I write this from yet another night train at midnight as we depart Chengdu. The day has been a long one as we are all suffering from the effects of a heavy evening drinking 50% rice wine. The head is still a bit fuzzy and I'm pretty tired but will try and keep this as literate as possible.

We arrived in Chengdu on Friday afternoon after the night train from Yangshuo. My expectations of the Chengdu were that it would be a small, unassuming place however this was not the case as the city is very developed and much bigger than our last stop. We were greeted at the station by our tour guide Kid who took us to our hostel Mr Panda Guesthouse where we were given a few much needed hours to refresh following the night train.

The first activity on the itinerary for Chengdu was the Blind massage. Many people in China who are partially sighted or blind often find work as massage therapists as it is said that their loss of sight improves their other senses including their sense of touch. It is therefore said that blind masseurs are better for this reason. Having never had a professional massage before I do not have a bar to compare against however I now know that I am not suited as it seems I am too ticklish. There was a choice between a 30 min or an hour massage and I am glad to have chosen the 30 min option. After ten minutes I was pretty much ready to leave however persevered through. At one point I nearly kicked the masseur in the head when he started massaging my feet.

After lying down for half an hour we had built up an appetite so our guide took us for a Chinese Hot Pot. The hot pot consists of a central pot of boiling hot sauce which is available in 4 levels of spice. If you order the hottest level you are tested to see if you can handle the spice and if you fail the test you have to reduce your level. Obviously being the daring hardened travellers that we are we went for the mildest level which was still a heat level that could knock your socks off. You are then given an assortment of uncooked meats and vegetables which are put into the pot to cook. When you take the food back out of the pot you dip it into a mixture of sesame oil, ouster sauce and herbs to cool it and add flavour before eating. The food was incredible and I hope to have another hot pot before leaving China regardless of the next day being uncomfortable.

After our meal we were keen to explore and stretch our legs after being stuck on the train the previous night. We decided to walk to the Chairman Mao statue which overlooks a square in the centre of the city. The weather had turned by this point and we walked there in the first rain shower we had encountered during our visit to Asia.

The next day we were very excited to visit the Panda sanctuary and conservation centre which is located just outside the city and the main tourist attraction. This was a short minibus journey taken at the crack of dawn on our second day in the city to miss the crowds. Once there We were surprised how lively the pandas were and how close they came to the crowds. The centre homes 80 of the 1000 giant pandas left in the world and we were also lucky to see the two newborn pandas born the day before.

After seeing the pandas we visited the Buddhist monastery which was only a short walk from our hostel. Our guide Kid follows the Buddhist faith so we were able to gain a good insight into the practice and laws of the religion.

We were keen that night to head out to sample the Chinese night clubs. This was also an opportunity to give a proper send off for Trevor (aka Big T) who is the first of the group to leave for home. We began by drinking at the hostel and playing a variety of drinking games before heading out. After getting merry, we were taxied to an area full of restaurants, bars and clubs and told by our guide to head to a club called jellyfish. The club was busy and played mainly cheesy and 90s tunes. Drinks were slightly cheaper than the UK but seeing as though a meal here can cost the equivalent of a British pound, this was still quite expensive. Once we got bored of jellyfish we moved to a club on the other side of the strip. The club was quieter but was playing some good cool house music and offered ladies free drinks. We soon livened the club up and before we knew it was back to the hostel at 4am.

The following day we woke after midday. Luckily we did not need to check out until 1pm. Most of us woke up very worse for wear but the day was thankfully due to be fairly relaxed anyway. After grabbing some lunch at the amazing noodle place next door to the hostel we headed for Jinli old street which is a marketplace in the Tibetan quarter that mainly caters for tourists visiting Chengdu. We then headed for Peoples park which was not on the itinerary however we were advised to go there by many different people who knew we were heading to Chengdu. The park is popular with locals to go there to dance and drink tea. Although we did not dance, we did take the opportunity to drink tea and rent a rowing boat in the central boating lake. We were again the main source of attraction at the lake with many Chinese people rowing up to us for photos.

Before departing Chengdu we attempted to find a dumpling restaurant that was recommended to us close to the hostel. We failed miserably and after sitting down in what we thought was the correct place, found out that there was no dumplings served there. We used our newly acquired mandarin skills to order some rice and managed to luckily order a beef dish by pointing at a random line on the mandarin menu. Although we may need more practice with the mandarin, we are now expertly using our chopsticks and haven't used a knife and fork since the flight to Hong Kong.

Our next stop is Xi'an, home of the terracotta warriors. But for now it's time for bed and to get rid of this hangover.

Max.