Wonderful private tour guide!

We chose Absolute Panda for a 4-day private tour of Chengdu because they offered the most innovative and varied set of activities. Lily and Philip, a husband-wife team, own the business and did everything possible to create a wonderful memory of our trip.

Lily runs the office, and was very responsive to our emails. Philip was our guide/driver, and is clever, knowledgeable, speaks English well, and wanted to tailor his talks to our need for detail (NO, don't tell me about Dynasties!) or specific topics, such as current affairs and politics. The car was very comfortable, and Philip made us feel at home, with plenty of water and a backpack of snacks. He brought along Bela, a sweet young assistant, to care for us when he was parking the car. Both were very sensitive to our needs, and communicated well about the agenda and choices we might make.

The highlight of the trip was our day volunteering at the Dujiangyan panda base. It was about a 1.5 hr drive from Chengdu. We were briefed, changed into a one-piece blue uniform (they have a good size range), were given heavy gloves, and off we went to clean out a panda cage, while the panda was in the next cage - don't get too near, don't turn your back! Pandas are cute, but prone to lash out with huge claws after they reach maturity. It was easy work - poop is mostly fiber so no bad smells. We then moved outside to clean the panda'splay area, as she watched, anxious to get out. 

Then we were allowed to roam and view pandas in enclosures. There were 2 eighteen month old pandas that were one constant tumbling team! We then got to hand feed pandabiscuits to a well-trained 2 year old, who would hook her clawed paw on a special tray in order to get something in her mouth. Wow! Up close and personal! 

We had lunch with the employees in the canteen - delicious! Then a one-hour documentary on the efforts to breed pandas in captivity and to return them to the wild. Then back to clean the outdoor area and hand feed the panda again. Finally, we make some panda biscuits, checked out the souvenir shop and headed back to Chengdu. 

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding was a half-day visit, and well worth the time. We went super early to avoid the crowds - Philip was great about leaving at 7am when we wanted to beat the rush and 9:30 when we had a little lighter day. There were two rooms of young pandas. We were lucky to catch them in their tumbling act before fell asleep...right where they had landed a minute earlier from tumbling. Too cute! There were also lovely outside enclosures with pandas of various ages and some red pandas too.

Philip even took us home to have his Mom do some cooking for us. Boy, can she chop things quickly! We mostly watched as she created some great dishes, but Philip would have put us to work if we wanted. Beware, one dish was too hot for my palate, but my husband liked it. It is hard to get anyone to make a "mild" dish for me! We also visited the fresh market next door. We have been to many cooking schools, which tend to be better organized that this event, but I learned several new tricks for cooking Asian food in general from Mom and enjoyed the glimpse into their home.

Philip also took us to very interesting Chinese and Tibetan shopping areas, explaining the culture along the way. We visited parks where seniors danced or practiced Tai-Chi or martial arts. The Bamboo park, where we sat and drank tea and learned to play Mahjong, was particularly peaceful on a clear day. We knew how from Chinese friends 30 years ago, and ended up winning most of the hands. Was that luck, skill, or "customer mahjong" with Philip and Bela letting us win??? In any case, we regretted saying goodbye to both of our new friends.

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