Result….Our hotel is right next door to a KFC restaurant! You know you've been away for a while when a KFC is exciting. That’s breakfast sorted, although we appear to be the only ones eating a whole bucket of fried chicken at this time in the morning…
Back in the UK I did a little research into the location of official Porsche dealerships in China. I fired off an email to Porsche Chengdu to ask if we could stop by and use their inspection ramp (If we made it that far) The center manager replied and said we should drive over to see them if we make it, so we did.
Serena calls the Porsche center over breakfast and arranges us an appointment for 3pm that afternoon. We spend the afternoon shopping in downtown Chengdu, and keen to tick another weird food from our list, we both try “Neck of duck” for lunch. I know what you’re thinking, but actually its pretty tasty!
We arrive at the Porsche showroom for 3pm where we receive a warm welcome from the management staff. They congratulate us on our effort and arrange for the car to get a much needed wash - Its absolutely filthy, the once shiny silver wheels are now almost pure black with brake dust and grime…
We make our way into the showroom to check out some of the latest models, the salesman explains that over 90% of new Porsches sold in China are the Cayenne 4x4 model, bearing in mind the state of some of the roads I can see why. The prices are sky high, there’s a luxury goods tax on Porsche models which literally doubles the price - A base specification Boxster weighs in at around £80,000. A high specification 911 Turbo is quite way North of £220,000..
Three coffees later and Jerry re-appears spotless, so marked is the difference that Serena doesn’t recognise it as being the same car. We drive into the workshop to meet the mechanics, the manager kindly arranges for me to stay with the car for the duration of works. We discuss the price for the scheduled work, I’m pleasantly surprised to hear that the labour rate is a fraction of that in the U.K, less than £50 per hour. Brilliant.
As you might expect, a 44 year old Porsche is entirely different from a modern vehicle in every respect. Because of this, I find myself giving the Porsche mechanics a crash course in 912 servicing - Starting with how to carry out an oil change. They’re keen to use Mobil 1 oil for the change, but I explain its not ideal for a vehicle of this age and we opt instead for the Valvoline oil that I carry on board.
We’re in luck today, the Porsche centre has a senior mechanic visiting from Porsche Dubai. He speaks fluent English and having recently restored a 356 model for a client, he’s fully up to speed with the classic vehicles. We finish up by raising the front suspension just a little, then its back into the office to pay the bill of……Nothing! The centre manager has decided to waive the cost of all the labour. He wishes us good luck and we motor back to the hotel.
Dinner is spent at a great restaurant downtown where we manage to tick off frog, foot of chicken and pigs ear from the weird foods list. We dine with Tracy, one of the managers at NAVO the excellent tour company that has arranged our transit of China. She explains that the press are interested in featuring our trip in the local paper and TV station. Are we interested in arranging a photo shoot? YES! A couple of calls later and we’re booked up for an interview back at the Porsche centre the following afternoon.
place to need medical assistance, the gu
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Xi'an to Chengdu
It’s a long drive through yet more stunning scenery - The day follows our usual pattern….Check the oil, warm the engine up, hit the road, re-fuel, eat pot noodle lunch in the garage, check the oil, hit the road, re-fuel, arrive at destination.
Part of the way along our route we spot an elderly lady selling caged birds at the side of a mountain pass. The traffic is slow, so I decide to pull over and check them out - The birds are great, red feathers with bright yellow beaks, but they don’t appear to be too happy.
Serena thinks I’m completely crazy when I ask her to check with the vendor if I can buy one and set it free (Its good luck!) She asks and the answer is yes, the lady presents me with a cage and I’m asked to pick a bird. There’s three in there, I couldn’t pick one to set free and leave the others in the cage, so we strike a deal for all three.
The old lady plucks them from the cage and throws them in a plastic carrier bag. We wander over to the edge of the road, Bex sets the bag down on a rock and we watch the birds fly off into the sunset. Hopefully that will give us some good luck further down the line…
Exactly 780km later we arrive in the provincial capital of Chengdu. Its been a running joke ever since we arrived in China that some of the most popular dishes are pigs trotter, chickens feet, neck of duck, chopped up frog and pigs ear. We pledge to sample each and every one of these before we leave, but our time in China is slipping away so we try trotter for dinner. Interesting….but not recommended!
Part of the way along our route we spot an elderly lady selling caged birds at the side of a mountain pass. The traffic is slow, so I decide to pull over and check them out - The birds are great, red feathers with bright yellow beaks, but they don’t appear to be too happy.
