REFLECTIONS

Tuesday, 27 October 2026

Another early start today. I took the 06:14 train from Chengdudong to Huanglong Jiuzhai Railway Station and then rode a shared car to Huanglong Scenic Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Huanglong is well-known for its colourful travertine pools formed by calcite deposits. I’d bought the tickets for the rope way (cable car) and the scenic area beforehand on Trip.com. It is highly recommended to take the rope way because you’ll need to hike up more than 3,500 metres otherwise. I queued for around 40 minutes to board the cable car for a ride that lasted 4.5 minutes…

The day started off foggy and cold but the sun slowly emerged close to noon. I walked more than 3 km to the multi-coloured pond. I had to stop a couple of times as I neared the pond to rest as the air up there is thin. Many visitors come equipped with oxygen tanks!

After taking some photos and admiring the view, I walked down to the other lakes: Zhengyan (Flamboyant) Pond, Suoluoying Pool, Minjing Daoying Pool, Penjjng Pool, Liantai Waterfall, Lianyai Lake, Feipu Liuhui Waterfall. I took way too many photos but then again when else will I revisit this gorgeous place? Besides I paid for the ticket, I woke up early for the train, I queued for the ropeway, and I hiked through the scenic area. I was in awe and wonderment at the absolute beauty of the place and kept on praising Allah. At times, I felt like weeping at the scenery around me, at Allah’s generous favours on mankind. Subhanallah. Alhamdulillah. Allahuakbar.

I exited the Scenic Area at 14:05 and went to find out which shared vehicle I should take back to Huanglong Jiuzhai Railway Station for my 16:25 train back to Chengdudong. I’d earlier on bought a shared bus ride on Trip.com that would leave continuously from 13:30. However, no one seemed to be able to help me. I approached five men and they were all gesturing here and there. One bus driver wanted me to pay ¥28. I argued that I needn’t have to pay as I already had a ticket. He asked for my mobile number and couldn’t find it in his list so he refused to take me on. I spent a very frustrating 25 minutes trying to find the right bloody bus. It didn’t help that the sun was now beating down and I slowly and gradually was developing a headache. Finally one man said I could try carpooling. So I went to ask and one man asked how many in my group. There was only me of course. As it turned out, another two local visitors wanted to carpool so we left together. I sat in front as the two visitors didn’t seem to want me sitting with them. The fare was ¥30 each. I was not happy as I’d purchased a shared bus ride on Trip.com but no one seemed to know anything about it and ¥30 was still acceptable for a 30-minute ride. In any case, I was desperate.

We arrived at the station and I went to buy some wafers as I was starting to have gastritis symptoms. I ate a few wafers then decided to perform prayers as I wouldn’t be able to perform them on the train seeing as there were no more seats left when I purchased my train ticket. I saw a Muslim restaurant on the upper floor of the station. Well, I wouldn’t have time for a meal and perform prayers so I chose to perform prayers.

We finally boarded the train and I walked through the train coaches until I came to a coach where there were a few girls sitting on their bags or standing by the doors. I asked if I could join them and one girl said yes. She also helped fill my ramen cup with hot water and later asked if I wanted a plastic bag to throw up in when I showed signs of vomitting. What a rough end to a day that started so well but I was thankful that I managed to perch on the large suitcase at all. I ate my ramen slowly and even managed to doze off during the 102-minute ride.

We reached Chengdudong at 18:07 and I walked to the Muslim restaurant where I had lunch the previous day and ordered a plate of beef fried rice. The portion was good enough for two people and of course I didn’t manage to finish it. Then I walked back to my room and rested.

Walked 23,150 steps or 15.9 km in Huanglong and Chengdu today.

Wednesday, 28 October 2026

This morning, I started later than usual. I took the metro to Xipu then train from Xipu to Qingchengshan (Qingcheng Mountain) station (purchase on Railway 12306 and then a shuttle bus to Qingchengshan Scenic Area for ¥2. I decided to walk in, instead of taking the park shuttle. Then it was a climb and a hike before I boarded the ropeway up, followed by more climbing. And more. And more. Repeat many, many times.

