A China Christmas trip

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At 5:00 AM I woke up to get on a private car to Guangzhou airport to catch a flight from Gz to Kuming got super early I’m the Morning. (Dongguan the city where I live does not have an airport so it’s either HK, ShenHen or Guanzhou and based on my experience GZ is easiest and cheapest to travel within China and Asia. I arrived super early to the airport which meant I had to wait about 30minutes to check in counter to open and nothing was open. I did my check in and security and tried to find a place for breakfast nothing opened. So I just chilled and waited for my flight. The flight was pretty smooth except for the heat which was pretty hot and I could not breath. I tried to tell the stewardess , but her English was zero and she was of no help. I slept most f the flight and reached a sunny blue sky and chilly Kunming at 10:00 AM. Grabbed my carry on and backpack and caught the airport shuttle to West Inn hotel for 25 yuan and a 10yuan cab ride to Upland hostel. I reached the hostal checked In and unpacked and immediately made a new friend, probably very young but a nice girl from Germany studying and doing an internship in Hangzhou. We bonded pretty quickly and decided to take on a city walking and street food tasting tour on our own.

We took a famous road called Yongtong Lu and walked taking pictures of the local shops, people and going every bakery trying yummy Chinese pastries. We reached the first temple called Yuangtong temple. It was a radiation allergy Chinese temple, with pointed roof, blueish, greenish tiles with Asian designs. It had a big arch to enter and then followed a courtyard with a kind of creek on each side and a pagoda in the middle and a bridge to cross and go see the big main temple building. We wandered inside for a bit, into the back of the temple where there was a house most likely for the monks and workers. It was really peaceful. After taking usual touristy photos we wandered off to continue the tour.

We continued on Yuantong Bei Lu which isn’t a very long road with tons of street food shacks and local shops. We ate some sweet potatoes and corn on a stick. Finally we reached the zoo and one of China’s biggest universities: Yunnan university. Then the street turned into Huangcheng Bei Lu, it was a bit tricky to find the names of the streets. We wandered off passed s9me elementary and middle schools, by this time it was about 4PM and dismissal time. It was crazy busy, kids running around, parents and grandparents waiting to pick up their kids, local street food carts available. we saw two elder women tofu and some kind of round veggie balls from a motorcycle. It was a cool site and a creative way to use their vehicle as a food Stands, the scooter had a basket on the front where they kept all veggies and produce on the seat they put a portable stove and kept all utensils and on the rear part a wastebasket for trash. It was cool to see. We continued our walked through streets unt8l we got to a very modern plaza wit( pensive stores mostly western brands, Mc. Donald’s, KFC, Starbucks, Zara, etc. it really amazes me about China’s you can’t be walking for hours submerged in real authentic Chinese culture and BOOM all of a sudden you are in western modern world. We walked through a perpendicular street and got into an area full of old colonial Chinese buildings, we walked through alleys where there were local shops, restaurants and many people selling puppies and kittens on the street, This broke my heart, So many shops had kitties, puppies, turtles, hamsters, birds in very small cages all jammed in waiting for people to buy them.Seeing these little animal friends made me think of Violet and how much I love her and how lucky and blessed she was to have me. I bought Violet a denim sweater from a shop that only sold accessories and we walked past this cruel street quickly. We kept goin* and reached another very touristy area. It was all remodeled and had stalls of souverniers for sale. I bought some bracelets for my nieces, but thats about it evrushing was expensive. We continued our walk towards Muslim quarter where the two pagodas were. We could see the top of the Mosque from afar and when we reached it we realized it was an old building tha5 the bottom was remodeled and turned into a fancy women clothes shop and the top remain as a Mosque with some Muslim restaurants and probably small dorms or apartment buildings. Alina the German girl bought some soy milk from a Muslim lady and we walked straight towards Eastern pagoda. We reached the pagoda and took several photos. I realize de t(e Western pagoda was in a straight line opposite direction of the Eastern one, We took turns standing in the middle and taking a panorama photo with both pagodas on our sides, We took a bus to a more Western area full of foreigners ( we did not see any foreigners on our city tour except when we reached this street WenLin Jie. We saw the famous western and don organic cafe Salvador, were all foreigners met. Walk a little more towards the Cui park and lake and saw how beautiful it was with all the little lights on and a little holiday ambiance and took a cab to our hostal.