Serena thinks I’m completely crazy when I ask her to check with the vendor if I can buy one and set it free (Its good luck!) She asks and the answer is yes, the lady presents me with a cage and I’m asked to pick a bird. There’s three in there, I couldn’t pick one to set free and leave the others in the cage, so we strike a deal for all three.
The old lady plucks them from the cage and throws them in a plastic carrier bag. We wander over to the edge of the road, Bex sets the bag down on a rock and we watch the birds fly off into the sunset. Hopefully that will give us some good luck further down the line…
Exactly 780km later we arrive in the provincial capital of Chengdu. Its been a running joke ever since we arrived in China that some of the most popular dishes are pigs trotter, chickens feet, neck of duck, chopped up frog and pigs ear. We pledge to sample each and every one of these before we leave, but our time in China is slipping away so we try trotter for dinner. Interesting….but not recommended!
Xi'an
A day off in Xi'an...
The city is very picturesque and features quite a few historical buildings including a huge city wall which surrounds the centre of town.
On the way into town last night I spotted a Starbucks coffee shop, so this is to be our first stop of the day. China is very much a tea drinking country, we’re both missing coffee big time so its straight in for Venti Cappuccinos.
This city is world famous for the hoards of Terracotta Warriors which were unearthed by a local farmer digging a field back in 1974. We catch a cab out of town to the museum which houses the endless ranks of clay soldiers, they still sit in the pit’s they were discovered in.
The warriors were buried to protect the ruling king “Qin Shi Huang” (259>210 BC) on his journey from earth to the afterlife. The king set about arranging his burial details soon after taking power age 13, the warriors were just a small part of the preparations made in advance of his death. The kings mausoleum is located near to the site of the warriors and is yet to be uncovered - The warriors are incredible but the mausoleum promises to be spectacular if ever opened. The king used no less than 720,000 slave labourers to construct what is said to be a complete underground city, with over 100 rivers of flowing mercury.
From the exterior the site covers an incredible 2,180,000 square meters and appears to be little more than an overgrown hill - Following his entombment, the site was covered over with 300ft of earth top cover to disguise it, it's been sealed ever since…..
After yet another Starbucks, we spend the afternoon cycling a knackered old tandem bicycle around the top of the city wall. Good fun for the first 8km, not such great fun for the last 6km !
The city is very picturesque and features quite a few historical buildings including a huge city wall which surrounds the centre of town.
On the way into town last night I spotted a Starbucks coffee shop, so this is to be our first stop of the day. China is very much a tea drinking country, we’re both missing coffee big time so its straight in for Venti Cappuccinos.
This city is world famous for the hoards of Terracotta Warriors which were unearthed by a local farmer digging a field back in 1974. We catch a cab out of town to the museum which houses the endless ranks of clay soldiers, they still sit in the pit’s they were discovered in.
The warriors were buried to protect the ruling king “Qin Shi Huang” (259>210 BC) on his journey from earth to the afterlife. The king set about arranging his burial details soon after taking power age 13, the warriors were just a small part of the preparations made in advance of his death. The kings mausoleum is located near to the site of the warriors and is yet to be uncovered - The warriors are incredible but the mausoleum promises to be spectacular if ever opened. The king used no less than 720,000 slave labourers to construct what is said to be a complete underground city, with over 100 rivers of flowing mercury.
From the exterior the site covers an incredible 2,180,000 square meters and appears to be little more than an overgrown hill - Following his entombment, the site was covered over with 300ft of earth top cover to disguise it, it's been sealed ever since…..
After yet another Starbucks, we spend the afternoon cycling a knackered old tandem bicycle around the top of the city wall. Good fun for the first 8km, not such great fun for the last 6km !
Lanzhou to Xi'an
It’s a long drive of about 700km today, so we make an early start. Fortunately the car is still at the police station, the cops looks a little happier and more interested in Jerry than they were at 10pm last night. Lanzhou is famous for a special style of beef noodle, we have these for breakfast and they’re good - In fact all the food in China seems to be great.
The road is generally good, but some mountain stretches are poor and slow progress. Eleven hours later we pull into the ancient city of Xi’an, one of the most popular tourist destinations in China and home of the world famous Terracotta Warriors.
We still haven’t worked out why Chinese food in China tastes really healthy, but Chinese food in England tastes really unhealthy with totally different flavours. Serena Suggests that the Chinese food in the UK is actually Cantonese food, a style popular in Hong Kong featuring many sweet dishes.
Keen to check this out, we track down a Cantonese restaurant for dinner. It looks like Serena is right, the food is much more like the favourites from our local take away in England. Sweet, oily and unhealthy. Mmmmmm
The road is generally good, but some mountain stretches are poor and slow progress. Eleven hours later we pull into the ancient city of Xi’an, one of the most popular tourist destinations in China and home of the world famous Terracotta Warriors.
