i got to the museum around noontime, went to a few exhibits that were closed the time last around or i'd simply missed.
i saw an exhibit on mongol invasions that was unfortunately all in chinese but i could still admire the artistry of the handicrafts;
a special exhibit on kura pounamu - maori jade;
tomb decorations and afterlife offerings from the han dynasty; and finally a exhibit on southwestern chinese minorities. i stayed until well past 3:00. hungry, with my stomach growling, i headed to a nearby KFC i saw on my map. along the way, i visited a cloister of souvenir stores (almost bought some cheap jade trinkets, RMB$5 each) then stopped by a noodles shop. i had some intestines noodle (RMB$12) along with a bowl of fermented glutinous rice dessert with dough balls (RMB$6). the noodle was okay, should've gone with the knife cut noodles instead. the glutinous rice was very good, not sour, all sweetness, with some additional sugar.
even though i was already quite full, i still wanted to find that KFC. so i continued a little bit more, turning a corner to find my KFC. i decided to get a little fried chicken, and just so happens they had an afternoon special of 2 pieces of chicken plus a soft drink for just RMB$9. i ate then left, but was distracted by a walmart sign, and followed the arrows until i went to my first chinese walmart (which, originally enough, is built underneath the people's hall). pretty much like any other supermarket, maybe with more selection. had i not been exposed to chinese basement supermarkets already, i might've been shocked by all the things you'd never find in a US store (like smoked pig face), but none of that fazed me. they carried 3 different varieties of flossing toothpick but no dental floss. they also had soju, much cheaper at only RMB$14. i bought a package of tissue and some peanuts.
i returned to the hotel by around 5:00. i apologized to my shoes, took a shower, then relaxed until 7:30, where i got dressed and went back outside to look for some light dinner. i went to that taiwanese food truck again, this time getting the "sausage wrapped in sausage" (RMB$11). it wasn't that food. i wandered around the area a bit more, discovered a 7-up christmas tree, along with an H&M and uniqlo stores. returning to the hotel, i got some yanshuji from that taiwanese food truck.
back in the hotel, i finished off my chicken along with a bottle of soju and some peanuts. the soju was just like the one i bought in changshou, tasted like lightly sweetened water with alcohol. it seems like the kind of drink that'd be easy to make, unlike chinese baijiu, which has a more complex favorite that's hard to imitate. goes without saying, finishing a whole bottle of soju got me drunk.
i still had enough wits to book a chengdu hotel for tomorrow via ctrip. reservations are free, i pay when i check-in. i thought the place was pretty convenient but i didn't properly check the map first and it's actually a bit of a walk from the nearest subway stations (at least 15 minutes). but the hotel room is just RMB$119 for the night and it looks clean and has wifi and a window. i only booked one night, if i don't like it i'll move. after checking my lonely planet guide, it seems like there's a lot of things to see in chengdu after all. good thing i have a whole week to enjoy that city.