Day 2 Kunming park and some shopping

I woke up and headed down for a western breakfast for 22 yuan A time the hostal. I ate with Alina German girl and Harry, a Britt whom we met the night before at hostal restaurant. Ater some chats and me booking early flight on Saturday to Lijiang the three of us wandered into Kunming’s park. It was a beautiful blue sky day, sunny, with a cool breeze and nice 17C -20C. We walked through gardens, shops, crossed bridges and went through pagodas, It was full of people walking, taking photos, grandparents doing tai chi, families with kids, teenagers and kids playing, We bought some dried fruit snacks and a coconut for the road. We reached an area full of shops, restaurants and local food stalls. Then we reached a closed shops and restaurant area called V Park ( apparently on Christmas the do a Christmas market similar to the Europeans) Harry as hungry and he wanted to try the Cross The Bridge Noodles. We sat down and talked awhile he ate. Then we wandered into the park, stopping for photos along the way. We reached a bridge and pathway that was very crowded with Chinese people. It turned out to be an exit way of the park and also a place to feed the fish and seagulls at the lake. I took a few photos and a beautiful seagull posed for me and we took a selfie. We reached the end of the park and the three of us ventured into the local indoor food and clothes market. Alina led the way and Harry and I followed. We went to different stalls try8ng new foods, smelling, seeing and just embrac8ng t(e culture. We tried rice and wheat noodles, tofu and saw how it was made, we tried, stinky meat and fish, I tried this random rice drink that tasted awful. We were there for quite a long time just enjoy8ng t(e time a; culture. It was really a grea5 experience. Alina and I stayed longer, but Harry had to leave to catch a flight to Lijiang, we walked t9 hostal and then bac’ out t9 sight see more or Kunming, This time we went to eat dinner at Salvador and shared a delish cramberry chicken salad and each one of us had a superb cake. We walked back to our hostal and called it a night.

Day 3

It was Friday and I wanted to take an easy slow morning. I slept in until almost noon, I left my hostal at 2shh. Walk around the city and came around the same pet animal street we had been a few days ago. I wandered into alleys, shops and local food shacks and then at night met up with Alina for a light dinner of cross the bridge noodles. We walked to hostal and said good night.



