King Ape Lovers Bridge

Looking on the internet for things to do in and around Mianyang I came across a photo of a swing bridge that looked like it might be fun to do.  Bradley and Jingjing arranged for her father to take us there.

The bridge is in the distance. 

The Ticket counter.

First we had to climb a few steps to get onto the cable car.  Then off the cable car to walk up and down, up and down many different steps...hard work for me but I did it.  The view going up the cable was incredible looking down.

Wayne on the bridge.

I decided to be one of the first onto the bridge knowing that the more that go on the more it sways.  Was a good choice.

Each link in the bridge had a padlock with this engraving on.

Wayne on the bridge with a view down ..
it was a long, long way down.

And this one shows just how far down..
That is the river beside the road we travelled on to get here.

Lunch was at a little place here that Jingjing's family had organised.  Very tasty local food.

From here we went to visit a cave.  It was impressive on the inside.  Amazing stalagmites and stalactites.  There were different coloured lamps throwing lights which was creating some great reflections.

Our last view of the bridge before we boarded a luge type car on a rail to drive down to meet up with the cable car.

 

Our last stop for the day was at the biggest temple in Mianyang.  We waited for Bradley to meet us here after finishing teaching for the day.

It was huge as well as stunning.
They were in the middle of repairs to many of the statues.

Just the beginning of being photographed many, many times.
This group did ask...most of the others didn't.

Just a corner of the building.  Such intricate detail.

One of the many lazing around here at the temple.

Looking across the river from the temple.

The Coffee Shop.  This night we had dinner here.

It was a very full on day and we packed so much into it.  

Sichuan, China

We had decided to visit Bradley in his little corner of the world for our arch holiday.  We were pleasantly surprised on our happy and settled he seemed to be.  One of the highlights of our trip was to visit him in his school and sit in on a lesson.  I believe teaching might be his vocation.  The children were literally and metaphorically hanging off him.

We arrived in Chengdu late at night.  After leaving a very warm Kuala Lumpur we arrived in Chengdu to a lower temperature and everyone was concerned that we wouldn't be warm enough but to me it was lovely to feel the coolness of the evening and yes it was quite cool.  It had been raining too which helped to bring the temperature down.  We were met by Bradley, Jingjing and her father.  It is a two hour drive from there to Mianyang and it was fascinating watching cars, trucks bikes passing us on highway going in the other direction.  i didn't realise that they drove on the opposite side of the road to us.

Arriving late at night at our hotel only to find that I had inadvertently booked a single room.  The lovely young man on the desk quickly changed this for us and we were taken to a lovely room overlooking the intersection below.

The snacks available in the room.

  There was dust in the air as Mianyang and the surround areas are still rebuilding after the 2008 earthquake.  I didn't realise just how much dust until I watched a lady getting the table ready outside the hotel at breakfast time.  I thought the tables were wooded with a nice grain on them...well thats what it looked like from inside but no it was a huge layer of dust and the tables were actually glass.  It was then that I Looked at the parked cars and again was astounded in the layer of dust on them and some of the cars hadn't been parked there long.

We went for a walk around the block...it was a rather large block but it was all so fascinating and wonderful.

Wayne with a rainbow coloured bridge int he background.

 Looking out our window we could see this bridge and our goal was to reach it and walk back to the hotel (in time for lunch with Jingjing and her father) but there was so much to see and do that we had walked for nearly 3 hours before finding ourselves back at the hotel.

Reading the local newspaper.

Planing the chopping board.

Walking across the bridge back towards our hotel.

It still amazes me how much they load onto their vehicles.

Bradley and Jingjing met us in a taxi to take us to her fathers restaurant for lunch.  here we met her grandparents and uncles and aunties and cousins/sisters.  We were treated to an amazing meal where they made sure I didn't eat any of the dishes that had chili in.  Wayne was toasted a number of times with Mijii (local rice wine) whereas I had a lovely red wine.  The meal was daunting but very enjoyable and we felt like we were very special.

Coffee was in one of her aunties coffee shops...not like what we know of coffee shops in Asia but an up market one.  Coffee was delicious.

