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I touched down in Chendu for which the literal English translation is perfect metropolis. ‘Perfect’ though is obviously from a Chinese point of view. It is basically the same as any Chinese city….. characterless sprawling grid of freeways, buildings put up in haste. China is embracing the western life while remaining a communist state which basically means it’s ‘out with the old in with the new’ on a scale you just cannot imagine. It’s hard to put a date on but I would say nothing in these cities is over 20 years old whatever was there before has been demolished and replaced by this formulated urban sprawl.

Little Trouble in Big China

Stucros
2006-01-13 18:46:19

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marked on my map. After 40 mins of walking and having no idea where I was I decided grab a cab. My first impression of the journey was that I was been taken down to China town after covering a distance that just didn't seem feasible with the map in my hand I was dropped off on

very very bu-tiful
a street corner with no bars. I preceded wander round for another hour or so asking/signing various people along the way to point where i was on the map. English though is a hard commodity to come by in China although most of the hostel staff will have some English in the outside world you’ll be lucky to find anything. Another obstacle to navigation in cities is maps….. nobody uses them which is understandable as they bear no relation to reality!!!! So back to square only this time I decided to try another cab where would believe it ended back on the same street corner. I then went to sign that i wanted a drink having absolutely no idea what I was on about he called a friend who spoke English and finally I found a bar where Ii watched a the second half of Man U Newcastle over a local beer. With only ten locals as this wasn't quite the nightlife I sought so back to wandering the streets for another half an hour i was rewarded by one other bar consisting of only 4 locals but with one advantage a barman that spoke basic English and even better

Ahh ahh ahh boom bomm!!!
he had in his possession an English phrase book. Eureka!!! the final hurdle was almost over come 5 mins down the street he described a nightclub - walking up i had no idea what to expect but the manager came out to meet me and escorted me to a table........ this was very different on my whole journey here i hadn't seen one westerner and inside the club was no different. After ordering (pointing to) a drink the manager came back gave me his business card and a VIP card his face beamed with excitement when i told ...