西遊記
Some of you might be wondering why in the world we chose the title 西遊記 (Journey to the West), although from a European perspective, we’re travelling in the east. Let us explain ourselves. We chose this title for two reasons: One reason is, that our journey focuses on the western part of China. The other reason is, that ‘Journey to the West’ is one of the great classic novels in Chinese literature. It is an important part of Chinese culture and we are reading it while travelling here. You got it now?
After leaving Kathmandu and a flight of almost 3 hours, we finally arrived in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, in the middle of the night. We were surprised how bright the lights and how wide the highways are. We took a taxi to the city center and realized that we weren’t used to driving over a 100 km/h anymore. Everything seemed just so much bigger and more modern than back in Nepal. In Kunming, also known as ‘Spring City’ due to its mild climate, we enjoyed 3 relaxing days. We spent most of these days strolling around in the city center and watched the Chinese fishing goldfishes out of the city fountains, which seemed to be a common way of passing time. We also really liked ‘Green Lake’ park, as it is a very peaceful place and a perfect spot for people watching. The Yuantong Buddhist temple was also quite impressive.
Kunming was surprisingly clean. Most buses and all scooters run electrically. This keeps the air pollution and the noise on a very low level. You just have to be very careful not to get run over by those silent vehicles!
Kunming:
After Kunming, we took a seven hour bus ride to the Yuanyang Rice Terraces in the south of Yunnan. We were very lucky with the weather and got a marvelous view of the centuries-old rice terraces, where the light bounces off in spectacular and colorful fashion. There we also met a very charming older married couple. Rob, a retired attorney who was born in Burma and is distantly related to Aung San Suu Kyi, and Feng, a former Chinese English teacher, were a great company and very helpful while we visited this beautiful scenery. Rob had a very good sense of humour, never ran out of clever remarks (Quote: ”We need chairman Mao to hit them with a stick, otherwise nothing works in this country…”) and always made sure that things worked out properly. Feng was a sunshine and organised everything for us, be it a nice and cheap hotel room, a good meal or a private driver through the rice terraces.
Yuanyang Rice Terraces:
Heading back to Kunming we took a stopover in Jianshui, mostly because we didn’t want to be in the bus for another seven hours. Jianshui has quite a nice old-town, a laid back atmosphere and its people are very friendly. There we visited a very authentic local market, where we could have bought roasted dog meat.
Jianshui:
After another night in Kunming, we took a bus to Dali, famous for its old town. As soon as we arrived there, it started raining. One evening when we were just going out to get some dinner, it really started pouring down. A very nice Chinese man allowed us to take shelter in front of his house and while we were waiting for the rain to stop, his 5-year-old son brought us a small bench to sit on and two bowls of hot rice. Once again we were amazed by the Chinese kindness!
While in Dali, we visited the ‘Three Pagodas’ park and got just enough sunshine to get a few nice shots of these impressive towers. The old town still has a relaxed vibe and the hippie groove from former days is still in the air. So ‘if you’re going to Dali, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair’, as most young Chinese girls do.
Dali:
Our next destination was Lijiang. To get there, we took a 4 hour train ride. Still the weather was miserable. Since one of us was bitten by two ticks back in the jungle of Nepal and because those bites were still itching, we finally decided to get them checked by a doctor (just to be on the safe side). Luckily, Curtis, a very friendly English speaking Chinese guy from our hotel was willing to escort us to the ‘People’s Hospital of Lijiang Prefecture’. This turned out to be a very interesting experience. First, we had to register and figure out what kind of treatment would be necessary. Then, everything had to be paid in advance. After payment, you could finally see a doctor. He was in a room full with impatient patients, all trying to push to the front. Once it was your turn, he examined you in front of everybody – it seemed that the Chinese don’t care about doctor-patient-confidentiality. He ordered a blood test and an ultrasonic brain scan. For these we had to go to another building, register and pay everything in advance again. In the end, we spent the whole afternoon in the hospital, but luckily everything turned out fine. And thanks to Curtis who stayed with us the whole time, everything went smoothly!
Lijiang:
Two days later we embarked on a 5 day hiking trip from Baoshan to Lugu Lake. This time, we needed a guide, not only because the trail wasn’t as obvious as the trail on the Annapurna trek, but also because we visited 5 different minorities who all spoke a different language (besides Mandarin and Cantonese, there are 56 other languages in China!). Our guide, Mr. Mu, who turned out to be a very gentle and kind man, became a good friend in those 5 days we spent together. We hiked 91 km, crossed a pass of 3600m above sea level and visited the Naxi, the Mosuo, the Lisu, the Pumi and the Yi people. Every night we stayed in a different homestay, ate local dishes and drank homemade bai jiu (strong Chinese liquor). All in all, it was a wonderful and authentic experience off the beaten track!
Minority Trek:
Now we’re back in our favorite hotel in Lijiang, relaxing, writing postcards and washing our clothes. In two days we’ll embark on another 2 day trek (Tiger Leaping Gorge) and from there we’ll travel further north to Shangri-La. We will also meet Mr. Mu again.
Even though this is the third time we are visiting China, we are still amazed and surprised by this country and its people. There is so much to discover and the food is just delicious (and an adventure in itself). We are glad that we took a Chinese language course back home in Switzerland. We try to speak as much Chinese as possible. As you can imagine it’s quite difficult, but every day we learn something new. So far our efforts always earned us some extra sympathy points!
Cheerio, the steffles
