slightly astray

I feel like this year has been getting better and better. Maybe I’m growing more as a solo traveler each month, or picking better places, but it seriously feels like that each month is topping the previous one.

At the beginning of July, I said bye to Malaysia and flew to Chengdu! I came because Amanda was doing a study abroad program here, so I came to meet up with her. And this is an area of China I’ve been very interested in visiting. Because duh: pandas and spicy food.

Side note: isn’t it convenient that I’ve timed new places right at the start of each month? It makes these travel recaps so much easier and more organized!

I really love getting the chance to see more of my home country. China is so huge with so many diverse regions, each with their own foods, culture, and scenery. I’m glad I’m starting to explore more of it.

Omg Chengdu… Now, Chengdu is a city after my… tastebuds. This is an area of China that understands that everything is better with chilies and spice.

I was welcomed to Chengdu with an amazing hotpot dinner by my Airbnb hosts. It was the spiciest broth I’ve ever had. We completely over-ordered and stuffed ourselves with all sorts of meats and veggies cooked in the oily, spicy broth, while we chatted and got to know each other. It was the best, warmest welcome I’ve ever had. From the first day, I knew I’d love it here.

First meal in Chengdu! Spicy hotpot – one of my favorites. You dip raw food ingredients into the broth and cook it at the table. Sooooo spicy (check out all those peppers!) and sooo good. Sadly, I've been suffering for it every since. My taste buds LOVE Chengdu, but my tummy doesn't 😫😫😫

A post shared by Anna (@slightlyastray) on Jul 4, 2017 at 4:12am PDT

But oh boy did I pay for it later – for the next few days.

It kind of went like that for the whole month actually. I wish I could say that I ate more in Chengdu. I wish I had tried every single little eatery around me. But the truth is that Chengdu made me want to eat everything I see and simultaneously, afraid to eat anything. I never knew what would make my tummy go off. So I either kept on going back to the same places, or just eating a lot of corn and watermelon at home.

Honestly, besides what you see above, I don’t think I ate too much else.

Just like with food, I didn’t do too much in Chengdu either.

Chengdu in July was ridiculously hot with high humidity. This made walking around exploring almost impossible, and quite frankly, an unappealing idea. So I’m kinda ashamed to say that I didn’t do all that much aside from sitting inside in the AC.