Day 4 Flight Kunming to Lijiang and Lijiang old town I took a Super early morning fint from Kunming to Lijiang this morning. Flight was smooth and super quick. The views of the Himalayas in China was breathtaking. As soon as my flight landed I could feel and breath the fresh and clean air. The temperature was a brisk 2C or even 0C in the shade with the wind, but it felt great.Ahh for fresh air and clean air. Sky was a beautiful shade of blues with fluffy white clouds and as beautiful shiny sun.. I took bus to bus depot n city centrer and then a caaab to Mam Naxi. I Checked in, unpacked, showered and chilled out in the room with an Italian guy, a Grumpy Aussie and another Aussie who was very ill with stomach flu. We chatted for a bit and around noon I left the guesthouse to go explore Liijiangg ancient town. I walked out the complex where Mama Naxi was located and walked for about 1.5 KM in a straight line to the entrance of Lijiang Ancient town. Of course I saw the sign for UNESCO world site and had to take the obvious photo selfie. I wandered around the alleys, hutongs, cobbled stone streets and got lost many times because I kept going through small alleys. I reached a T bone intersection and smelled something delish cooking. I asked the lady and she said it was a veggie pancake. Starving for food I bought it and ate it as I walked. I walked straight through that alley and reached a Buddhist temple with a gigantic Buddha. Then continued my walk and ended where I had started at the entrance of the UNESCO site. So I went back in the direction I was walking and when I reached the lady selling pancakes I went opposite direction of the temple. This seemed to work better. i reached theMarket Square plaza just in time for an amazing Tibetan, Bai Yunnan local dance and singing to a hum performance. The performance finished and a group of locals in Yunnan traditional clothes started dancing, it was a group of men and women, they were super synchronized snd the music had a great happy beat. After the performance, I headed up some pebbled street very steep and reached another t bone street. In the middle there was a beautiful cozy coffeeshop with some traditional Yunnan wood hangers with hopes, wishes and dreams of tourists written on them. Being on spirit of Christmas I bought one and wrote my Holiday wishes. I continue to head up trying to find the springs. I reached an open view point with a pagoda and temple. the view was breathtaking of the whole city of Lijiang with the Mountains at the horizon. I kept walking until I saw a big road that curved. Thinking that the springs were North I headed up and walked for about 1 KM, only to find another breathtaking view point and nothing much. Finally I asked two ladies who spoke English where the springs were. They were kindly enough to walk down with me and show me where it was. We walked down and reached the Market square through a different area and walked through a small creek and walk way with trees, benches were lots of families gathered together for family walks and picnics. After about a 15 minute walk I reached the springs, it was a cultural park with Pagodas, temples, souvenir shops and restaurantsI went in and enjoyed the brisk chilly breeze, the final warmth fo the rays before sunset and people watching. I headed back to the hostel as I was hungry and it was getting late. On my way back I saw Andreas and we walked together to the guesthouse. It took us a little while to get on the streets to exit the town-because we kept going on dead ends. I stopped to buy one scarf but ended up buying two as the shop seller gave me a pretty good deal. We reached Mama Naxi, showered and chatted with other people in the room who had done Tiger Leaping Gorge and called it a night as the next day was a pretty big and long one. Day 5 Christmas Eve hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge Christmas morning of December 24 started early. We ( The Aussie sick guy who's name I forgot, Andrea and I) all woke up at around 5:40 and started packing up and getting ready for our Tiger Leaping Gorge hike. The other Aussie guy the grumpy one literally told us to shut up, a little rude and well the price you pay for staying in hostel dorm. Sorry not sorry! There was quite a crowd at Mama Naxi leaving for Tiger Leaping Gorge, from now on I will called it TLG ( shorter purposes). A couple from Israel who had just finished the army, an older couple from France,Aussie sick guy, Andreas, me and then we met some British girls and guys, an American girl living in Hangzhou, a German, an American guy and a few others and an Indian- Malaysian couple. We walked about 1.5 KM same road I took to get to Lijiang ancient town. I had some issues because I was carrying my backpack and a carry on and the streets were awful. Finally we made it to the bus, I bought some water and snacks and we were ready for the 3 hour bus drive to TLG.The road was windy and narrowed it cut through mountains and rural villages. We stopped halfway there at some shack for bathroom and more snacks. I was carrying 2 liters of water, bananas, oranges, apples, almonds, chocolate and granola bars, we finally reached the starting point of the hike, paid o entrance fee and began hiking. The first KM was a steep concrete windy road with nothing around except for a few shacks, a school and maybe some rice or farm fields. The four bigger guys Andreas, sick Aussie, german and american led the way and were soon out of sight. The girl from the USA and i walked together all the way to where the actually mountain starts. From there, we all kind of spread out and went at our own pace. There was a Chinese woman behind me. The day was beautiful, blue skies, sunny, a nice wind breeze and perfect temperature it was about 20C . As I hike dup I began to take off layers, In the end I was hiking in my trekking pants, and a t-shirt. The first part of the hike was through the mountains there was a dirt path and kind of a wire fence on the side and you could see the road and river on one side. We passed a few donkeys, and goats. I kept joking I wanted to rent a donkey, it was a bit of long but a tender slope-and at the end of the hill there was a flat area and we rested and shared some snacks. We continued our hike mostly the American girl. The Israelis , British girls and guys all stuck together. We continued our way up and the path because narrowed with mountain on the side and steep vertical drop on the other. Most of the time it was just enough for one person to walk so we all had to walk in single file. It went up and down and then flat and up and down gain for about 8.5 KM and it finally ended downhill and in Chinese rural village, rice fields, the river and Naxi Family guesthouse were we sat down for a shared lunch and rest. We got to this point at about 12 PM and stayed for about 1 hour, eating, drinking tea, talking, sharing and getting to know each other.
