6:30am start. Left Teddy Bear hostel & walked to eastern entrance. Met Tim from Germany. Walked 2hrs to main entrance and monkey zone. Lots of monkeys. Met two Chinese girls and crossed through monkey zone in a group armed with bamboo sticks. 12hr walk to top of mountain. Arrived at hotel at 9pm in dark and heavy mist.

Visited panda breeding centre 18km north of Chengdu. Saw red pandas, giant pandas, panda cubs and movie about breeding. Apparently artificial panda insemination is as big an accomplishment as launching a satellite into space... Nice comparison China!?!? Caught 3hr coach to Emie Shan.

Left Songpan at 7:30 and arrived Chengdu at 3:30pm. Halloween night at hostel

Decided to break up the 8hr bus trip back to Chengdu By stopping overnight in Songpan, 2 hrs from Jiuzhaigou. Arrived before midday. Climbed up to 4000m to have lunch watching over the city. Met Louise and Raoul at Emma's Cafe who i had previously met in Beijing and again in Xian. Walked around the walled city being heavily upgraded for tourists. Had a great dinner with Louise, Raoul and Jo.

Bussed to top of north east path and walked to road fork. Caught bus to north west path and walked to bottom pools. Stunning water colors and waterfalls.