Day 5 : Chengdu

We checked out at 8.30 a.m., but left our bags with the hotel. We had a few places which we wanted to visit today. And the first stop was the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

It was easy to flag a taxi this monring .... and the journey took around 30 minute and cost RMB41.00. Entrance fee was RMB58.00 each. I'm glad we came here because looking at the cute pandas made me feel really happy.

Cute pandas

Love the flowers

This is called the Swan Lake .... and of course there were swans ...

Lots of these walkways flanked by bamboo shrubs ... I thought they were beautiful.

Then we went to the panda enclosures ... 

Finally! My first time seeing a real panda. Cute!! 

So cute :)) 

The babies just melted my heart .... 

Next, we went to Wu Hou Shi and Jin Li Pedestrian Street. These 2 attractions were side by side. The cab ride from the Panda Base cost RMB70.00 and the drive was long! PE even fell asleep in the car. To go into Wu Hou Shi - which was a temple, we had to pay. So we did not go in and merely took photographs from outside. Jin Li was a street which had shops all along it and sold lots of stuff ...

Jin Li Pedestrian Street 

Joining the crowd .... 

For lunch, we had ... 

Pineapple Honey Rice Pudding 

Chopped pineapple infused in mushy glutinous rice; I did not like it.

Lotus Prawns

Crispy, but a little too floury was the batter for me .... some taste of prawns evident

A bridge inside Jin Li Pedestrian Street 

What's in fashion now? The beansprout hair clip, of course.

2 girls sporting bean sprouts on their head .... 

It's supposed to be trendy :P

After lunch, we took a cab to Kowloon Plaza. It cost us RMB14.00. This shopping mall has so many levels of shops! 

Many levels of shops selling clothes and shoes and accessories ....

At the time we were there, the scarves were selling for RMB10.00 each. I bought 2 pieces. Winter fashion was prevalent now .... so the clothes were not really suitable to buy for our tropical weather. We spent many hours here anyway ..... and then looked for a place to eat.

Yang Chou Fried Rice .... yayy .... fluffy rice and fragrant egg .... nice 

Hui Guo Rou Fried Rice

This tasted like the canned meat paste that we commonly eat 

Yu Xiang Pork Slices ... this dish was not bad 

Stir-fry vegetables ... not sure what veg is this but it was a tad bitter 

Cold noodles

We asked for it without Sichuan peppercorns

Free soup

The meal cost RMB63.00; Then, it was a short walk back to our hotel ... 

RMB12.00 for 2
Jasmine Green Tea Sundae from McDonald's 

We left for the airport at 9.30 p.m. It took about 25 minutes to reach there from our hotel, and cost us RMB54.00; The check-in queue wasn't too long, and we had to have our existing boarding passes swapped. Our web check-ins were somehow not captured in the system .. and we had our seats swapped. Darn. Now I was sandwiched in the centre ..... luckily, I slept through the flight. We took off at 12.35 a.m. and landed at KLIA 2 at 4.35 a.m. I caught the first train at 5.40 a.m. ..... and reached home at 6.30 a.m. :P