We still haven’t worked out why Chinese food in China tastes really healthy, but Chinese food in England tastes really unhealthy with totally different flavours. Serena Suggests that the Chinese food in the UK is actually Cantonese food, a style popular in Hong Kong featuring many sweet dishes.
Keen to check this out, we track down a Cantonese restaurant for dinner. It looks like Serena is right, the food is much more like the favourites from our local take away in England. Sweet, oily and unhealthy. Mmmmmm
Dunhuang to Lanzhou
The next day we crack on to Lanzhou, the capital city of this province - On arrival our hotel has no car park but reception suggests we try to park in the nearby university. We drive over to ask them, the guard laughs and asks if we’re joking….Five bicycles a night are stolen from the campus, a Porsche doesn’t stand a chance!
He suggests we try to gain entry to the private staff car park which is guarded 24hrs…..We try, but despite Serenas best efforts we’re turned way by the guard, who in turn suggests we try the nearby Police station.
We drive over to the Police station, the cops initially turn us away but eventually relent and grant us a parking spot by the gate.
Lanzhou is famous for its noodle broth, we just about make it to a local restaurant in time to sample some. Pretty good!
He suggests we try to gain entry to the private staff car park which is guarded 24hrs…..We try, but despite Serenas best efforts we’re turned way by the guard, who in turn suggests we try the nearby Police station.
We drive over to the Police station, the cops initially turn us away but eventually relent and grant us a parking spot by the gate.
Lanzhou is famous for its noodle broth, we just about make it to a local restaurant in time to sample some. Pretty good!
Hami to Dunhuang
Not such a long drive today, yet more stunning scenery, will it ever end?.. We make it to the Dunhuang for the late afternoon - This small city was established fairly recently, following the discovery of the now world famous cave complex in the nearby mountains.
The following morning we head out of town to check out the caves, one of the most famous sites in China. The caves were discovered in the early 1900’s by adventurers travelling the ’Silk Road‘, the trade route connecting Europe to China. The caves themselves are a series of around 700 man made grottos set into the side of a sandstone mountain, many dating back to the 5th Century. Their purpose was to serve as private places of Buddhist worship for the rich families who commissioned there construction.
The interior of the caves features highly detailed wall painting and sculptures, some originally contained secret rooms containing early Chinese scriptures and paintings. The British explorer that first found the site wasted no time in stealing as many of these artefacts as possible, sending numerous cases of paintings and books back to the British Museum in London. This artwork was high valuable, its theft is still a sore point to the Chinese who would still like to see it re-patriated.
One cave features a massive hand carved Buddha, around 115ft tall. It was forbidden to take photos at the site, but I’ll try and track done some pictures online and post them in the picture gallery, an awesome sight.
The following morning we head out of town to check out the caves, one of the most famous sites in China. The caves were discovered in the early 1900’s by adventurers travelling the ’Silk Road‘, the trade route connecting Europe to China. The caves themselves are a series of around 700 man made grottos set into the side of a sandstone mountain, many dating back to the 5th Century. Their purpose was to serve as private places of Buddhist worship for the rich families who commissioned there construction.
The interior of the caves features highly detailed wall painting and sculptures, some originally contained secret rooms containing early Chinese scriptures and paintings. The British explorer that first found the site wasted no time in stealing as many of these artefacts as possible, sending numerous cases of paintings and books back to the British Museum in London. This artwork was high valuable, its theft is still a sore point to the Chinese who would still like to see it re-patriated.
One cave features a massive hand carved Buddha, around 115ft tall. It was forbidden to take photos at the site, but I’ll try and track done some pictures online and post them in the picture gallery, an awesome sight.
Urumqi to Hami
Not much to report on this leg - Its another long days drive, China really is a big place. More great scenery, we now know the words of almost every song on both the iphone and the ipod - It may be time to start buying CD’s soon.
Weather is still very cold but at least the snow has cleared up. We make it to Hami (pronounced harmee) for around 7pm.
One thing that’s very noticeable in rural China is the ever present smell of burning coal. Coal seems to be used by everyone for everything, most restaurants have a coal fired cooker crackling away in the kitchen.
Weather is still very cold but at least the snow has cleared up. We make it to Hami (pronounced harmee) for around 7pm.
One thing that’s very noticeable in rural China is the ever present smell of burning coal. Coal seems to be used by everyone for everything, most restaurants have a coal fired cooker crackling away in the kitchen.
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