The Search for Pandas

My free day in Xi'an started today at 7am.  Linh and I got up early to get some breakfast and set out around 9:30 towards the south gate of the city.  There's this giant brick wall that surrounds Xi'an due to the fact that it used to be the main capital of China and still is for a few of the provinces around here.  We climbed up the stairs to the top of the wall (seems counter-productive, doesn't it?) and rented a couple bikes for 2 hours and had a blast just cruising around the city!  You could see the roofs of most buildings, including a few people taking baths on their roof, and enjoy the traditional Chinese music playing from the speakers around the wall.  I was happy as can be as I pedaled my way across the uneven wall, lost in my own thoughts, trying not to think about how sore my bottom was going to be from the small bike and large bumps in the path, not knowing the date, the time (although I should, 'cause the bikes have to be back by noon...), or what I have to do tomorrow even.  It was exhilarating, to say the least!  Really a cool experience!
At least that was until the last leg of the trip where my body decided it didn't want to go on because it was hungry, tired, thirsty, pretty badly burnt, and everything was uphill by that point.  But I finished, dangit!  And it felt so good!  Chocolate ice cream (I think it was chocolate...) was my reward.
After crashing back in the room for a while, I realized the one thing I really wanted to see in China were the giant pandas.  A nice gentleman at our hotel informed me earlier in the week they were going to be at the 2011 World Horticulture Expo.  I HAD to find the pandas... How can you go to their motherland and not see them?!
So I left Linh asleep on the bed and set out to catch the #4 bus..... which never came.  Back at the hotel, I was explaining my situation and they informed me to go on a different day because today was already over.  It was only 3:30!  The receptionist explained in broken English, what I believe were the hours of the Expo (10am-5pm) and that to go on a different day would be the best idea.  I said, "No, I leave tomorrow morning and I really want to see the pandas!"  A bellhop overheard me, went outside and came in with a very confused looking man.  The bellhop pretty much hooked me up with a personal driver (who spoke absolutely no English) and said it would take at least 1 hour to get there, so if I wanted to go now and have him also take me back, it would cost 300 yuan.  Well, at the time that sounded like a really good idea so I paid the man and we were off!
We made it as far as the signs told us to go... and then got lost.  All the "Expo ->" signs pointed in the same direction, but by the time we got to the "SITE" there was no site!  It was just a massive intersection where all signs pointed towards the center!  Somehow we went out through the exit and found parking back by the entrance again, which we missed for the second time, and ended up walking half a mile towards the intersection again.  My driver (I don't know his name!) did go up to a food stand, though, and buy a bottle of cold water for me, which was incredibly kind!
After being pointed in a seemingly shady direction, we found the security gate that is the entrance to everything in China!   A very nice man was trying to talk to me the whole time in English, which was greatly appreciated, but by this time all I wanted to do was find a ticket to the Expo and get in before they closed the panda exhibit.  It's 4:45pm and my driver and I were frantically trying to find the ticket booth and this guy just will not stop following me wherever I go.
"Where you from?"
"United States."
"Uh, sorry... I don't know."
"America?"
"Oh, Kobe Bryant!!  I love!"
"That's great...." (Still looking for the ticket booth.)
"San Francisco?"
"No, Kansas City."  (Losing my patience with this guy.)
"No way!!  I love Mariah Carey!"
"What?  What does that have to do with-  ...nevermind.  That's wonderful.  Look, I'm trying to find tickets..."
"Oh, you looking for tickets?  I have tickets!"
"..............................WHAT?"
He leads me over to his group of friends who are obviously scalpers, but sell me the ticket at face value, so it's fine by me.  He then leads me over to the entrance, still saying, "I am friend from America!"  I'm pretty sure he was still shouting it over and over again as I was entering the park.
Upon scanning my ticket, the ladies at the entrance were kind enough to at least smile at me as I tried to explain that I want to find the panda exhibit before the park closed in 10 minutes.   After a few seconds of confused faces, I got out my handy-dandy Lonely Planet Mandarin Phrase Book and pointed to a picture of the panda bear on the second page.  "Panda?  I want to see the pandas."