Energized with a delicious well deserved lunch we got our packs and started the hike. We hiked in flat, small ups and downs for about 2 KMs until we saw the first big bend or curved and from there there was no point going back. The 28 bends and toughest part of the hike had started. It was not that long, but it was steep.and the path was uneven with steps as short as a few centimeters to as high as my thigh. I stopped at the shelter, drank some water, ate a banana and put some dark chocolate in my podket and ventured myself up this epic part of the trail. Soon the rest of the group passed me, but the Israeli couple always knd of rested and waited until they saw me. The hiked went for about 4.5KM and about 4 hours. I was strong and steady but slow. What really bothered me were the big and high steps, its not the same for a person with long legs than is for me. One step for them is many for me and even though I love walking and hiking this big steps cause a waste of my energy. The views though were incredible! At some points we saw the whole river and the mountains around it and the snowed cap peaks at the top. It was truly the perfect weather for a hike. Finally I knew the 28 bends were over because there was a beautiful breathtaking viewpoint where I took a very touristy photo and a Korean family who was hiking at stop for picnic lunch. Then there was a sign that said “And then the 28 bends and all the way downhill to Halfway 6.5KM” I was so relieved!I met at the next viewpoint my group and we-all ate some chocolate rested and continued downhill. From here on there were a couple of uphills, but It was mostly flat and through woods. We had the cliff on one side and trees, wild flowers etc all around us. We crossed a small bridge where supposedly there was a waterfall which at that time was dry and reached TeaHorse guesthouse. Phew! We had done the 28 bends 4,5 KM and in total about 13 KM. Only 5 more to go! At this point, I was thinking on staying at TeaHorse guesthouse but the people I was with were super chill and cool and they all encourage me to finish strong wit them. The path was a bit of uphill but mostly flat with small inclination. So I decided to join them that way we could all have a Christmas eve dinner at Half Way guesthouse. From here on the trail was dirt and along the side of the mountains with the river on one side. We passed a few herds of sheep, goat and a couple of donkeys. We walked for about 2-3 KM on this trail on the mountain and finally reached a concrete road with a huge floor sign that pointed an arrow straight forward and read To HalfWay. From there every 500 meters there was a sign. I reached Halfway at about 6:30shhh with just enough light to finish the hike/ day. At the guesthouse, we got our dorms, chilled for a bit, while dinner was being cooked, showered and put on clean clothes. Well i only had underwear and a clean short because the American guy that had done the hike the day before said I would not need any extra clothes that it was not cold. Well wrong,It was freezing! I had t wear two pairs of socks, my hike t-shirt and two long sleeve shirts i was hiking in b Took them off during the day and my windbreaker jacket, a tuque, clothes and neck scarf and I was still cold. I did not take my warm fleece hoodie nor my leggings for sleeping. We ate dinner in the terrace, had tea and hot chocolate and talked the night away.It was a very Merry Most different Christmas I have ever celebrated! I called my mom and family at night to wish them Merry Christmas and off I went to snooze! Day 6 Christmas Day Tiger Leaping Gorge and Shangri-LaMerry Christmas from Yunnan!I woke up with a view of Jade snowed-mountain in Yunnan and a brisk 0C temperature however the sky was blue and the sun was shining. I got dressed and packed up and went up to the terrace for breakfast. I treated myself to chocolate and hazelnut pancakes with berries and a hot chocolate. YUM! The 4 guys went off first and us girls followed next: 2 British, an American and me the Venezuelan one. Our hike to Tina’s guesthouse was just 1.5 KM about 1-2 hours. After taking a few photos of the mountains and selfies we began our way down. The path was along the ridge of the mountains and we had clear and breathtaking views of the gorge, the river and snowed-capped mountains. We saw some goats, sheeps, donkeys along the way. There were some waterfalls and small creeks along the way. The path was made of dirt and rocks that had been washed by erosion and water so they were very smooth, occasionally there will be bumpy parts with dry dirt and small boulders. Most of the way we had to walk in single file and had the cliff to our right. About half way on our hike down we came across a beautiful scenery with a waterfall, a creek, the gorge and river views and an impeccable blue sky and sunshine. Of course we girls had to stop fora photo shoot, hehe! We kept walking and came across a small shelter with some Buddhist and Tibetan offerings and a small temple pagoda. Then the path became uphill and with many boulders and I had to lean down and use my hands, it was still pretty easy, I was just being careful. After a few meters the path went downhill, with tons of rocks and dry dirt. After this the path was clear, flat, and just green grass. We stopped for a drink of water and to enjoy the views. We reached Tina’s guesthouse and gathered with the guys who had been there a little earlier than us. We had a traditional Yunnan coffee, some yak dumplings ( not my favourite taste, but I embraced the new flavor and was risky to try-it ) I changed into clean clothes and read. Later, we all gather for a very non traditional international Christmas lunch. I had my favourite Chinese dish, kung pao ji rou. At 3:00,our bus came and Andreas, the israeli couple and and the sick Aussie guy took the bus to Shangri -La. The bus ride to Shangri-La was an epic one, It started with Andrea, the Aussie guy and I sitting jammed and squeezed in the back of a mini van and the Israeli couple up front. We were the only foreigners on the bus. We started around 3:30 and the ride was supposed to be about 4-5 hours. We hit the road and it it was windy, curvy and though the gorge. We had mountain on one side and river and gorge on the other side, sometimes it was quite scary cliff. The road reminded me of the very dangerous road in Venezuela to go to a beach called Choroni. Some of the views were breathtaking and beautiful you could see the whole countryside from above. About 15 minutes through the ride, the Aussie guy, sitting next to me, says he wants to throw up, Andrea and I both looked at each other and kind of signal for the bus to stop. When we reached an open and wide area the bus stopped and the Aussie guy moved to the front and the Israeli girl sat with us in the back. The rest of the bus ride was pretty much same, curvy and windy. We reached the ancient town of Shanri-La in the border of the Chinese provinces Yunnan and Szechuan and Tibet. It was a beautiful afternoon, blue sky day fresh air, zero pollution, and a brisk 0C temperature. Also it was a little high in the mountains just a little over 4300 meters. We got a taxi to the city and decided to book a small hurling hostel. We all got private rooms and the rooms were beautiful! My room had two double beds, with floor heating, electric AC/heater, an electric blanket and the bathroom was heated too with a very warm electric light heater also the pressure of the shower was unbelievable! After sleeping in dorms with no heat and showering in a shared shower with no water pressure I was delighted to have my own bathroom! I showered put on clean and warm clothes and headed outside to wander and explore a little. Shangri- La is a very cool ancient town with a lot of Himalayan and Indian-Nepalese influences. It has a temple in the middle of the square and at night it lights up with multi colour lights from yellows, oranges, reds, pinks, purples to blues and greens! I walked around a few blocks and it was really cool. All streets were made of stones, buildings were with old bricks and golden roofs, it reminded me a little of Rajasthan in Northern India. After walking for a maybe 30 minutes I started. feeling out of breath and tired and because ai have. history of getting altitude sickness I decided to call it a night and head back to my hotel. Plus it was very cold, I didn’t check temperature but I could see my breath therefore it has to be at least -3C!



