After 14 days of hustling around, our Day 15 was very sedate in comparison: we checked out of Somerset Riverview Chengdu early morning, then used Didi to get a ride to Chengdu East Railway Station for our 8:36AM departing train to Huanglong Jiuzhai Station. The process of booking tickets on the High Speed Rail had been relatively easy while we were in Singpaore – but trying to get the train timings we wanted wasn’t easy, in that tickets get snapped up very fast. And this was off-peak season even for Chinese domestric travel – can’t imagine what it’s like during their busy months! The 2.5 hour journey from Chengdu to Huanglong Station in a Second Class coach wasn’t as pleasant as on Day 01 when we arrived and managed to snag the First Class Coach. The Second Class coach today was a bit more busy with more people – most heading to Jiuzhaigou – and seats weren’t as comfortable. Still, the train attendants were super nice and noticed that we were foreigners, and kept bringing us snacks and tidbits to try.
Our train arrived into Huanglong Jiuzhai Station as scheduled at 11:11AM, and when we exited the train station, it was an assault on senses: aside from the many people who were visiting Jiuzhaigou and locating their rides to the valley area, there were lines of persons touting cab services: it was quite a din! There were a few station marshalls to ensure that things were still orderly, but more than a touts crossed the barrier fences and directly approached us to tout their transport services. We’d already pre-booked our ride from station to our hotel, so we ignored the din and (near) harassment, locaated the 9 seater luxury vehicle whose seats we’d booked, hopped on, and at 1:15PM, finally reached Jisheng Hotel, where we’d be staying for two nights.
Oddly, after two weeks being at much higher altitudes than Jiuzhaigou’s 1,900m, I finally felt some mild symptoms of altitude sickness: nothing serious, but a mild headache. And the wife and kids felt totally fine. LOL.
Our hotel is situated at a quieter stretch of the area, and about 1.8km away from the actual entrance into Jiuzhaigou National Valley. Nonetheless, there are a dozen restaurants and eateries all within easy 5 minutes walking distance of the hotel and at least three convenience/small supermarkets selling an assortment of necessities, including snacks, drinks, winter wear and such.
That’s it: a very quiet Day 15. We’d be up early tomorrow morning to spend the day at Jiuzhaigou itself, so more to come soon!