Xishuangbanna

---

Geo: 22.0059, 100.8

Visited the tropical plant garden here in Jinghong. Absolutely beautiful. A wonderful array of plants all in full bloom for the spring.

We've managed to barter down some super decorations for the yurt. Souvenirs are no where near as cheap as they used to be but still gorgeous. Bill's happy as we managed to get takeaway rice and a choice of dishes for 6rmb each. You just pick what you like the look of. Unfortunately it's quite difficult to spot pig intestines and chicken bum just by looking at it in a tasty looking dish!

Jinghong people are not morning people! however in the evening everything comes to life and the streets are much more crowded. We headed towards Thailand street where we encountered another of my favourite Chinese things - a Random festival of nothing complete with inflatable arch. There was an impromptu stage for bad singing and ladies dancing in a circle to a drum. Plus a bunch of Anhui minority girls jumping over bamboo sticks.
More wonderful Chinese randomness spotted in Jinghong:
Incredibly wasteful Fluorescent lights
Random plastic statues
People wandering about in their pyjamas

Sitting in the main square watching a dinosaur Godzilla esque film on a giant screen whilst gnawing at a BBQ stick, tapping my feet to the sound of Chinese dance music from the nearby roller rink just felt lovely!

---