Traveling further south on this journey, lands us in Chengdu. Chengdu is surrounded by mountains and lies in a valley. Hiking and biking opportunities are prominent in this area. Green tea is also the gem of this area and much of the landscape is characterized by tea farms. As an outdoor enthusiast, the golden ticket of this trip was Southern China which did not fail to wow me.
My hiking experience started in Leshan with a journey to the Giant Buddha. Once again, my guide in Chengdu failed to disappoint. His name was Bruce and he was training to be in a triathlon and has biked across Scotland. He is from the Sichaun Province originally so Hot Pot Soup and the mountains are close to his heart. He took me the back way up the mountain to the Giant Buddha which is the less frequented way. This way passes large Buddhist temples where you can see the afternoon prayer and folks practicing Thai Chi. Again, trekking poles will come in handy as the way down to view the full Giant Buddha is by way of a steep stairway. At the base of the statue and confluence of Minjiang, Dadu, Qingyi Rivers you have the best view of the Giant Buddha which was carved by hand over a period of 70 years starting in 713 AD.
The Sichuan Province is said to be the most well known and popular cuisine in China, with good reason. Hot Pot soup is at the forefront of its popularity and is a chili based, clear broth soup. Once boiling, you can drop in fresh meat and vegetables in order to make the soup. While Hot Pot is native of Sichuan, you can find this dish all over China. If you don't love spice, then you have an option to have clear both soup without the chilis but be warned, most people in Sichuan don't know what the word "mild" means.
The info on the website was laid out very well. I did some comparisons with other tours and found Adventure Life met a lot of what I wanted in an Antarctica trip at the cheapest price. Requested a quote on Claudia contacted me right away. She answered a lot of questions the I had via email even though she offered to discuss via phone call. I’m more of an email person so appreciated how she accommodated that and answered all my questions. And when I was ready to book, she quickly got the ball rolling with getting our spots reserved on the trip my friend and I wanted. Thanks again, Claudia!
Hazel Araza
10 hours ago
(1) great information on the website and throughout all the "materials." (2) Jane Packer is great: knowledgeable, responsive, takes a personal interest and tone, seems to care about the customer as a person not a sale.
Larry Bethune
18 hours ago
great people doing a wonderful job to make our voyages happen.
trudy
1 day ago
For our first trip to Costa Rica, Adventure Life designed a tour that meets the interests, ecological and adventure, of our party; but also takes into account our physical limitations sine we are all septuagenarian. We are looking forward to the trip.
John Zent
2 days ago
Adventure Life is my favorite travel company due to their genuine care for their customers. They make every effort to ensure a wonderful travel experience for you. Their personal touch really gives the customer a lot of confidence with their travel plans and the trip leaders are always outstanding. They are truly consistent and accountable with the great service they provide. I can't thank Adventure Life enough for the incredible trips I have enjoyed thanks to them and their attention to detail.