Day 206: Bullet Train from Xi’An to Chengdu — The Temple House Hotel — Sichuan Opera
Getaway day. After only two nights in the lovely Sofitel People’s Grand in Xi’An we were back on the train to Chengdu.
The train situation was similarly luxurious. This time we had *our own car* with only 5 seats.
We insisted that the kids rest for the first half so they put their seats into bed position and snoozed for a bit. Much needed, for James especially given our late night at the opera planned for tonight.
At the station we were met by our guide Carol. She’s a kind and energetic mother of a 9 year old. We immediately liked her.
We’re staying three nights at The Temple House in Chengdu. The hotel was booked by our travel advisors for Asia, Small World Travel, and I admittedly hadn’t done much research on it until we were in the van on the way there. Turns out it is super cool and comfy, rated one of the top 10 hotels in Asia by Travel and Leisure.
We were upgraded (h/t to Small World) to two rooms connected by a wide hallway, all behind a keycard doorway. Lobsy and Willa shared one room with two twins and James was in a suite with me and Margaret, sleeping on a converted couch. The kids played games and wrestled. It was a perfect setup.
The staff was very attentive. There were brand new games of Twister and Jenga for the kids next two two different desserts when we walked in. The head of customer experience, a guy named Seven, gave us a tour.
We had lunch at the Tea House downstairs. It was an innovative vegetarian menu with a bunch of shared plates. We ordered a green salad, rice with truffle sauce, noodles and a Kung Pow dish with mushrooms and vegetables. I thought everything was really good. Margaret was still tiptoeing around food.
We relaxed for a bit, I took the kids to the pool, worked out and then we got dressed and headed out for a night at the Sichuan Opera.
First we stopped to stroll through the Wide and Narrow Alleys. The Wide Alley is a pretty modern path, packed with foot traffic checking out the food stalls and stores.
Highlights: a guy making on-demand lollipops shaped like animals (kids each got one); Cotton Candy shaped to look like faces with blonde bowl cuts (didn’t get one).
Food we didn’t try: Rabbit head and sizzling pig brains.
Procedures we didn’t try: public ear cleaning. I shit yee not.
We jumped back in the van for a short ride over to the opera. It was a covered, outdoor theater. We had very good seats, in row 3 and 4, with Willa and James sitting on either side of a table for our tea and me, Lobsy and Margaret one row behind. We ordered a bucket of popcorn and I got a cold beer.
The show wasn’t really an “opera.” It was more a combo of different acts, from acrobats to a guy on a traditional string instrument, to funny scenes entirely in Mandarin that we barely understood. It was always interesting and sometimes entertaining. Just when it was getting a little long for the kids and a somehow-defying-jet-lag Lobsy, the last two acts grabbed our attention: first a shadow puppeteer made amazing animal shapes with her hands (and hilariously finishing with a wolf or fox chasing and swallowing a rabbit); then there was a transitional song and dance with masked and costumed actors somehow changing the design of their masks in a blink of an eye.
It was so nice to return to our cozy, turned down rooms at The Temple House. Our new buddy Seven had left us a whole gin and tonic setup in our room. I’m assuming Small World had something to do with this. Either way, someone knows how to win our hearts.
Other Observations
There is a big bike / scooter culture in Chengdu. Bike lanes are packed during the morning commute. The scooters go in the bike lanes rather than with the cars. You see a bunch of people using a shared biking service that, according to Carol is run by a private company and is super cheap: something like 20 cents per hour.
I continue to be baffled / grossed out by the public “toilets” in China. Most have no toilet, only a hole in the ground that is apparently a difficult target for people to hit with their #2. I walked into a bathroom with 6 stalls and 5 of them had huge piles of shit just sitting on the ground. Oh, and there is also no toilet paper (gotta bring your own) and no soap at the sinks. Carol said that people complain to the government about this but it hasn’t changed. Given how advanced China is in many ways I can’t get my head around this.
There are *very* few Westerners in Chengdu. We saw less than 10 at the Alleys and at the Opera.
Margaret and I love English translations that are just a little off. Here’s one from the pool area.
A couple funny quotes from today:
At breakfast, after 200+ days of international travel, Willa announces that she has two places she still wants to go. We all stop and stare.
“California. And Olive Garden.”
(Auntie Coco: we’ll put you in charge of #1. Maybe you can make both happen at the same time. Unlimited breadsticks!)
James, after asking how many nights we are staying at our next hotel: “I like hotels that are glass and cement, not rock and wooden.” (His way of saying he likes luxury hotels)
