A morning in Luodai, Part I

I'm going to try outwitting my browser, which allows me to post only five photos per blog entry, by posting fifteen photos from Luodai in three separate entries. So there, Safari!

Don't forget that you can double-click on each image to enlarge it and see more detail.

For about $30 one morning we hired a car, a driver, and three hours of his time to visit nearby Luodai.

Luodai is an "ancient town," so the road signs say, about 20 miles east of Chengdu. This was my third visit to Luodai, and each time I return I'm disappointed to see yet more changes.

The first time I visited Luodai, in the spring of 2005 with Tan, Pam, and Ken, the village (which is actually a section of a much larger city) was undergoing major changes. A water main was being installed down the center of the main street, so we walked precariously on embankments and boards, hoping not to tumble into the ditch where the water main would be installed.

Luodai was still its original self back then, though, with all sorts of shops ranging from tobacconist to liquor-maker to dumpling-seller to coffin-maker. When I returned the second time, in the fall of 2005, the main street had been nicely paved over and many of the original shops had been replaced.

This trip to Luodai revealed even more changes, many of them disappointing. While a lot of the original shops are still there, so too are penny arcades and costume shops. I suspect Luodai won't resemble its original self at all in five more years.

In the top photo here, you see a resident ready to start his day, with an armful of reeds for weaving into mats or baskets.

The photo on the immediate left is of a vegetable pancake maker. We stopped and bought a skewer with five fresh pancakes. Vegetable pancakes are delicious and I'm determined to learn how to make them myself.

These gaily decorated wheelbarrow-type chairs are for rent. If you prefer not to walk the streets of Luodai, you can hire someone to wheel you through the village. We chose to walk.

This is the main street of Luodai around 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday. By noontime the street was so crowded that it was difficult to maneuver our way along.

This lady is making and selling little doo-dads, from chicken feathers.

Now go "up" to my next post to see more of Luodai.