Langzhong

Winter Holiday, Part 2.

When we arrived in Chengdu, we had all sorts of plans for weekend sightseeing around the city and the surrounding areas.  There were a couple of mountains to climb, the biggest Buddha in the world to take a picture in front of, a gorgeous nature reserve, and of course, the pandas that Chengdu is famous for.  Unfortunately, bad weather ruled out the mountains and the nature reserve, and Justin didn't want to get up so early for the pandas, and we all had fizzled brains from language study, so... one trip.  One.  And to a place that hadn't even made the possibilities list when we were planning grand adventures.
Langzhong.  One of the few "old" cities in China that retains the feel of an ancient way of life.  So, we went.
It took more effort than we'd thought.
In theory, it should've been a couple of local bus rides to the long-distance bus station, then a five-hour ride on that.  No problem.  We packed snacks, a lunch, some water, and plenty of activities for Connor, plus clothes and stuff for the weekend.  It ended up being quite a bit to carry, but no big deal, we were going to be riding the bus for maybe 45 minutes then stowing most of it under the long-distance bus.
Uh-huh.
We got on the first bus, no problem (other than a 20 minute wait).  I should probably remind you here about my lack of directional sense.  Remember?  Wade shares this quality with me.  Perhaps not as severe, but he is not a guy who can figure his way around, map or no map.  So Justin and Leah were in charge of watching for the correct stop to change buses.
Get the mental image here -- all of use with massive backpacks and one or two extra bags hanging on our arms (or toddlers hanging on our hips, as the case may be), smushed into a crowded bus (is there any other kind?), craning our necks at awkward angles to keep an eye out for the stops.  The frosty windows didn't help matters, either.
So, I've just gotten a seat with Connor (yay!) and Justin hollers "this is our stop!" and we shove our way past irritated passengers and jump off the bus.
Wrong stop.
My apologizes to the hubbie, but the man did make a wrong call.  He saw the sign for the street we needed, but we were a couple of blocks away from the correct end of the street.
So we walked.  And walked.  And walked.
Freezing cold, carrying Connor and bags of stuff we now were wishing we'd left behind, wondering how much further it was and if we should just take a taxi.  But no, we're all frugal people (we try not to think of ourselves as cheap) and decide that we can walk a ways further.
We find the right bus to transfer onto and climb aboard.  It is, without a doubt, the slowest bus in the world.  Guess how long we ride that bloomin' thing?
2 hours.  2 hours of singing songs to keep Connor occupied.  2 hours of readjusting bags.  2 hours of checking pockets every time someone bumps into you (pickpockets are alive and well in China).
And when we get off at the stop a very kind Chinese woman tells us to, it's not the right one.  We are at the train station, not the long-distance bus station.
Aiya.
So we backtrack and walk for about another hour or so, asking strangers how to get there every now and then and checking a map.  Well, Justin and Leah checked the map.  Wade and I just kept our mouths shut.
We finally get to the long-distance bus, and everything is smooth sailing from there (just arriving four hours later than expected is all) other than the fact that the public restroom doesn't have stalls and I got to pee while three Chinese girls watched avidly.  Luckily, by this point I was too tired to care.
Langzhong was really lovely.  People still lived and went about their business in this really quaint place -- not just a tourist trap.  That's rare.  Cobbled streets, narrow alleys, old-fashioned shingles, traditional Chinese dancers performing on the street corners, great food.
We stayed in the Feng Shui Museum (actual little hostel in the museum, which was super duper cool).  Only downside was that the bathrooms were not actually inside, but exposed to the elements.  If you had to pee in the middle of the night, you had to exit your room (once you leave your room, you have left the only source of heat in the place) and shiver through the outdoor courtyard, climb down a very narrow, steep staircase (Wade fell once.  It hurt.) then try not to slip on the slick stone floor (drizzled constantly, and like I've mentioned, this is all exposed to the elements).  Finally, if you can find the light switch, you can pee (squatty potties only).  Don't forget that there's no hot water in the sinks (only the showers, and then a very limited amount), so you're washing your hands in freezing water before returning back the way you came.  Note:  this is weather that's damp-cold, now, so you're in at least three layers at all times.
But without a doubt, bathroom difficulties aside (I've just walked you through peeing, but I'll leave showering to your imagination), this is our favorite place to date.  Lots of character and charm, and a really good deal to boot.
Langzhong is basically a shopping/walking place.  We saw lots of cool stuff and had a great time unwinding after the week of studying.  I'll add some pics down at the bottom for your perusal.
Oh, and when we traveled back to Chengdu -- we took a taxi home from the bus station.  :-)

 That's our room -- teeny tiny, which worked since the heater wouldn't have been able to keep a bigger room warm.

In one of the open-air areas of the museum/hostel.

Connor was there too (great restaurant, by the way) but he was playing with some Chinese kids, running around and around a table and laughing his head off.

This is our favorite Sichuan dish -- the potato thing I mentioned last time.  Oh, it was good.  Really good.  Crave it whenever it pops into mind good.