Close to Cheng Du

Well for the last 2 days we have pretty much just been driving like crazy. We wake and load the cars at 7 and are out of town by 7:30. We usually don’t pull into the town where we will stay until 7:00 that night. A hot shower each night has been a treat. I really don’t care if I taste another Sichuan meal again in my life. I am actually starving but whenever we pull over to some seedy roadside stand or restaurant my appetite goes out the window. 

Last night we stayed in LuDing. The city is famous for a chain bridge where the Red (communist) Army had one of its famous battles against the KuMingTong Army. It was a scary chain link bridge covered with wood planks with space in between (not too much unlike the kind you see in children’s play grounds) where you can see straight down below. The only difference is that this bridge is about 20 meters long and hangs about 20 meters over a raging river below. The fun part was Steve, Ali and I were the last people to walk onto the bridge so the rest of the group thought it would be fun to jump on and swing the bridge to make our crossing a little more fun! OH MY GOD! I thought I was going to die! They were cracking up! VERY FUNNY…Not. 

We left this morning at 6 am to get over our last pass and not get stuck behind a bunch of trucks. We will be into Cheng Du fairly soon. Steve, Ali and I catch a flight out to Hong Kong later today and will spend a

few days there to recuperate before we fly home. 

This will be my last note. Thanks to all of you who have responded and enjoyed my narrative journey. I felt bad that on my last trip overseas for WaterHope, when Aline and I went to India, that I didn’t keep a journal or send notes. I hope you have enjoyed coming along my journey with me. Wish me a safe return and I hope to see you all soon. 

Tracy