So we left the river, and took the bus to the Chongqing Zoo. We knew we only had a short time there and that our reason to make the stop on the way to the airport was, of course, the Giant Pandas. So we got our tickets and headed off to the Panda Enclosure. OMG. There they were, waiting for us. And they are so cute, even though from what everyone says they are a bit nasty tempered. One of them sitting in a special chair, obviously designed for easy viewing and at the same time easy
munching of eucalyptus. A real photo op. We all took about a million pictures, then it was off to the Zoo Museum. We weren't really looking to buy anything,especially in a museum inside a zoo, but there was a guy there who was carving a unique type of jade so ......As a result of our purchase, we were last on the bus- but everyone waited for us (smile)and we were off to the airport for our short flight to Xi'an and another Chinese treasure- the Terra Cotta soldiers. Remember that part- we were late for the ride to the airport but the bus waited for us.
In Xi'an we had had an opportunity to pay extra for a Tang Dynasty dinner/show but we had opted not to do so in order to go out and see some of Xi'an on our own. We had remembered what our friend on the Shanghai flight had said about Xi'an being China's past and we aimed to see some of it, especially since the trip to the soldiers wasn't until the next morning. But when we arrived at the very impressive Xi'an Kempinski hotel (Viking did put us up in some very nice 5 star hotels!) we discovered that we were out in the middle of nothing. Built way out of town, designed to be a self sufficient resort (but not there yet), we were stuck. Luckily there was a beautiful pool so we enjoyed the facilities and wondered how the rest of the group was doing (we were 2 of 8 who didn't go. Our excuse, and we still think it was a good one- was that THEY had all just STARTED their trip and we had been traveling for a month by then. We needed a break.) And we had been told by Tom, our very efficient guide, that those of us who hadn't dropped an additional $40 each on the Tang Thing would be provided with the tasty, convenient, included meal- right there in the sumptuous Kempinski dining room. No bus- no boat-no flight. Cool. Count us in. And some people we had met and made friends with had also opted not to go, so we agreed to meet in the beautiful, new bar at 7Pm for a drink before dinner.
At 7 we found a table- (not too hard since there were about 100 people in the entire hotel- and we made up about 75 of of that number) and waited for our friends while listening to a young girl sing American songs. When Jan and Mary Ann arrived they said that they had tried to order a drink already- had we had a chance to do so? No- but we were game. We headed for the dining room, ready for a new experience. Oh yeah.
Our arrival at the table was matched by the appearance of 3 very young, very smiley Chinese employees. Unsuspecting, we ordered a bottle of white wine from a Chilean winery. What a global world we live in! We could get a Chilean wine in Communist China! 15 minutes later all 3 Chinese kids (don't they have to be older than 21 to serve alcohol? Maybe not.) showed back up with a bottle held proudly on a tray. Right winery- but a red wine. Foolish as we are, we explained the mistake and actually let the 3 kids AND our wine disappear back out of sight. By this time we had been served our soup, and our salad, but no sign of the wine. We were joined in our laughter about the situation by the other 4 people from Viking, seated at tables around us. One of the women asked if we had been wise to send the bottle back because "who knew when another might show up?" No, we were sure it was about to be presented for our consumption.......but when it DIDN'T appear, we assured the few employees still around (most of them were otherwise engaged in going to Chile for the wine) that we would happily take the previously offered bottle- as long as it was on our table, in our glasses and in our hands before dinner was over....so off they scurried helpful, as always. While we were pondering this development, a new person came up to us. She leaned over Judy and said- "Madam- rare, medium or well?" After a moment's thought Judy asked "What kind of steak is it?" A stricken look came over the waitress, who paused to compose herself and then said...."Madam- rare, medium or well?" They were the only 4 words in English that she knew. Still, we could hardly be critical since we could barely manage "good morning" in Chinese so we took it all in stride. And just about then, almost as a reward- our bottle of wine (the original one) showed back up! Good- we were on a roll. Unfortunately, we are pretty sure that the waitress had never before attempted to open a wine bottle (or maybe even have seen one) and she gallantly tried for some time to get it open. Finally, to the amusement of all of the rest of the Viking travelers, we indicated with our best sign language to bring the bottle, AND the opener, to the table and we would do it ourselves......ah, the pleasures of travel. And we hadn't even gotten to the Terra Cotta soldiers yet. Tomorrow- another 5:30AM wakeup call and another intra China flight.