Day 7Shangri-La Monastery Coffeshop and bus to Lijiang

I woke up to chill and brisk 0C tok a warm or actualy very hot shower in my cozy room and went to meet Andreas and The Aussie guy. We walked around trying to find a nice place to eat a cozy Christmas not on Zchristmas dya breakfast and found this cute and cozy cafe ( very western) with Christmas trees, lights and music. We settled in there. We ate delish western breakfastand enjoyed the Christmasy atmosphere. After chekcing emails, social media, eating, drinking hot lattes and cookies we walked out feeling quite relaxed and joyful. We hoped on a taxi to the oldest and msot i portant temple of Shangrila. We decided to explore the outside perimeter and lake area first. It was a beautiful day to be outdoors and we all felt the fresh and pure air under a deep blue sky and sunshine sky. We clmbed a small hill full of Tibetan/ Nepalese prayimg flags. we took some photos and videos and did some mindful silent and walking meditation. We saw some yaks and calves and were trying to get really close to them they were super chill For a selfie. Then we wandered around the lake. We could see thegolden reflection of the temple on the lake’s water. We walked in the temple and up the steep set of stairs to see the insides. It was a beautiful place and really peaceful. The Chinese dida wodmerful job restauring it qfter a big fire on 2012, It had different areas and rooms and each room had Buddhas, paintings of the Budha’s life ont he walls, or wall carvings.The roofs were all a deep adn bright golden yellow. We went up to the roof were we could see the whole city of Shangri-La and the snowed capped mountains of the Chinese himalayas. At around 1 we walked out feeling content, relaxed, at peace and very very chill. We hopped on a taxi back to the wall city and downtown templea area. Walked around the cobbled stone streets and through alleys and souvenie shops. We settled in a western cafe that Andreas had eaten the night before and it was really good. I had some delish meat and veggie dish, a Shamgri La beer and alatt to go... later I realized the beer and lat combo was not a good idea, and ended up sharing it with Andreas. We walked to the big city temple in the middle of the walld city explored for a bit qnd took photos of the big bell, which I tried to move but it was freaking hard. We walked to out hostel grabbed our bags and wentto get the bus back to Lijiang. The bus ride was smooth. Andreas and I sat together and the Aussie guy next to us , he was still pretty sick. We arrived at Mama Naxi around 6-7 PM and showered grabbed dinne



