Blogs from Yunnan, China, Asia - page 18

Leaving Weishan by minibus (23 Yunnan each), we arrived on the outskirts of Xiaguan (new city, 18 kilometres south of the old Dali) an hour later. We passed many small workshops making the stone pieces for use as tomb entrances. It would have been a major task carrying the twenty or so pieces of grey stone to where ever they were needed as they looked extremely heavy! The bus dropped us off on the highway at the edge of the city where we caught a moto taxi (5 yuan) to the train station where we knew we would be able to find transport to Dali. You feel quite vulnerable in those tiny little motorbike taxi amidst the traffic, particularly when surrounded by larger buses on both sides! We were really shocked at how the city had ... read more

Ok – zugegeben. Bis zum Himalaya sind es noch ein paar Hundert Kilometer – aber das ist in China keine Distanz mehr. Als ich noch in Peking meine Reiseroute für die weiteren Städte in China festgelegt habe, war die erste Priorität: nur noch in warmen Gegenden rumreisen. Da ich während meines Pekingaufenthaltes schon durch Workshops oder Wochenendtrips nach Tianjin, Xian und Shanghai fliegen konnte, waren ein paar Städte im nördlicheren Teil Chinas schon abgedeckt. Deswegen beschloss ich, mich hauptsächlich nur im Süden Chinas zu bewegen. Nachdem mein Plan in Hong Kong mit wunderbar angenehmen Temperaturen aufzugehen schien, wurde ich nach meinem eineinhalb wöchigen Aufenthalt in dieser tollen Stadt bei meiner Weiterreise nach Guilin eines besseren belehrt. Trotz intensiver Recherchearbeit meinten selbst die Hostelmitarbeiter in Guilin, dass es wohl der kälteste Winter seit Jahren sei.... read more

We left the terraces the same one we had arrived - dragging our cases through the heavy fog along the slippery paths and over the haystack in the car park to the waiting taxi. Costs this time were shared with another couple however. Our driver (the same one we had used for our market trip) left us with a hug at the bus station in Nansha where we purchased a ticket (60yuan) to Jianshui, 5 hours away. Another long day of travelling (with the over two hours just to arrive at the bus station in Nansha added on) saw us arrive in Jianshui late in the afternoon. The city was once a key trading point during the Qing dynasty and has now developed into a low key tourist town for the Chinese. The old town is ... read more

I was lucky to be touring in this region during this winter month. Just looked at the rest of the country is under snow frozen sky and I was sweating with sunglasses on, walk from gum forest to banana grove, sugar cane bush to tea plantation. and villagers are busy in sugar cane harvasting, some area even begin plantation work. Menghai county processed all Banna ingradian with even more tea plantation. they claimed to had the oldest tea tree in the world that was age over 2000 years, but sadly heard it was dead just awhile ago, perhaps the tree was too tired of being hug by tourists！I went check out the rest of the township which hadn't visit before in the region, of course...market！but was disappointed by the minority scene. Daluo is a boring border ... read more

wasn't the road had been upgraded after Jiangcheng? but it still need 8 hours to get to Mengla. said it was traffic control that the bus not allow arrive Mengla before the designated hour, so....we stop for breakfast, stop for lunch, stop for pee and stop for whatever please the driver. in fact...it was ok with me as I can got out to stretch my leg often, it was a released because I got my back-pain again lately. Mengla town spreading longer each time I came visit. a new section further south will be the local government headquarter later. and from 2013 the new bus station also settle there, although far but no more rushing between north and south station in the future. Choose Mengpeng to hangout for a few days, no particular reason only because ... read more