Songpan

After the chilly heights of the Tibetan plateau, it was nice to be back in the warmth of lower altitudes and latitudes. The fun started in Songpan, where washed laundry would actually dry in our rooms, rather than sit around wet until we put it on.



Songpan is a touristy town centered on a walled city and a pleasant little river dotted with tea houses. Our schedule was wide open, so we had some time for a few recreational activities.



I headed off on a horseback tour of the town, which was amusing, since I've spent less than 0.00001% of my life on horses, but which wasn't too interesting from a scenery or riding perspective. The horses pretty much knew where they were going -- I could have fallen asleep and they wouldn't have known the difference. Marita eschewed the company of the group for some solitary time spent painting. It was just her, the ancient city wall, a watercolor set, ... and 40 curious onlookers. People seemed to be pretty interested in what she was doing, and while she didn't mind at first, when an old man started mumbling under his breath and shaking his head in disapproval, she snapped, "Think you can do better (punk)?" The fellow stuck around anyway.



Songpan was also significant because we were there on National Day, China's day to celebrate the creation of the People's Republic of China. No one seemed to make a big deal about it, since Songpan is in a region heavily populated by Tibetans and other non-Han Chinese, but from the looks of things on the television, it was a party in Beijing. Lots of parades and performances, flag-waving and flowers.



For dinner, we accidentally wandering into the Sichuan specialty of "Hot Pot." This involved putting a boiling pot of broth and oil on your table, into which you dip any number of meats, vegetables, and anything else that qualifies as "food" (and this is a pretty wide-reaching category of things). When we walked into the crowded restaurant, which was about half as big as a two-car garage, the place went from noisy to completely dead. Everyone was busy watching us until they warmed up to laughing at us. Perhaps this was because they were wondering how we'd react to our hot pot, which included well over 100 chili peppers completely covering the surface of the broth.



Well, if Marita wasn't into spicy food before the trip, this experience turned her around. At first, we could barely manage the stuff, but after a few dishes and a few beers (which I had to run out to pick up), we became numb to the heat and could really enjoy the food. Although it wasn't what we had in mind earlier in the evening, the meal was just the right way to end our time in Songpan. We left the next morning for Chengdu.