Get this: The lady I was talking to just laughed and walked away after taking my book out of my hands.  She goes up to another lady and before I know it, she's openly mocking me, pointing to the book and mimicking my tone of voice, saying, "Pan-da!  Pan-da!"  Definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto.  How rude!
Another lady was nice enough to give me a map in only Chinese (but hey it works!).  She pointed to a little black and white graphic of a bear.  The entrance was on one side of the map.  The panda exhibit was on the other....  Crap.
She pointed down a certain road, I smiled and thanked her (and took my book back from the other lady), and I RAN.  I was darned if I was going to pay 300 yuan for a personal driver and another 100 yuan to get into the Expo and not get to see the pandas!  About 5 'til 5pm, I was over halfway there but knew I wouldn't make it in time.  I stopped by a volunteer who just happened to figure out what I was saying by the phrases in my book.  That thing comes in handy, man!  (....And the lady at the gate laughed.... geez.)  I found out that the park doesn't actually close until 8pm!  SWEET JESUS, there is hope in the world!!  Needless to say, I walked the rest of the way.
I got all the way to the bottom of the map where the little panda graphic was calling my name and found people standing in a line for nondescript "Animals."  Figuring I've got nothing to lose, I got in it.  Hoping it was to the right animal, I found myself facing a long and winding path of families and strollers all waiting to see the "animals" just like me.  About 1/2 way through the line, I found a sign that I interpreted to say "Sorry for your wait, but the animals are closing at 6pm whether you get to see them or not."  It's 5:35 and this line was not moving much.
But to my surprise, 15 minutes later I was in!  And the first animal exhibit: PANDA BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!  Finally, I was there!  ...And the display was empty.  Next one, also empty.  I kept telling myself, "It's okay... I've made it this far.... They've got to be here somewhere, right?"
Then, out of what seemed like nowhere, one appeared from its domain outside!  And she was HUGE.  And fluffy!!!  And soooo cute!  She was just lying there on the concrete floor, licking her paw and I could almost touch her.  Her fur was waving in the wind and looked so soft, I was just amazed at her immense size and weight.  I went outside to see the other 3.  There was another adult lying in the sun, legs sprawled out on either side, watching all the people go by.  Right as I got there, though, it looked right at me and smiled.  Now, I know that they always look like their smiling, but I was there and she was smiling at me, dangit!  There were also two cubs playing upside down on their wooden structure, sunbathing and patting at each other.  After taking 22 pictures and 3 videos of 4 pandas, I was done and left the Expo.  There were tons of other plants and structures and animals to see, but I knew my driver was waiting out in the heat and I didn't want to be long.  I got him a cold bottle of water on the way out, too.

All I really wanted was to climb the Great Wall, see the Terra Cotta Warriors, and pet a Giant Panda.  While I didn't get to pet him, I did get to at least see them up close and that is good enough for me!  I went back out to the entrance where my driver was waiting and was immediately bombarded with vendors trying to sell me keychains with the little red mascot of the Expo on them for 10 kuai (slang for "yuan").  On the way in, I heard one person yelling 1 kuai, so I went to find him, but my driver pulled me away!  He then turned around and was holding two giant plush dolls that resembled the little red mascot with a flower on his head.  He pointed to me and then to the plush doll and then to me again, saying something in Mandarin.  I said I didn't understand and he shoved the plush doll into my arms, symbolizing it was a gift from him to me.  Now, inside the Expo they were selling for no less than 68 yuan!  I didn't know what to do except thank him profusely and hope he understood!  We found the car and drove home where he opened the doors for me and I thanked him again with 100 kuai.  He refused at first, because there's no tipping in China, but he was spectacular during the whole thing.  He made sure I found everything and didn't just drop me off and say, "see ya" as he drove away!
500 yuan, 3 hours, 22 panda pictures, and a sore bottom later... I am a happy camper.
Look for uploaded panda pics on Facebook! :)