Our group of 8 traveled to Sichuan (Szechuan) Province to independently explore a foreign capital city. To see as much as we could in 5 days, we needed to constantly be on the move which required staying in 3 hostels and walking a lot! Not only did I visit a new city, but I learned some extra tips when it comes to traveling.

Our adventure began with getting to walk onto the plane.  I’ve never done this before and getting to do it as sunset was an awesome treat!

A van from the hostel came to pick us up at the airport and we were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was.  Once I stepped through the front door, I felt like I was living in a tropical resort! It’s crazy that our hostels (with private rooms) only cost us about $10 a night.

My roommates Karen and Erica claiming their beds!

All the hostels we stayed at created this carefree, relaxed atmosphere which I really enjoyed for my vacation. The Mix Hostel was overflowing with plants.  Everywhere you walked you could smell all the different types of flowers they were growing. When a spot wasn’t filled with flower pots, it was occupied by travelers’ drying clothes.

They also encouraged people to leave their mark.  Almost every wall in the stairwells were filled with signatures, drawings, and quotes.  Sometimes when I walked up to bed at night, I would stop to read what people have written and what country they were from.

Day one of arriving at Chengdu went off swimmingly.  We quickly unpacked and fell right to sleep because tomorrow we planned to explore all of the capital city!