The Post-Panda Post

Our trip did not simply end at the panda sanctuary, although, I'm sure if it did, Brian wouldn't have cared. If he had died while walking gout of the panda sanctuary, he would've died a happy man..... however, luckily for us, that wasn't the case.

That evening, we went back to our hotel, and had a massage in the hotel spa.  That was an interesting experience.  However, after said massage, we hopped in a taxi to go to the bus station to buy our tickets for the next morning.  After struggling a little bit (a lot),  and a little bit of prayer that they were sending us to the right place, we purchased our tickets.  We then headed to dinner. You see, while Brian was finding out where the bus station was, he noticed a 'landmark' on google maps.  It appears that Chengdu is one of the few places in china that has the fine-dining establishment, we have come to know and love, as Hooters.  We, of course, HAD to go.

After, what appeared to be a short walk on the map that turned out to be quite a ways away, we finally manage to find the restaurant.  We walked in to have about a dozen girls scream at us "welcome to Hooters'.  This was done with a severe Chinese accent, and not even CLOSE to being in unison.  I actually laughed out loud a little.  We were seated with Elaine.  Now, Hooters is NOT known for great tasting food, so our expectations were low.  However, it seems that, because of the lack of actual 'hooters' in these chinese franchises, they make it up with excellent food.  And I mean EXCELLENT.  It was, by far, one of the best meals we have eaten since coming to Hong Kong.  I only had a burger, but the meat was tasty, and seasoned, and cooked properly.  It was amazing.  So good in fact, we ended up going back there on our way home, just for a second helping.

While we were sitting in Hooters, Brian and I were having a nice conversation, and all of a sudden... silence. I had lost him.... but to what???? There were no video games around, we're in the middle of China, where almost no one speaks English.  I turn to see the Toronto Blue Jays on one of the tv's, and Brian out of his seat, looming over a table of some sketchy looking 'businessmen'.  He was staring at the tv, with his mouth open, probably with a little salvation coming down from the corner of his lips.  He watched the opening day highlights.

He came back with a giant smile on his face.  I turned to him and said.... so, you got to hold a panda, get rubbed down by an asian girl in a short, tight dress, have the best food we've eaten in a long time.... not a bad day. And his reply was, and I just got to see baseball.

We had a picture of the hooters girls and some other pics of Chengdu, but I'm not sure where they went, how they were erased.... I'm sure it was a slip on my part, but they were there with the panda pictures, and now they're not..so I don't know.