It was a really interesting stay here in Mount Emei. However, we can’t stay here forever, we still have a schedule to meet, it is already broken as it is since we were supposed to leave for Chengdu the previous afternoon. Anyway, our schedule was flexible enough to accomodate delays like these. Early morning the next day, we checked out of Teddy Bear Cafe and head off to the nearby bus station.
This was the same bus station we took to the top of Mount Emei. It also has destination to other parts of Sichuan. I thought this is very convenient for tourists. The bus station itself is quite unlike the other bus stations I have been to in China. This one actually feel very modern. It is clean and spacious. It is also brightly lit. What’s more, there are not a lot of people.
There were a lot of ticket counters so there was no problem purchasing tickets. I found it interesting that instead of electric fans which I was used to seeing in South East Asia. Electric fans are of course used to keep one cool during times of warm weather. However, the ticket counter ladies were using some sort of appliance that I have never seen before. It looks like an satellite dish but it actually radiates heat. This is of course because of the cold the experience in this part of the country.
There were hourly buses that depart from the bus station to Chengdu. The bus station was a pleasant place to wait so it wasn’t really uncomfortable. The toilets were also clean and well maintained. Unfortunately, Western style toilets are still quite rare. Happily enough there was a drinking fountain at the bus station and they have hot water. People would come with their water bottles with tea leaves and fill it up with the hot water. I also have a water bottle but I didn’t have any tea leaves. I really wanted to buy that time. Anyway, I also filled it up with hot water. And it was really hot!
Finally our bus arrived and we were on our way to Chengdu. The provincial capital of Sichuan is around 3 hours away from Emei City. We should be getting there around lunch time. The night before, we bought some snacks to eat on the journey, so we shouldn’t get going hungry during our journey.
Again, we travelled on excellent highways. I was thinking that we would be getting there in no time. The highway passed through picturesque rapeseed fields. They really seem to like that plant, since it is really all over the place. After couple of hours on the road, we were at our first stopover. The stop over had a big tea shop. Now that I think about it, I wonder why I didn’t go buy some tea leaves. We quickly went to their bathroom to relieve ourselves after the long journey.
Just outside the tea shop, is a huge “floating” teapot which appears to be pouring tea. It was an amusing scene which I had to hurriedly take a photo of since the bus was about to leave. Just as we hit the outskirts of Chengdu, our pace slowed down to a crawl. It seems like the city is building a mass transit system and the construction is causing the slowness in travel. This went on for an hour or so until we finally got past the construction and into the city of Chengdu. Hopefully when the construction is finished it will be a more comfortable ride entering Chengdu.
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