Entering the market.

That night we went back to Bradley flat where they cooked us a lovely meal.  They took us down to their local market and we wandered around while they bought the stuff to cook with.

Looking into the market as we exited it to catch a bus back to Bradley's place.

Bradley buying one of his favourite sn

The local but

Beautiful coloured spices.

A row of butcher shops outside the market building.

Jingjing holding and enormous capsican.

A busy but rather nice introduction to their corner of the world,

KL Walkabout

We had to go into the EPF building to fill out an application form.  From our condo we took the 1 Utama express bus to Kelana Jaya LRT to meet up with Debbie, Dave and Genevieve.  Swapping lines at Masjid Jamek was this awesome Mosque.

The train was a little old fashioned but it did the trick to take us to the next station.

 Afterwards we went off for a lunch at a local hawker centre.  This one was Indian but not all food was spicy..ate some lovely fried rice, and garlic naan for lunch. Dave and Debbie left us here to go back and we carried on to find our coffee maker.  

 We assumed this was a Police Station as it had a number of police cars coming and going from it.

 Beautiful facades on the buildings.  We then caught the KL Tower in the distance.

 Along the way we found these old and run down houses in  the middle of the bustling city.

 A Yellow Cab Pizza Delivery place.

This old rickety place was still inhabited, they had a big flat screen tv going and music blaring.  A small restaurant operated out front of it. 

 Looking along the river you can see many different levels of roadways and then the monorail bridge.

 A list of the things your are not allowed to do while on the LRT.  They even have a fine system like Singapore.  All in all the trains are clean to ride and appear to be safe, though they do warn us about pick pockets.  Some of the trains have women only carriages, during peak times.

Wayne is welcoming us to KL.                                                        

 A fancy drinking fountain in the park behind the twin towers.

 Trying to be clever with reflections.  The Twin Towers are in the background of the reflection and I am standing in the middle of the reflection taking the photo.

 And then the lights came on.  Fantastic, will have to revisit for more photos.

After our trekking around we found our coffee maker, and are now enjoying good coffee for breakfast.

E1-29-02

 Welcome to our new apartment in Kuala Lumpur.

We have moved into our new apartment and are marvelling over our luck.  

We are 29 floors high,

The red mark on the photo actually shows our floor!

have a great view of the valleys, hills and local town area.

Coming home in the evening we are fortunate enough to open the door and look out onto the night lights...beautiful.

  A decking to stand (soon we will be able to sit, as we are going to buy some furniture for it) and enjoy the view.  At night time we hear the frogs chirping.

We are paying 3200 ringgit for our place and think we have a bargain, especially after the prices you pay in Singapore.  

We are only 10-20 minute walk away from work, 

which is a fantastic opportunity for getting my fitness up for our adventure in December.  

Already I can feel the difference in that my trousers are now loose.    

We have 3 bedrooms, so plenty of room for visitors. Each spare room has a double bed with bedside cabinets, and plenty of wardrobe space.  

Two bathrooms so we don't fight over the shower or toilet space.

A huge lounge area with a two, three and single seater lounge suite.

Dining area with a the biggest round table I have ever seen in  a house.  It seats 10.

Kitchen with a gas hob, electric oven, kitchen cupboards, fridge and twin sinks.  

No hot water so you have to boil the water for the dishes.

Laundry area has space to hang the clothes so that the air goes around/through them and we aren't tripping over the clothes.  Beside this area is the maids room with a toilet and shower.  This could be used as a spare bedroom too.  It even has its own little balcony.

The master bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe with drawers.  This bed is a king size and we get lost in it.  Each bedroom looks out onto the view.  I have been able to sleep with the windows open and no air-con.  First time in four years. 

Facilities at Bukit Utama Condo include - a swimming pool, hair dresser, small cafe, mini mart, tennis courts, a gym and a small outside running track and fantastic security.  You can only access your floor in the lifts.  Only one entrance for visitors and tenants so we feel very safe.

Wayne is using the card to open the gate so we ca come home!