Never did I imagine myself saying this, but I miss our little slice of heaven back in Ya’an. Even though we are near the CCRCGP Dujiangyan Base, we are a considerable ways away from the city center- 30 minutes to be exact. Staying in downtown would cost an arm and a leg, given that Dujiangyan is considered the summer vacation spot and has hotel/apartment rates to match. Instead, we’ve opted to stay near the base, where the small towns are… Well… Boring.

We are staying at a hotel that is located one block off of main street in a town named- Daguan. The hotel is run by a couple that we have rarely seen since checking in. However, the price is right and we have been given access to their kitchen, laundry room, and the lobby room/tea room. It takes us 15-20 minutes to walk to the base on a busy, two-lane road. A bus runs about three times per hour if we don’t feel like braving the long walk.

Hailey and I have had to get creative to keep ourselves busy these last five days as there is not a whole lot to do. Eat, walk, wave, take funny pictures, and you are practically on the other side of town. We’ve been brave in sampling new food dishes and trying to mingle with the locals as much as possible. The quiet, small-town atmosphere is causing us to long for the noise and busy life of Ya’an.

However, we don’t have to wait very long. As it turns out, a series of events is causing us to cut our Dujiangyan trip drastically short and we will be headed back to Ya’an in the morning. Sometimes things just don’t go as planned.