Steve's China Blog

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Still in Chengdu

I haven't posted much about my life in Chengdu in quite awhile. There was a possibility that I was going to join a project in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and if that had happened it would have been the end of my China blog. That didn't happen though, so I am still in Chengdu. Let's see... Besides work, what has happened since March...

In early April Sarah and I went to Phuket in Thailand for a few days. It was Sarah's first time outside of China, and we both had a wonderful time. Here are some pictures...

Nice place to unwind

I wish that was me

Beautiful sunset at Kata Beach

Mmmm.... dessert

Sarah gets a golf lesson

At the end of April, and first few days of May, Sarah and I went to visit her hometown of Yibin which is not far from Chengdu. We spent our time snacking, visiting her brother and his family, and visiting the old town part of Yibin with her two nieces.

Frog hotpot

Time for some mahjong

One of the many many snack places in Yibin

Many noodles to choose from

Area in old town Yibin

Stinky ingredients for the local liquor

Sign in front of the old Liu house

In June Sarah and I traveled to a town outside of Chengdu called Pingle. It is sort of like an ancient town tourist attraction. The day we arrived we wandered about the town seeing the sights, snacking, and visiting shops and small cafe.

One of the streets in Pingle

Lots of bean products

Small bridge in Pingle

Sarah taking a break on one bridge

That evening we left there and went to the place we would be staying that night. There was a large communal area around the dining area, and they had setup a big cookout for us of lamb, rabbit, chicken, and duck. There was also some dancing and kareoke. It seemed like summer camp for adults.

Preparing dinner

Sarah helping with the BBQ

The next morning we had breakfast and then wandered up a road which led up the small mountain there. There was a stream full of ducks, lots of farmland, and lots of tea houses. It was a very enjoyable walk.

Some jungle along a stream

Could be on a postcard.

Enjoying the flowers

Power nap at the tea house

Drying rice on the road

This is starting to seem like the Sarah and Steve's China Blog. Anyways, back in May we started looking for a new apartment that was closer to our offices, and moved into a new place at the end of June. It's not as new as I had hoped to find, but the community is nice and our new landlady agreed to put in an oven in the kitchen!

I haven't used the oven too much yet. It's been so long since I've had an oven that I had to think of what I could cook in it. So far I've made meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, and fudge brownies. Next up... oatmeal cookies and pecan pie! Yum!