Justification...Part Deux

after barely containing my anxious self through a 3 hour plane ride, i sprung from my seat and bounded off the plane and instantly fell to my knees and praised my return to "modern" civilization. quickly finding my bag and dashing to the bus home, my face stretched wide in a beaming smile at the prospect of...not taking a long, hot shower, not worshiping the comforts of my private bathroom, not reveling in the sights and sounds of shanghai traffic...but the prospect of turning on my magnificent white Macbook which has been sitting, lonely, for the past 12 days.

oh the feeling of ecstasy when i heard that low "ddrrrummm" of the computer turning on and the freedom to jump from webpage to webpage with ease. after a few minutes of reading news headlines in an attempt to trick myself that i'm more affluent than i am, i quickly returned to blogs and xangas to dish on the latest gossips and lives of my friends. BUT to my immediate dismay, i learned that China has gone out of its way to protect its citizens from the dangerous influences of the blogsphere, as they have censored ALL blog sites. aggghhhh!!!!

but fret not, via some massive searching (my brother told me) i have found a way to evade the evil hands of chinese censorship...allowing me to blog about the remainder of my journeys. having divulged my Tibetan adventures, i will follow with descriptions of a wonderful hosteling experience, a unique panda experience, and one of the most magnificent scenic landscapes i've ever seen. so here we go...

hostels:
having used chengdu as our home base, we were forced to spend a few nights there. being the typical poor backpackers (excluding the fact that we flew everywhere and traveled via tours), we found ourselves hosteling for these few nights. and after having spent time at two different hostels, i will recommend both to fellow travelers.

i already described the first hostel in the previous entry, so i will move on to the other. instead of being in a quaint little part of old-town, this hostel is built in a renovated factory. The Loft, as it was so fittingly named, fits all the bills of a good hostel: easy access to food, cheap and clean rooms, a large common area with FREE internet, pool table, tv with ur choice of pirated DVDs and even a PS2...but most importantly of all, a great environment to meet and mingle with fellow backpackers. though...some things are still a little off limits.

pandas:
i'll just let the pictures speak for themselves here...but i must say, there must be some panda blood in me by watching the way they just lie there and eat. i can definitely find the resemblance. enjoy ur 'awwws' and 'so cutes'.

Jiuzhai Guo:
designated as one of the world's most protected and amazing natural wonders, Jiuzhai Guo is as awe-inspiring as they say (as long as the wind doesn't pick up and the water reflection remains crisp).

for the western world who may never actually see this first hand, please imagine the scene from Hero when Broken Sword and Jet Li are having their sword fight over the lake. for those of you who haven't seen Hero, WATCH IT...or at least look at these.

so thats that...for those of my friends who actually read ALL of this and the last entry, i applaud you for your loyalty...or i guess, boredom. but that is my trip, my justification for not returning to see you all sooner...was it worth it? it had its moments.