Photos

Unfortunately, the net/computer will not let me upload photos right now.. I have posted pics from Tiger Leaping Gorge on Facebbok for those who are there, and will put some here as soon as I can! I`ll let you know when posts are updated.

Kunming

Arriving yesterday [Tuesday] I was cursing the holidays, crowds of people and the general culture barrier that made it so difficult to ask for and get the help I wanted... In the end I took a break to go and see the Bird & Flower Market, which was claimed to have all sorts of oddities and weird fauna by the Rough Guide. Normally a fairly good guide book, the market must have changed character somewhat the last year--or maybe I just found the "jade-and-other-tourist-stuff"-section? There were randomly placed booths with amazing amounts of fish, turtles, rabbits, mice, flowers and birds; and one laydy sold orchids and waterlily plants for that little garden pond you`ve just always dreamed of. All in all, I wasn`t that impressed, though. What made yesterday a great day at the end, was my meeting with the wonderful Canadian family Bissky Dziadyk, who travel with a mac and let me back-up all my photos to DVD on their computer! Today [Wednesday] I have had a lovely trip to TGC Nordica, a Scandinavian-run arts centre that my friend Tone used to work at. Sadly, nothing special is scheduled there for the holidays and nobody were there when I arrived...but it was open, and had two lovely exhibits of paintings by Yan Renkui and Zhang Xingwang. I think Kunming could be a lovely city to live in, but for now I`m getting all China`d out--travelling as an illiterate is quite exhausting, and with the cultures clashing as well, it can be..well, let`s just say it`s an experience for life.

Final stop in China: Kunming

It is China`s national day, which they--according to the Chinese I have asked--do not celebrate in any other way than having a week of holidays. Having holidays means that they travel, though; a great bunch of them to Lijiang, but some also to other places, such as Kunming. The hostel is fully booked here as well, but fortunately I had anticipated this and booked a bed (for the first time on this trip). The over-night bus from Lijiang to Kunming had two levels of beds in it (amazing!), albeit somewhat short. As we arrived at 6 am the night has been a little short, and once I can check in (i.e. once someone checks out) and give the Laos consulate my visa application, I plan on having a well-deserved nap in the city of eternal spring.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

After a day in Lijiang I caught a bus north-west, to Tiger Leaping Gorge. Hiking together with Luke (UK) for some 8 hours the first day, we finally arrived at the Half-way House at 6 pm, soaking wet from hours of rain, and with pained feet! Hoever, despite a rather rough climb andlots of water, the last stretch was fantastic, with sunny weather and an amazing view of the Yangtze river as well as the mountains that make up the gorge. The Half-way House was an ok hostel with an proper (i.e. amazing) hot shower (you learn to appreciate hot showers when you travel in China..), crammed with hikers. The breakfast menu was not impressive though--but the rice porridge went down somehow, before we hiked some 6 hours more, down to the river and then along the river, in the gorge itself, to the tiny village of Walnut Garden a bit further up the road. The view there was even more amazing, and the weather was stunning--all in all, two perfect days! Arriving back in Lijiang I have had dinner and shopped a bit; tomorrow I will explore the town a bit more before I catch an over-night bus to Kunming.

Lijiang

As all five trains were fully booked the day I wanted to go, I arrived in Lijiang (Yunnan province) by plane, at 1 am due to delays at the airport. Wandering the mostly dark streets, save a few red Chinese lanterns, the old city of Lijiang had a stunning look already. Daylight did not make it any less charming wandering the streets--sampling tea at local shops, buying some presents to send home, eating cheap, delicious food... One of my favourite places in China so far!

What to drink in China II

Thanks to local expertise, I have found yet more wonderful drinks to try!


Walnut and peanut flavoured milk was the first new aquaintance--and not a bad one! A rather filling breakfast in itself, it has a fresh nutty quality to it, and a good taste. 4/6

Chocolate milk in a bag is pretty much only chocolate milk, but you get to drink it from a bag.. A little too sweet for my liking, 3/6. Update: The second bag, enjoyed without too sweet pastries to go along with it was in fact much better, and clearly a 4/6.

Black milk turned out to be milk with everything black that is good for you...black rice, black beans and black poppy seeds. Surprisingly this combination was not disgusting, although still an aquired taste; 4/6.

Random Chinese drink in a carton; 发酵的. I presumed it was milk-based because I found it with all the other flavoured milks. However--it tasts a bit like milk with peach (or apricot?), and it is, as the Chinese characers clearly indicate, sour. (Though it is neither drinking youghurt, nor actually soured milk, texture-wise.) A little hard on the sourness, it only receives a 3/6 as a drink. (But it would probably make an excellent popsickle!)

Buddhism galore II: Emei`shan

The second part of my three days of buddhism galore was a two-day trip to Mount Emei--Emei`shan in Chinese. The mountain is one of the five holy buddhist mountains in China, and yet another of the mountains that have been stair-cased by some random, crazy emperor. I arrived in Baguo, the city at the foot of the mountain in the afternoon, planning to hike up the next morning. Unfortunately, I chose to listen to the Chinese local advice, and got a bus to the top and hiked down. Why is this not recommended? Firstly, it is much more painful. Secondly, there is a mental thin about going up a mountain. Thirdly, you can easily hike up and down in two days if you skip the rather boring summit crowded by hordes of Chinese who got the cable car up there--but this is the part all Chinese people brag about, so if you take their advice you try to do something you will not really appreciate. I hated the top and the temple, and I hated the bottom temples where the Chinese busloads skuttle along the lower paths for a few hours. But the middle--even though it was misty the whole way and rained rather heavily at times, I was soaked by the end of it and my shoes were ruined--I loved the middle! Just hiking (in stairs), no other people than the occasional local person carrying immense loads of heavy stuff past you, a monkey here and there, a snack-stand every now and then and a few temples inbetween, where you can spnd the night and get a lovely meal...it was heaven! (Or nivana, I suppose.) I spent the night at the Hongchiu Ping (Venerable Trees Terrace) having a lovely, calm eve in a bed literally 20 m behind their main temple and buddha statue.