More: Approximately five lazy pandas, a few in that enclosure bothering to eat, most snoozing. An adult that posed with adult humans (for way less than 200 Yuan.). Another enclosure had the four I refer to as Manny, Moe, Jack and Curly: they, of course, expended much energy eating but at least also moved around alot in generally photogenic ways. Lastly, was the enclosure with four (visible) red pandas, being fed. This is a whole different species, beagle or terrier size, maybe a little bigger. Yes, they were so cute one wanted to bring one home.
Photos from the panda center are here.
Here's the opinion of another person on another tour in or about October 2007.
As has become her custom, Donna bought a hat (one of two for the day).
Next was another lunch; if not forgettable, one one would rather forget. Again, the menu was mild but for a single dish, which is to say it moved away from local cuisine.
Thence to what could be called Recreated Old Town for Tourists, including a brief boat trip. This was all pretty much on the edge of the city, it seemed.
Donna bought her second hat of the day: a freshly made wreath of flowers and straw.
Then rebellion: Donna had been conspiring with one of the other parents to bust loose from the tour, to bag dinner and the plan for the next day (an aged irrigation system an hour and a half away from the hotel and a temple or something) to hit the streets.
Management took that poorly; management may fear a backlash from their "masters".
There was sturm and drang about the need to sign waivers, after telling us how awful and unsafe the city is. (Subtext: Chengdu is a real $#!thole.) And after earlier events, does one care? One does not.
Someone also hypothesized that busting loose is an insult to our hosts -- essentially party cadres or people whose loyalty is excessively to the powers to be as opposed to putting together an interesting tour that would include efficiency instead of a great deal of standing around; a little downtime and free time; seeing something of reality instead of propaganda. Management has been doing a poor job of serving the customers. Indeed, it was different last year, I was advised by one of the tweens who was on it: less time standing around and some downtime. (She was on the tour in 2006 with her mother who wrote a book about that tour that I understand we will be receiving copies of at the end of the tour so we shall see, maybe, what was what.) I was also told the representatives of the organizers of the tour mentioned these complaints to the tour guide agency and the latter simply does not care; it simply must be their way.
But I digressed: As I was saying.... We busted loose before dinner, after much threats as noted above. (Again, didn't know Chengdu was so freaking lawless.... Thank God for the protection of our personal cadres.)
So we got off the buss. The females cabbed to the hotel -- and we two dads took a pedicycle!
Yes, we bust loose -- to have dinner at Mickey D's; the kids had been going into junk food withdrawal and desperately needed a taste of home....
As has become her custom, Donna bought a hat (one of two for the day).
Next was another lunch; if not forgettable, one one would rather forget. Again, the menu was mild but for a single dish, which is to say it moved away from local cuisine.
Thence to what could be called Recreated Old Town for Tourists, including a brief boat trip. This was all pretty much on the edge of the city, it seemed.
Donna bought her second hat of the day: a freshly made wreath of flowers and straw.
Then rebellion: Donna had been conspiring with one of the other parents to bust loose from the tour, to bag dinner and the plan for the next day (an aged irrigation system an hour and a half away from the hotel and a temple or something) to hit the streets.
Management took that poorly; management may fear a backlash from their "masters".
There was sturm and drang about the need to sign waivers, after telling us how awful and unsafe the city is. (Subtext: Chengdu is a real $#!thole.) And after earlier events, does one care? One does not.
Someone also hypothesized that busting loose is an insult to our hosts -- essentially party cadres or people whose loyalty is excessively to the powers to be as opposed to putting together an interesting tour that would include efficiency instead of a great deal of standing around; a little downtime and free time; seeing something of reality instead of propaganda. Management has been doing a poor job of serving the customers. Indeed, it was different last year, I was advised by one of the tweens who was on it: less time standing around and some downtime. (She was on the tour in 2006 with her mother who wrote a book about that tour that I understand we will be receiving copies of at the end of the tour so we shall see, maybe, what was what.) I was also told the representatives of the organizers of the tour mentioned these complaints to the tour guide agency and the latter simply does not care; it simply must be their way.
But I digressed: As I was saying.... We busted loose before dinner, after much threats as noted above. (Again, didn't know Chengdu was so freaking lawless.... Thank God for the protection of our personal cadres.)
So we got off the buss. The females cabbed to the hotel -- and we two dads took a pedicycle!
Yes, we bust loose -- to have dinner at Mickey D's; the kids had been going into junk food withdrawal and desperately needed a taste of home....
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