Day 8 Train Lijiang to Dali

I woke up super slowly today in Mama Naxi guesthouse, took my time to pack up, shower and organize my stuff and walk out the door around noon for one last wandering around Lijiang ancient town. I walked through hutongs and cobbled stone streets and saw many old chinese houses. Lots of people today in the area. It was a beautiful day, the sky was blue, sun shining, warmth and a tiny little bit of a cool breeze. This time I stopped at the main Market Square and hung out there for a bit, watching performers sing, dance and do cool local tricks. Then I walked around a different area with much wider streets and bigger shops. I did some shopping for some Yunnan dresses and scarves and a few souvenirs for friends and families. I really like Lijiang, but I felt that it was overly touristy and everything was meant to make tourists and people buy things. At around 2 o clock I finally walked back to Mama Naxi and on the way stopped at a local shack for veggie dumplings. I sat and ate my dumplings while chatting with Andrea, the Italian guy and at 4 I packed up and got a taxi to the train station. The train stati was super modern and fairly new. I picked up ticket and headed into the waiting area. Just like all Chinese public buildings there is no insulation not heating and the room wa freezing. I bought some water and snacks for the ride and waited patiently and cold. I had a whole soft sleeper 4 beds compartment to myself which was pretty cool. I watch the beautiful views of mountains and last peaks of the Chinese Himalayas, slept for a bit and woke up to see more rice paddy fields farms and rural China, the ride was windy and smooth. I got to Dali at 6 ishhh just in time for rush hour and the line for public buses was huge so I grabbed a taxi for 50 yuan to my hostel Jade Emu hostel as recommended by other travellers. Honestly, I would not recommended it, I booked a 6 bedroom dorm, they kind of upgraded me to a 4 bedroom dorm, but the beds were squeaky, too high and it was freaking dirty, Then I changed to another dorm and it was filthy and toilet did not work. I was getting antsy and annoyed and the ladies at the reception saw this so they gave me a discount to a private room. YAY! I unpacked and showered with a warm electrical heater in the room, it was freezing and went out to see the old town of Dali. I wandered around for a bit, bought some needed toiletries and grabbed a small dinner. I decided to call it a night as I was not feeling well.



Day 9 Dali

I woke up and had breakfast which was included b ve basic at the hostel and walked out the door to exlore the ancient city of Dali. First I walked outside of the city walls trying to find The Lonesome Pagoda. It turned out to be hidden betiween uphill and steep street behind hotels and houses. When I found it there was a locked gate and I could only take a photo throught the bars of the gate. I walked back down and headed towads the East gate and wall of the ancitne walled city of Dali. I walked onthe outside for a while and then crossed a pedestrian street and entered through the East gate. Took a few shots of the gates amd walls and colonial ancient houses and wandered deeply into the alley streets. I walked through markets, stalls of street vendors and local shops. I bought a few souveniers, and snacks and sat down to people watch ( one of my faviurite things to do in China.) I walke down to South gate trying to follwo the walking tour and walked through a local market. Then past old post offic and hospital and finally reached some street with restaurants just in time for lunch. i grabbd a stool at a western American diner and ate a burger while writing post cards amd reading a book. After lunch, I continued to wandered and walked by the Catholic church and finally exited the wall city by the West gate. I walked about 1-2 KM to the Three Pagodas while enjoying the sumset and cool breeze. I arrived one hour bfore the closingtime, so not mqny people. ( good for me but didnt get to exple the park) I took a few photos of the Three Pagodas and sunset and walked out Back to my hostel. I showered, walked out to grabbed dinner and shop for souveniers.





