May 3, 2026
KOMODO VILLAGE is a small, mainly fishing family population of just 300 to 350 households. It sits on the east end of Komodo Island within the National Park and is a unique community where locals coexist alongside the native Komodo Dragons.
Photo credit above belongs to Basia (check out her blog Basiak.blog). We both took basically same photo and her colors blew mine away because hers was shot in the sun and mine in shade. This is Village Pier - so warm and charming, like the people we met!
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The poverty here is striking but you wouldn't know it from the children! The only new construction we saw going on is this massive ornate temple, for such a small village. These 3 boys gave me a street dancing performance, when they saw me taking photos.
Below is a wood carving I thought was so creative that I would have loved to buy, but sadly I have no room to display in my cabin.
Xi'An, China has been on my must do list , for awhile. The story of the Terracotta Army has fascinated me, since I first heard it. What I didn't know too much about, was the actual City of Xi'An and the walled inner City that remains today. It was built from 1370 to 1378 during the Ming dynasty on top of the older Tang dynasty foundations. There are 9 miles of City walls, they are 39' high, 45' to 50' wide at the top and 55' to 60' at the base. There are four main gate towers and the only draw bridge restored is at the South Gate. There are 98 ramparts, watchtowers, battlements and a wide surrounding moat. It one of the oldest and best preserved fortifications in China .
After our Panda watching we went to Erling Park for some good city views. Green space in Chongqing is rare, it is truly a concrete jungle with a few planters and trees smattered in along the sidewalks.
The 21 Pandas at the Chongqing Zoo is t he largest grouping of them of anywhere we have traveled in China. We were all excited to see them and were up and on the road by 7am. They are super popular and morning is the supposedly the best time to see them active. It was another hot and steamy day, but less brutal than yesterday.