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Published: February 15th 2007
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City Center
Chinese architecture combined with modern Skyliners “Yes - here I am!” In the famous and always warm “spring-city” Kunming! Predominantly famous as drugs-import place, as it is located close to Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. And warm, because of its southern location. Well, what can I say, I just arrived on time after the first snow-storm for ages rushed over the city.
What was left over, was cold & gray, not the best conditions for my regeneration of a winter-stay in Beijing! And: they don’t have any heating south of Yangtze River, which brought me to the fast decision: my stay here won’t take too much time.
I first checked in into “Hump Youth Hostel”; although conditions were not as satisfying as in Chengdu, at least the prices were more than the double … well, at this point things just could turn better!
I heard so much praising words about the city, that my expectations could hardly be fulfilled. An afternoon-walk through the city, Cuihu-Park, passing the zoo, and back southwards along a river made my mood more relaxed for thinking more clearly how to handle this situation: I am freezing, I have vacations, I want to be in a nice, warm place, somewhere just relaxing before
Snowman
... slowly dying in the sun ... going back to Beijing.
There was this Greek guy, Aris, whom I met on the train, just right after saying good-bye to Grace at Chengdu’s train station. He’s a student of Shanghai’s Fudan-University, using vacations for traveling through China, just like me; within two weeks he visited maybe ten places, always buying the train ticket for leaving immediately after he arrives. This way of traveling is definitely not my privileged way, but my lack of motivation, fantasy and energy would make us to travel companions for the next few days and the train-ride to Nanning.
And there was a third guy in our room, a Singaporean, approximately in his fourties, long thin black hair fluttering around his skinny skull, always busy keeping the hair out of his eyes’ view. His eyes were steadily glassy read, and he talked like consequently consuming the reason for his read eyes, although I never saw him in action. He used to say: “Cold, it’s so cold .. cold …”, cause he recently came here from Vietnam. He suggested I should go there, much nicer weather. Maybe I will do that.
The second day in Kunming, after a bar & game night (Kicker &
The "famous" Dragon Gate
it's more a hole in the wall Billiard) with Arias & two Germans from his university (The Lonely Planet leads everybody to the same locations!), I got up ways too early to buy my train ticket to Nanning. Later, I took the public bus to Xishan (Westhills) at the Westside of Dianchi, an impressive lake, 8 km broad, 40 km long, 6m deep in average. U can “climb” the mountain along an asphalted road or u jump on one of the mini-busses, which are racing up to the tourist spots. I chose the first way. Also, because on the way up, there were two nice Buddhist monasteries, which I would have missed if had went by mini-bus. And even after monastery no. 374 it was still impressing - clashed onto the mountain, in between palm trees in whose shadows still laid some snow of the last storm, impressive colourful-shining buildings, calm & empty, almost no tourists - definitely a heavenly place!
Climbing for almost 3 hrs, I finally reached the tourist area. From here up- and downwards cable cars, big selling markets with stuff you
DON’T need for sure, typical Chinese. Most valuable sight here was the Dragon Gate (not valuable of cultural meaning, but of ripping
Palm trees
in front of a temple hall of tourists). Much less impressive than its name! But the view over the lake compensated the general disappointing. Leaving through the back gate of the park area around the Dragon Gate (30 Kuai entrance fee and no student discount!), let me come across a small path leading to the mountains top and another pavilion. View impressive, Chinese depressive. No, there won’t be an echo, even after the 100th shouting and yelling! But what can I accept for breathing some fresh air and seeing some green and the sun(!) after living in Beijing for half a year now …
Aris also went there, but we missed us, because my mobile’s battery was empty. I took a bus back, had a meal, drank some beers, internet, now writing, later maybe some clubbing with Aris together in the clubs right in front of our hostel. Who knows what will happen next …
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