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Published: March 2nd 2005
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We stepped accross the border from Vietnam into what seemed to be another world. The streets were clean and tidy and for once the signs had no English translation. We walked to the bus station where we were to catch the night bus to Kunming the capital of Yunnan Province. We had been looking forward to the brand new Korean made sleeper busses that we had been promised in the Vietnamese booking office (you think we would have learnt by now). We were somewhat dissapointed to see what resembled a 1970's tin can on wheels. It didn't get much better when we looked inside and there were bits of straw everywhere and it smelt like a farmyard! We managed to find a Russian guy who spoke both English and Chinese (quite a find!) who after several heated minutes managed to get the ticket office women to put us on the later bus (same style, just less smelly!). We had the top back bunks on the bus, along with our long suffering travel companions Colin and Hilda, and therefore spent most of the time in the air rather than on the bed as the bus crashed and rattled over the bumps. It
didn't help that the driver thought he was Michael Schmacher, he actually sped up for tight corners, completely unbothered it seemed about the sheer drops at the edge of the road which had no visable barriers. When he slammed on the brakes (which happend quite often) Becky would slide forward and almost drop into the isle below. As we held on for dear life the posters which we had earlier seen in the bus station, depicting about thirty fatal bus crashes, kept flashing before my eyes.
Having survived the journey and brushed off the bed bugs we arrived at our hostel in Kunming. 'The Hump' is a great place to chill out. It has a pool table, loads of bean bags, a terrace which overlooks the main square where people gather in the morning to do their tai chi, and more importantly a bar.
Whilst in Kunming, which is a fairly laid back city, we boarded another bus to the 'Stone Forest' which although very touristic was well worth visiting. On the way we stopped for lunch and along with three other Chinese guys got off the minibus and walked into the cafe. We were confronted with a
Temples at Dali
The cheap shot through the window! Chinese menu with no English translation. Fortunately the three Chinese guys came and sat with us, through a combination of broken English and sign language, they ordered a load of dishes for us all to enjoy and even insisted on paying for the meal (apparently a traditional custom)!
After Kunming we headed to a place called Dali, a walled town near a huge lake with a snowcapped mountain backdrop. We spent a day wandering around the town taking in such sights as the temple where I managed to get a cheaky photo through the giftshop window to avoid the 55CNY entry fee (nearly 4GBP!).
The food on its own was is a good reason to visit Dali. The steak with black pepper sauce and chips, followed by chocolate cake and ice cream was really fantastic. Ok, its not very Chinese, but you can't eat local food all the time!
The following day we set off on a six hour bus journey to Lijiang. When we arrived we were dropped off in the new town, which could be any other modern town, but when we walked just a few short minutes we were greated with a beautiful willow
lined, cobbled street full of traditional looking Chinese buildings again with a snow covered mountain background. We stayed at a guesthouse just off a lively and colourful street with a small river running down the centre and restaurants lining each side. At night the whole street turned into a singing competition with one side of the street singing their song and then the other side singing one back.
We decided to stay for a few days and spent most of our time getting lost in the maze of cobbled streets. One day we did venture a little further and visited the 'Black Dragon Pool'. A lake with some natural springs and a must have photo opportunity, with its bridge and the mountains in the background. Unfortunately mine didn't quite match up to the picture postcards!
Our next trip was to be a three day trek through the 'Tiger Leaping Gorge' but due to Becky's worsening cold we decided to cheat and got a minivan to all the view points along the route! It was then back to Lijiang, unfortunately our minivan driver had also graduated with honours from the Kamikazi school of Chinese driving. He almost drove us
Lijiang
Bridge over one of the many rivers. off the road on a number of occasions and at one point fell asleep! That aside we found the gorge very impressive although bitterly cold.
Back in Lijiang we were beginning to realise just how behined schedule we were running and decided to get an overnight bus to Kunming and then fly straight to Chaing Mai in northern Thailand. This meant that we unfortunately have to miss out Laos but we realised that we cannot keep traveling at such a quick pace so we shall save it for another occasion when we have the time to do it justice. So we have now said goodbye to Colin and Hilda and are due to get on the plane tonight. Its going to be sad to leave China after such a short visit but its left such a good impression that we are sure we will return one day. Now we are just looking forward to getting back to some warmer weather!
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anonymous
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Thank You
I am yearning to follow in your footsteps by ditching my "good paying job" and travelling the world. Thank you so much for your humorous and descriptive tales. I read these BLOGS to help prepare myself for my journey. It is inpsiring to read about someone else taking the leap. The one piece of info that I have failed to grasp is all of the real details like how much to budget, what guide books to use, how to manage the language barrier...not movie material, but facts that would help. Perhaps it is necessary to just learn as I go. Thanks again for your journals; you are a lucky couple to be sharing such an amazing journey together. Cheri Martz Austin, TX - austincheri