight to Chengdu is on time and takes 40 minutes. This airport is huge and it takes 10 minutes just to walk to the baggage collection. With bags in hand we board the bus to the city.
We now have to walk 1k to the bus station for the bus to Chengdu. The bus ride to Emei is not the best. The bus is old and rattly, but the air conditioner works. Its a 2 hour ride, and we are glad to get off. Now a short taxi ride gets us to our final destination, Teddy Bear Hotel.

Its a funky hotel with lots of charm. The rates are pretty good as well, $30 a night for a nice twin bed room. I can see noise being a problem. We go for a walk to whats around the hotel and to get info on Mount Emei.