Day 10 Dali

I wokeup and had breakfast atthe hotel and jsut chilled at the terrace writingpost cards and chattign with a very handsome and friendly US firefighter who was travelling and doing some meditation at a budhist center nearby, we talked for a bit and I wrotemy post cards.then a Britt guy i had met in kunming wrote to me and send me a comtact from a Belgian guy travelling on a bike in Yunnanandsaid he wanted to meet up with people and chat, so I gave him my wechat and we agreed on a date for dinner. As I had seen most Of Dalia already and no time for a lake Erhai tour ( sadly) i settle for a walk, wander and watch people kind of day to wait for my dinner travel date. I had asked Toon my date how should I find him he said look for a tall man in a yellow scarf. I was a bit nervouse and reluctnat , but open,minded and i was so surprise at how wellit went.Happy Ale! We galekd for hours babout travelling,culture, experimces and it turned out he is a vegeterian and i had recently decided to be pesceteriaj and try to eat as elss meat as I couLd, so he shared a few traellign tips for that. We are still in comtact through whats app and maybe a secondd ate somewhere inAsia or europe LOL! We walked together to our hostals and said good night and a see you later.



Day 11 Train Dali to Kunming I woke up and packed my backpack, ate breakfast and got a quick shower before my 5 hour train ride back to Kunming. While I waited I got an email that ctrip had cancelled my hotel reservation because hotel did not accept foreignedid not have time to book a new one, so I just went with the flow and hoped that when I got back to Kunming I would find coffeeshop to book a hotel near airport. The train this time was a hard sleeper and I was at the top bunk, which can be annoying if you are short and have a big backpack. Also, hard sleepers are wide open and lots of people smoke in the train even though there are no smoking signs all over the train. It is really disgusting! Fed up and upset with the train locals I put on my face pollution mask, wrapped my scarf as a head scarf all over my face, nose and mouth and tried to sleep. When we got to Kunming, I stopped at some bench and quickly called ctrip, they found a hotel near airport to book for me, but they had to call me back to confirmed that they could accept foreigners. I walked trying to find a coffeeshop or metro stations and nothing, finally I reached a hotel and stopped to use their toilet and asked for wifi. It was all an epic adventure, finally ctrip confirmed the hotel was good to go and booked a taxi for 70 yuan to the hotel. I got to the hotel, checked in, showered and went to bed.



Day 12 Flight Kunming to Guangzhou and New Years eve in Dongguan I woke up at 4:30AM to get to my 7 AM flight back to Guangzhou. The hotel had afree airport shuttles on this was perfect. I got to the airport on time, checked in and lounged in the airport until my flight. The flight was smooth and fast. I got to Guangzhou around 10ishhh, but because of baggage claim, etc I missed the 11:00 AM bus back to Dongguan. Luckily, there is one eve hour so I was the first one to board the 11:40 bus. I got to Dongguan pretty quickly and cheaply, showered, unpacked and cleaned up my travel mess. I went to pick up Violet whom I had missed so much and she was waiting happily for me at Pethouse dog hotel. After, the big reunion We went for lunch with Susan, had a mani and pedi and more walked with sweet Violet, the weather was perfect in Dongguan a sunny blue sky 25-28 C perfect for a night out to celebrate the new year. Susan and I had agreed to meet some friends at Muzika for New Years and then go to some coworkers home. In the end we just went to our coworkers home and spent the new years eve with a nice and beautiful family. I shared my crazy fun Venezuelans good luck new years traditions of red or yellow underwear for love and money, taking passport and suitcases out for travels, eating lentils for money, drinking champagne with 12 red grapes as the 12 bells of the new years representing the new 12 months ring. After midnight, Susan and I went to Amigos for some margaritas, tequila and dancing, but I really was not in the mood. I wished I had stayed longer in my trip, but at the same time I wanted to be with Violet. I just wished the New Years eve had been more fun with more people our age. I am grateful our coworkers invited us and actually they are one of the few truly international teachers and kind people in my new school, but on New Years eve you gotta do something more fun than just a house family party, right? I really had a nice time though.

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