After two months exploring China we’ve decided it’s time to leave. We’ve had the most incredible time and seen some of the best scenery in our 16 years travelling around the world but when things start to annoy us in a country we know it’s time to go. Things that were minor and never used to bother us like the language barrier, the repetitive food etc are now getting to us. Also struggling with transport in the Tibetan regions was pretty exhausting so we figured it was a good time to leave. We also knew the next sights we’d be interested in seeing were similar to what we’d already seen – dramatic mountains and Tibetan monasteries so it’s best we save them for another trip and have a change of scenery.

Our final week in China was to be spent in Chengdu, but it was actually a May holiday in China so the prices for hotels all went up and the cheaper places were sold out. We actually pre-booked this accommodation on the outskirts of Chengdu in Pidu about a 3 weeks ago, taking a wild stab at where we’d be for the holiday period so we didn’t get stuck trying to find a place to stay. For about £14 to £17 a night (depending if it was during the main holiday dates) we had a humongous ensuite room with ultra comfy mattresses, daily room cleaning and buffet breakfast. We were a large chunk out of the city but a 2km walk led us to the metro which got us wherever we needed to be.

We were also unexpectedly in a great place for eating as the whole area outside our hotel was an all day food market. Even though I was craving pizza and fed up with Chinese food my love for it was rekindled at this market and just being able to get a descent fried rice with flavour and vegetables made me so happy instead of the bleak white rice with some scrambled egg we keep being served.

For our first full day in Chengdu we wanted to travel across the city to the Giant Panda Research and Breeding centre before the holiday started and the crowds became even more intense. I’d heard the best time to see the pandas was first thing in the morning when they’re fed as they just fall asleep afterwards so that meant we needed to wake up at stupid-o’clock. I think we were up at about 5:30 and travelling on the metro just after 6am. We arrived at Panda Avenue by 7am and hopped on the well organised bus to the entrance. Because we don’t have a Chinese sim we couldn’t pre book the tickets so before getting into the main queue we had to go in a different one, along with 3 other tourists to buy the ticket. It was annoying because only then could we join the queue after 100’s of people had got ahead of us but anyway, we were on our way and following a path through the bamboo forest towards the first enclosure.

Some enclosures we couldn’t spot the panda, I think they all have an air conditioned inside area too where they sometimes like to rest, particularly in summer but soon enough we saw our first one, sitting down while munching on some bamboo sticks. They were such lovely bears and so different to grizzlies and black bears in North America. For some reason giant pandas are clumsy as fuck. I don’t know why but they really are the clowns of the bear family and so entertaining to watch. The enclosures all seemed nice and full of greenery or climbing apparatus for the pandas. I also liked how most of the enclosures had a low fence line and no glass so we could photograph the pandas easily.

The best enclosures were the ones with 3 bears in it as they were all really playful. We watched as one climbed up a ladder but would lean back down to prevent the other bear following it up and every single time the one from the top would basically tumble head first down the stairs while the other one had its neck pushed into the wooden steps, almost choking it. There was another enclosure with three very fluffy, juvenile pandas and they were even more adorable and funny to watch. They kind of had the attitude of playful dogs but the clumsiness of puffins.

We weren’t really sure what the best route around the centre was so we were just guessed at every turn. We tried to see the baby pandas and went into two different nursery areas but all the enclosures seemed to be empty which was a shame. Luckily there were red pandas in the park and they were enjoying their breakfast very close to the edge of the enclosure so we had a great view of them. They were kind of like a mix between a fox and a raccoon and ever so cute.

Towards the end of our visit it began raining quite heavily so we took that as our sign to head off and make our way into Chengdu. The city is said to be the first and only UNESCO city of gastronomy. But we didn’t fancy any Sichuan food, typically smothered in spicy oil, we fancied an Indian curry and my goodness was it a great choice. Then it was time to do a little sightseeing around Chengdu. We checked out the busy shopping streets where giant panda statues featured on many buildings. We also strolled through some ancient alleys which were packed with tourists and cute shops. Then we made our way to Peoples Park where locals go for tai chi, dancing or matchmaking their children. There was a large section of the park with pink or blue (female or male) posters put up by parents to advertise their child and hopefully get them married. It was a very interesting dating technique and was actually surprisingly busy with locals taking the time to read the ads which said things like ‘Find: Men, more than 48 years, you can have a house, widowed, divorced and married’ and ‘will play cards, sincerely get married and have a blind date with people’ I guess the translator didn’t always work too well but it was interesting seeing all the ads.

We were too exhausted to do anymore sightseeing so began our mammoth journey back to our hotel where we spent the next week relaxing and doing a lot of travel planning as we need to figure out where to go next. While in the city we decided to treat ourselves to a massage but it ended up being a Thai massage which was annoying as I just wanted a simple, oil massage but alas, I’ll get what I’m given I suppose. I’ve had a lot of Thai massages, they’re extremely cheap so we used to treat ourselves to them regularly but I never really enjoy them as they resemble a mild form of torture. This massage was no different and the lady began contorting my body and making it look like I was possessed by a poltergeist. At one point she was literally sat on my back and used four points of contact on me so I think she had her legs wrapped around mine while pulling my arms and trying to crack all my bones while I awkwardly resisted out of pure fear. So from now on I’ve decided no more Thai massages, relaxing oil ones only! What a way to end our time in China. For our final day we travelled across the city to the airport, it took about 3 hours so we stopped in the centre for another delicious Indian curry and checked into our airport hotel ready for our flight to South Korea the following morning.