Just a bit that I forgot from Sunday night: after the cabaret finished, as we were leaving the bar I noticed some bright lights outside and decided to go up on top to have a look. What a site greeted us!! We had arrived in Chonqing and were heading up the river in the midst of a city of 17 million people! The buildings and the lighting were amazing. There was one building in the shape of a ship (which turned out to be a theatre complex) and one whole outside wall of it was a screen showing video advertising. It was huge! There were skyscrapers everywhere, all with fantastic lighting effects. Dad nearly fell over (again!) as we were coming down! He has now had a few falls, the first one being the worst when he fell over on the escalator up to the international departure lounge in Tullamarine!!!!

Up early and packed our cases and put them outside the door at 07:30. Went to breakfast and then checked out. Total bill for drinks and laundry for the five days was Y620 (about $100). We walked to our bus and were then driven through the city to the zoo, home of the pandas! The zoo was ok, but it really couldn't compare to Melbourne or Taronga Park or many others around the world. The pandas were, well... pandas! They sat there eating bamboo or they slept or wandered off and slept. Can't say that they do much for me. There were many exotic animals including lions, and chimps etc but their conditions were not really very good, to say the least. The South China and Siberian tigers were impressive and there were some really strange fox/coyote like animals. I have included a few photos to give you an idea.

After the zoo we went to the Flying Tigers museum which is a museum dedicated to the flyers who flew against the Japanese in the voluntary squadron based in Chonqing from 1941 to 1945 during the second world war. It was really ineresting and the most amzing thing was that we met one of the original pilots! He was just sitting having a cup of tea with his friends and was actually sitting underneath his own photo when his friends pointed him out to us and we had a short conversation with him! On the subject of the Japanese, it is interesting to hear the city guides speak about them. Universally, it would appear they are hated, and not without reason from a historical perspective!

After the museum we went to lunch, which was not particularly wonderful, and then went for a walk in a park at the top of the hill which overlooks Chonqing. Interestingly, there was a wedding party there having their photos taken, but it wasn't actually thier wedding. In China it is normal to have all the photos taken at a chosen site the week before the actual wedding day! Not a bad idea really as if it is wet, they just postpone it.

We then drove to the airport, which is actually in the city, and on the way we saw yet more building and construction going on. There must have been half the cranes in Asia working here! You name it, roads, buildings, apartments, railways they are all being built in the hundreds in every city that we have been to! In fact it is that, that causes a lot of the traffic problems! I would estimate that the cost of the building projects in just one city here would be equal to the GDP of Australia! I kid you not! Rather than go over mountains they just go through them! Need another freeway! Just build it over the top of the others!

The flight to Kunming was fairly uneventful except that the staff on Xiamen Airways are very serious! In fact it may be to do with the particular ethnic group that they belong to (more later). Kunming was a lovely change. Fairly clean air and a pleasant 19 degrees. And for the first time since arriving in China we saw really blue skies! Traffic was not too bad, and the hotel turned out to be really nice, and has internet access in the room. We first went to dinner before going to our rooms after which we just realxed and went to bed.

Catch you all later.