Nicholas Quirke was surprised to find his digestive system was not in riot after the phenomenal spiciness and beer of the previous night on 11 August 2020. This was a good sign, he was advised by Wei, that the Hot Pot was good. Though this was good for the day’s planned activities, the weather was not. A storm had been brewing and from the moment they left the hotel till their return the rains came down. As Chengdu is famous for the Giant Panda’s, which hail from the Sichuan Province, they were going to the park, reserve, where they were housed. On the way though they stopped to look at the Furong flower which is the Sichuan flower and grows nowhere else in china, maybe even the world. It was wet but the Pandas were about and lazy as ever, apparently because bamboo which they eat is very low nutritionally . The park was dense with bamboo, banana trees and other tropical plants and even though it was not the wild it was a designed to give the Pandas as much space as possible. They could breed here and as an endangered species it felt like they were being protected as well as be bred. He was interested to find the smaller less cute species of the Red Panda there too. It was very damp and they made the long journey back to their city by bus and then subway. Bay the time they exited the station the rain had become torrential and not even the umbrellas could protect them and they were marooned at the entrance to the subway for nearly 30 minutes before they made a dash to the restaurant which was 600 meters away. It was a Vegan Buddhist restaurant and the food was delicious, particularly the Green Tea Sesame cakes. They headed to Tai Koo Li where there there was a nearby foot massage parlour and a spa. After all the mountain walking and climbing his feet were in desperate need of some attention and they were certainly treated well. The Price also included a neck and back massage as well as some seriously painful calve massaging, though by the time it had been completed his legs and feet felt like new. The Spa did not accept Laowai and it was back to their hotel area for a late night bowl of delicious Dan Dan Noodles. The rain had finally stopped and the air was cooler though the air con in the hotel room was maintained for the nights sleep.