This time of the term, we were granted a week of holiday. Since a week is rather a long break, some of us decided to make a trip to Sichuan. It is a rather costly trip (I think I spend around 3k+) but it is all worth it.

Since there are a lot of things going on in the 10-day trip, it is impossible for me to tell the whole thing as it is going to be long-winded and boring. So I will just nitpick some of the things I remember and put it here.

Transportation

We mainly take three different modes of transportation: train to travel between Hangzhou and Sichuan, bus to travel different areas in Sichuan and bicycle to travel within Chengdu.

Train  ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Class-2 train ride window seat (on volume to experience the unpleasant noise)

The most costly one and yet the most inconvenient one among the three. Due to the long distance, it took us 14 hours to reach our destination. The environment is not exactly comfortable despite paying for class-2 seat as the noise pollution caused by the children is extremely high. Internet connection is not stable so if it is kind of impossible to find entertainment online.

Note: Bring earpiece so you will not suffer from the noise pollution and can have a peaceful sleep. Download online material to kill time during the ride. Pack enough food because the price of the food they sold are a rip-off.

Bus ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The ride can be described as a roller coaster ride throughout the journey because in general the roads are very bumpy. There are many funny occurrences happening along the way though. When we first head up to the mountain the 3-hour journey extends to 6 hours due to a landslide ahead of us. As we head down back to Chengdu, there are tons of cows/yaks blocking the way, a sight you will never get to see in cities like Singapore.

Bicycle ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The most convenient mode of transportation in my opinion especially because the traffic in China is unpredictable. The only thing that hinders me from giving it a five rating is the difficulty to find 13 Hello Bikes.

Note: It is good to prepare for the worse and bring raincoat (or umbrella if you are skilled enough to cycle with one hand) with you because you will never know when it will rain. I was drenched because I left mine.

Trekking ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Trekking experience accompanied by the beautiful scenery

Honestly, I hate cardio-related activities besides dancing. However, I never thought I would enjoyed it for two reasons. One, the weather is good. It is very cooling that I rarely sweat. Considering the fact that I sweat very easily, this is a blessing. Those who hardly sweat won’t understand. Two, when walking the harder path, it actually helps you to distress. Too bad Singapore does not really have this kind of place. I guess I would have to stick to dancing.

Food 

I am not a picky eater so I just anything that is given to me. However, there is one thing that I am anticipating a lot when I know that I am going to Sichuan which is mala.

Mala ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Mala hotpot before adding all the dish

As someone who is a fan of spicy food, I find the mala disappointing maybe because I expect it to be spicier. Maybe it is because we ordered wei la / zhong la but either way my cravings for dry mala is not satisfied yet so I am gonna hunt more here in Hangzhou. Worse case, eat when I am back in Singapore.

Others ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I do not know all the things that we ordered since the menu is in Chinese and is written in a very sophisticated way but everything is good and so that’s all that matters.

Note: Bring more snacks when you are travelling in mountainous area because you might have to skip some meals like we did.

Overall 

The amazing humans whom I share these 10-day experience with

In conclusion, the trip is a new experience to me. I never really get to travel to this kind of places because my family has a different taste in travelling. Not the most comfortable one since we are on budget but the experience is really worth the price. It is a good experience, even better with the company.