After about three hours, I left Qingchengshan and walked back to the bus station and took a ‘special’ bus to Dujiangyan for ¥10. I spent 3.5 hours in Dujiangyan before taking the train back to Xipu and metro back to Chengdudong. I was debating if I should enter Dujiangyan Scenic Area but it was already past 4 p.m. and I still hadn’t had my lunch. And especially after yesterday’s episode, I was keen to avoid suffering from gastritis again.

I walked to nearby Nanqiao Bridge and my, what a splendid structure it was. This is one of the two bridges that you should go to, to watch the ‘Blue Tears’ when it gets dark. I crossed the bridge to Guanxian Ancient City and browsed the halal restaurants. I decided to eat at the second restaurant and ordered what translated as beef hotpot noodles.

After my late lunch/early dinner, I walked along Nanjie Street and was delighted when I saw a mosque. I entered the mosque compound and walked up to the mosque. One man appeared and not looking very friendly. He opened two doors and I saw two men performing prayers inside. I doubt there’s any female praying area but in any case, I had performed prayers on the bus.

I walked out and wandered along Nanjie Street up to Xingfu Road and entrance to Fuya Temple. I saw many, many steps going up and that was enough to deter me from entering. I turned back and wandered the back streets then browsed the shops along Xingfu Road before returning to Nanqiao Bridge. There were already a lot of people there capturing the Blue Tears (although it looked more like Green Tears to me). Then I walked along Neijiang up to Tianfuyuan Bridge, the other bridge for watching Blue Tears. Along the walk, I purchased train ticket back to Xipu: there were trains at 18:54, 19:34, 21:22 and the last train at 21:56. If I missed the 19:34, I’d have to kill time in Guanxian Ancient City or somewhere while waiting for the 21:22 train. So I was determined to catch the 19:34 train. There were only standing tickets left.

I found Lidui Park Railway Station and figured I had enough time to pop over to Yangtianwo Plaza or Square where there is a gigantic panda lying down. So I did exactly that and that completed my visit to Dujiangyan. I arrived back at Chengdudong at 20:03 and stopped briefly at a shop. Lala had given me a panda bag charm but it dropped off somehow in Leshan or along the way. I didn’t end up buying anything. I returned to my room and started packing for my trip home.

Walked 32,800 steps or 22 km and climbed 86 stairs today. This surpassed my previous record in Astana 2.5 years ago!

Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan Irrigation System (originally constructed in the 3rd Century BC to control flooding and irrigate farmland without the use of dams highlighting the advanced technological stage of ancient China) are on the prescribed UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Thursday, 29 October 2026

Well, it’s time to go home. I left my room at 08:40 but ended up waiting ten minutes for the lift. I made my way to Chengdudong and rode the metro to the airport. I changed to line 6 but the next train only went up to Shenyang Road so I got down there and waited for the next train. I wanted to get down at Tianfu Commercial District station but missed the stop so I got down at Western China International Expo City station and changed for line 18. The next train only went to Futian so I waited for the following train to T1 and T2 of the international airport. I arrived at 11:15 and hurried over to Terminal 2 to check in for the domestic flight to Haikou.

Now, according to Trip.com, I must collect my check-in bag at Haikou and re-check it in again. So when I finally reached the counter, I asked if I could check my bag all the way to Kuala Lumpur. She consulted a document and said yes. Syukur Alhamdulillah! Otherwise, I’d have to scramble my way to baggage collection and rush to departure level and check in my bag again. I also managed to get both boarding passes (TFU-HAK and HAK-KUL).

I had time to eat my yoghurt before going through security check.

We took off at 12:45 and we were served a choice of chicken rice or pork. I asked but there was no vegetarian or seafood so I chose chicken rice but didn’t eat the chicken.

We landed at 14:50 and I followed the signs to International Transfer. My next flight was at 16:35. Before boarding, however, I was seized with sudden stomach upset that 8 had to go to the bathroom twice. It must be the chicken rice, I thought.

Alhamdulillah, this time, I was served Muslim meal. We landed at KUL T2 at 20:10. My bag came out too late for me to catch the 20:48 train so I had to wait for the 21:18 train. I reached home after 23:00 and immediately unpacked. So that was my autumn trip to Chongqing and Chengdu. And I’m already planning to return to China, InsyaAllah.