The beauty of a tiny pocket of China

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We’ve been in Kunming for 3 weeks now and I think that I can say that we’ve seen a lot.

I thought I’d give you a quick over view of what we’ve seen before we leave for Guilin tomorrow.

If you'd like to see 2 parents and 2 kids on the same moped driving at high speed across a crossing (supposedly for humans), then we’ve got it here, or if you want to see a live chicken in a string bag being poked and carried home by a granny for her tea, we’ve also got it, as well as the many purpose made amputees that beg or play instruments on the pavements in the evenings - we’ve got those too. Or maybe you’d like to see a guy changing the wheel on his trolly with a big fire lit barrel cooking potatoes over his head, or a shop that is open and working in the bottom of a building that hasn’t got a roof, or maybe the blind leading the blind or a man with a budjie (not on a string) choosing a horoscope out of a pile of papers - it's here or if you'd like to go for dinner and see gizzards, or insects or neck or lung on the menu - well, we have that too. If you would also like to hear the sounds of China - maybe the constant horn honking or the chorus of Gobbing (mostly by men, sometimes women) it is ever present and through the laws of statistics and because of the sheer amount of people, you may get gobbed on - come to China.

But, if you have an eye for detail, I recommend that you look up whilst in a park and you'll see the most beautiful architecture ever, or if you walk through green lake park you'll catch the heady scent of lotus flowers wafting in the air, or when you walk in the old grounds of the well hidden confucian Wen Miao Temple you'll feel totally calm whilst finding men playing majhong and you drink the flower tea with endless refills or if you’d like to hear the sounds of the many men and women singing and playing instruments freely in the parks and public spaces, then come to Kunming because we have that too. The atmosphere in the park is wonderful and alive - just as it is in many cities across China.

And if you want to be reminded of the Japanese invasion into China in 1931, then you’d probably like to hear the 13 minutes of air raid sirens sounding out in every city over the whole of China on Sept 18th so that no one ever will forget.

And, if you really want to learn Chinese, the best ever teacher is living in Kunming and her name is Bright Autumn.

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Photos

Crossing the road with a heavy load
and slightly, only slightly, unstable

Mend the tyre
Watch the fire

Cross bridge noodle
You get the boiling soup, egg in first then the raw meat then the other bits. delicious

Huang Laoshi
teaching us how to 'do' the whole crossbridge noodle thing

Wen Miao
Confucian temple

an alternative Bjork with umbrella
doing her thing

Comments

[Nola]

Xie Xie!
Xie xie so much for sharing your great adventure! The stories, pics and videos are viewed over and over! Best wishes, Nola