Mondays are typically the day off for most of the school staff. Which means Sundays are the typical late-night out. While I had returned from the anniversary dinner at about quarter-to-ten, Lee didn't return from his after school outing until late into the night, and was still asleep when I got up to start my day. Since I had no school-related duties in the schedule, I figured I would take advantage of the time off to do some exploring around the city.
Before I had left for China, we had researched some of the interesting locations around the city and had come across the listing for a local, English-language cafe called “The Bookworm” located in the South-central area of the city. Being very close by to my apartment I decided I would take a walk and find it. Map in hand, I strapped on my backpack and ventured out into the drizzly, early-morning streets.
East and West Chengdu is divided into roughly even halves by a main North / South road called Renmin Nan Lu, only a few blocks to the East of my apartment. Once I had made it out to this main road it was a straight shot North to Yujie Dong Jie, the road where The Bookworm is located. On my way North I passed many of the hotels that cater to Chengdu's international tourists as well as a conveniently located Bank of China, where and decided to stop to exchange the remainder of my American currency from USD to RMB. As I waited in the lobby of the bank for the tellers to arrive at their stations, one of the clerks assisted me in filling out the exchange document, and I spent the remaining time on a bench drafting my last blog post. After a few minutes at the counter, I had made my exchange and resumed the walk Northward.
One of the things I noticed during my walk is how little space gets wasted in these large cities. Beneath every overpass and entrance ramp were nestled restaurants, small shops and even park areas. It was beneath one of these roads that I stumbled across a rather unique art store. Renditions of landscapes and a few reproductions of famous work were recreated in painstaking detail with colored thread, stitched into canvases and framed like traditional paintings. As an artist I couldn't help but be impressed by the patience and craftsmanship it took to make those images.
I did eventually find my way to The Bookworm, just a few blocks further on. It's a pleasant and atmospheric little cafe that serves food and drinks all day. Thousands of books line the shelves, all for reading while on site. You can also get a sort of “library card” that allows you to check out books from the establishment as well. I ordered some apple pancakes and coffee for breakfast and took advantage of their wireless network to Skype home and update my blog. After I finished eating I packed up and went back to the apartment.
Not long after I returned, Lee woke up and we made quick plans to visit the music district near the Sichaun University, North towards the city center. We made our way out to Renmin Nan Lu and boarded the North-bound subway train. (Subways and buses in Chengdu are 2 RMB per trip,, with transfers, which rounds out to around 30 cents USD.) The subway system itself is very new and well-maintained. Although it currently runs only North / South and East / West, merging at Tianfu Square, additional lines are currently in the works.
After disembarking from the metro, we made our way North and East a few blocks until we found what we were looking for. Lee was hoping to purchase a new acoustic guitar, and after we explored a number of shops containing everything from pianos, orchestral brass, woodwind, and string instruments to the traditional Chinese Erhu string instruments and Guzheng harps. After deliberation, lee finally settled on a guitar that he liked, haggling the shop owner down from the original 900 RMB asking price to 650 RMB.
We caught the metro South to our neighborhood and after a short respite contacted one of EF's representatives, Aria, who was scheduled to come by and help us to address the leaking toilet and lack of internet connection. Sadly neither problem would end up being fixed that evening. The toilet needed a replacement line and the Ethernet port in the apartment also needed to be replaced; both would have to be picked up and addressed the following morning.
We thanked Aria for her help and swung by Mikes Pizza just before they closed for a late dinner. I hope Lee and I can make a habit out of exploring the city on our day's off from work.