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Published: March 29th 2007
Got on the night train out of Hanoi to Lao Cai on the Chinese border. By luck we had the whole train berth to ourselves, and it seemed to be a private car a cut above what we'd been in coming up the coast - cleaner and with a nifty lamp on the table for atmosphere. One nifty lamp and suddenly you feel you're on the orient express. We awoke to the conductors knock next morning and spilled out into Lao Cai at daybreak. We located a cafe, had breakfast and then headed to the border. Goodbye delicious Vietnamese style coffee (Secret: condensed milk). Stern Vietnamese officials scrutinized our passports and stamped us out, then stern Chinese officials scrutinized our passports and stamped us in. The Chinese side also asked for our ID cards, so we looked at each other blankly and then produced our Ontario drivers licenses; that seemed to fit the bill.
China! After some wandering and gesturing we found the bus station, and then with some further exploration found an ATM and got some yuan! Ha ha! Farah picked up some rice puffs for supplies and we hopped on the 11 am bus to Kunming. I
suppose that the driver had the engine belt assembly apart on the asphalt just prior to departure should have been an omen - 15 minutes out of town we broke down. Everyone waited patiently, smoked, or sat under a tree. I found a small market around the corner and bought some oranges - the vendor and I attempted equally incoherent "thank you"s in each other's language and waved goodbye.
Eventually a replacement bus appeared and we piled in - this one was a sleeper which was actually much more comfortable. Nice scenery, steeply hilly. We followed a makeshift road next to a huge highway project along a river for the first while but soon we were on quite good road and passing though long tunnels. Lovely. The rest stops were quite quick but did include a cafeteria style dinner stop - quickly choose 4 items to be scooped onto your plate. Last served, our years of chopstick practice came to focus as we madly shovelled in the food - I think we were on a rushed schedule due to the breakdown.
We arrived in Kunming approaching midnight - unlike the big Indian cities, this city actually looks big
- expressways and tall buildings with huge neon signs. Communication is sometimes difficult here, we've had it easy up to now. Our cab driver hatched the idea to take us to a nearby hotel with an English speaking desk so that we could explain where we wanted to go, and that worked well. After more than 24 hours of travelling it was nice to hit the shower and the pillow!
Next day we wandered about and took a look around. Modern! Enormous wide boulevards with well tended hedges and flower beds, bicycle and bus lanes, pedestrian overpasses and huge wide sidewalks. If you're thinking of walking a few blocks, plan to pack a lunch. One large section had the roads disappear underground to make way for a big pedestrian only area.
On the way to the nearby Bamboo temple we had a look at the city outskirts which were more gritty looking. The temple was great, and featured hundreds of old ceramic sculpture of monks in realistic and often humourous poses. Photos not permitted unfortunately!
Took one day trip to the nearby stone forest, a fascinating limestone karst landscape. Fun to explore the winding paths within, squeezing
between the formations and up and down stairs.
Next, up to Lijiang and then Tiger Leaping Gorge.
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Sergei
non-member comment
I've been there too ;)
Good to see the places that I recognize. When I was visiting Shilin, I was told that in the old days it was considered the main wonder of the world. And it is still beautiful... Regarding Bamboo's temple monks figures: when I was there (a while back), photos were permitted, so I've got a few picture to send to you...