Dan Ba

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The prospect of a ten hour bus journey doesn't seem to be such a daunting prospect these days, and as hoped it sped by. The driver careered along the motorway and didn't alter his speed as the roads gradually disintegrated into shingled pot-holed riverside tracks. We followed the course of a spectacular river as it first meandered then raged, waterfalls tumbling from great heights and eddys swirling beneath. There were such beautiful sights the whole way and the juddering and shaking of the bus kept us awake and alert.

As the bus pulled into the rather dusty town I caught sight of a family guesthouse and we jumped up and got off the bus. The friendly pregnant owner showed Lewi around while I was offered green tea and sunflower seeds by her mother, which I promptly knocked over...oh dear. We took a wander through the one street town a little later in search of dinner, and found an incredibly spicy hotpot dish served with copious helpings of Sichuan pepper which numbed our tongues for the next 10mins. We returned to our riverside room and watched the opening ceremony and first match of the world cup. Lewi had been slightly concerned as to whether the Chinese network would be showing the games, he shouldn't have worried...they have a channel devoted entirely to it! The only downside being that China is 7 hours ahead of both England and South Africa so any 7.45pm kick offs are in the middle of the night for us which is rather annoying.

Dan Ba town itself is slightly ugly; all concrete blocks and road works, however it's valley setting is beautiful and also considerably warmer than western Yunnan had been. English is barely spoken here and the little Mandarin we've learnt is used by only a few people, so we get by with hand signals and charades, which is a fun challenge. The young couple at a basic noodle restaurant opposite our guesthouse gave us an invaluable gift: while I played with their 1yr old son they thoughtfully drew us a note of the Chinese characters for noodles, dumplings and fried rice so now we won't go hungry! This is just one example of the many kindnesses that are so often and readily expressed by the Chinese people.

The surrounding countryside of Dan Ba county is the reason we ventured across from Chengdu. It is full of rivers and lush greenery, the terrain mountainous and very rugged. Small villages of square white buildings with castle-like ramparts strung with prayer flags dot the hillside. Nestled amongst them are numerous stone watchtowers in various states of repair.

It was an hours walk from Dan Ba to reach Suopo; a lovely example of this kind of traditional village. We climbed the opposite ridge to gain height and perspective. There were some fantastic views and we strolled through another village where everyone we passed stopped to smile and wave to us. The Tibetan people who live in this area are so friendly and welcoming, in a different way to the Han Chinese who seem in some ways to be more formal.

After our surprisingly tiring walk to Suopo, which had taken all day, we collected supplies and prepared ourselves for another 2.30am wake up call...this time for England. What a disappointing display, the so called golden generation were entirely lackluster, the only player who played anywhere near decent football was Gerrard.

Although the town and it's residents had been pleasant we were keen to get out and spend some more time in the countryside. The nearby village of Zhong Lu seemed just right. It was utterly beautiful, built high into the hillside with soaring mountain views. Fresh water irrigation channels flowed beside narrow lanes where pigs and chickens roamed free. The corn, maize and rice fields were in full bloom, a glorious patchwork of yellows and greens tended lovingly by whole families weeding and harvesting together under the hot sun. It was a wonderful depiction of rural Tibetan life. The roof over our heads for the night wasn't quite the 'home' stay we'd imagined, the building was very large and a lot of foreign and Chinese guests were gathered on the terrace. However despite having more of a guesthouse ambiance with multiple patrons the accommodation turned out to be great. Lewi and I were shown to a turret room on the open rooftop which was magical. It had panoramic views over the beautiful village and much more privacy and character than the other more expensive rooms below.

Aside from the fantastic location another excellent selling point for our 'homestay' was the food. As soon as the exuberant owner had shown us to our seats in the communal dining room plates of food began to arrive. In no time at all we had a huge bowl of fried rice and a range of 8 other dishes in front of us. Apparently the philosophy behind this is: it is seen to be better to serve too much food, far more than the party could possibly eat as a show of generosity and wealth on behalf of the persons giving the food. The opposite of our 'waste not want not' belief.

We thoroughly enjoyed our feast (especially as all was included in our homestay price) and had very friendly although unspoken exchanges with a trio of elderly women also enjoying lunch at the next table. With their long black skirts, woven jumpers, plaited headdresses and wizened expressions they looked a fantastic sight.

Outside in the courtyard it was gloriously sunny and we bathed in it's warmth whilst chatting with a lovely group of Dutch trainee doctors, who attempted to solve our current health issues. Also part of the group was an very nice English girl named Amy.

It was a really great place to be. Once we weren't feeling quite so full we walked up to the nearest watchtower which was hugely overgrown with hawthorn. From there we trekked higher on muddy paths where we talked with a young women collecting mushrooms. She had her friends child strapped to her back and was expertly scrambling down a slippery bank. The babies here don't wear nappies they just have a slit on their babygrows, so this little boys bottom was bare to the air. It's environmentally friendly I guess, and it saves on washing. This lady happily walked with us and showed us the path back to our guesthouse with a smile. Such amazingly kind and friendly people.

By the time we got back to our castle it was dinnertime. We ate more fantastic food together with Amy and played cards and watched as the Chinese guests got progressively rowdier and drunker as the night went on. Even from our turret bedroom we could hear the shouts from the Mah Jong tables long into the night. I heard them more than Lewi as I didn't sleep so well for fear of the enormous spiders I spied on our walls!

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Photos

As they walk on
...tibetan nappy = none