This one is going to be a bit of a longer post than more chengyu posts. I went to the Yunnan Prefecture last week with a few other students from my language program during a week long break that we all just had. I am shamelessly stealing the photos in this post from one of the other people on the trip named Luke. Because of facebook privacy settings I can't share his fb posts directly with everyone so I downloaded them and am now posting them here. Luke also had a real camera while everyone else had cell phone cameras.
Also, for reference, here's where Yunnan is:
Also, for reference, here's where Yunnan is:
We started our trip in Kunming (also called the city of eternal spring), which is a city I've wanted to visit for a while. It was a much more peaceful city than Beijing and the general atmosphere is more content than tense like in BJ. In Beijing it's hard to not be swept up in the tide of fast paced life. However in Kunming there's the opposite problem - it's so relaxed and things are so cheap (nice apartments for $100-$150 per month) that it's easy to get lost in that slow moving, pressure free environment.
The above picture is of a huge Lake in Kunming which was probably my favorite place in the city. There were trees, plants, and grass everywhere. There were blankets and picnics everywhere. Lots of kids and real dogs (meaning the dogs are big enough where you couldn't accidentally step on and kill them) as well. There were also tents and air mattresses which was a pretty good idea if you're going to lounge around at the beach all day. All they needed was some grills and bbq and it would have been just like America!
The above picture is of a huge Lake in Kunming which was probably my favorite place in the city. There were trees, plants, and grass everywhere. There were blankets and picnics everywhere. Lots of kids and real dogs (meaning the dogs are big enough where you couldn't accidentally step on and kill them) as well. There were also tents and air mattresses which was a pretty good idea if you're going to lounge around at the beach all day. All they needed was some grills and bbq and it would have been just like America!
In Kunming we also had the opportunity to eat some delicious food. I had what was perhaps my favorite meal in all of China while there. It was a Yunnan style restaurant, but more specifically a specialty restaurant of one of the Yunnan minorities. There was nearly no oil, fresh herbs and meat, the sauces were amazing and they might have had the best meatballs I've ever had. Rather than drowning everything is thick, oily sauces as is customary in Beijing, you could tell that the food was actually carefully combined with different spices to try and bring out all different types of tastes. I will try and find out if these types of restaurants exist in Beijing.
After Kunming we took an overnight train to LiJiang (a city in Northern Yunnan near our next destination). When we got off the train is was about 6am and still dark out. We haggled with a van driver for a while and eventually the 6 of us set off for Tiger Leaping Gorge. Tiger Leaping Gorge has been the number one place I've wanted to visit in China for a long time so I was very excited to be going. After a couple hours we found ourselves at the beginning of our hike. The hike was really beautiful and the inns we stayed at were amazing. We had some guys with donkeys follow us so that when we got tired we could pay them some money and ride the donkeys up.
Some people did opt to use the donkeys not to ride but instead to carry their backpacks up so they were free to walk without any extra burden. The hike starts at about 6,000 feet and at the top it gets up to about 8,800 feet, so the air is pretty thin and makes the hike more challenging. It was a beautiful hike. Here are some pictures of the first day of our hike -
After Kunming we took an overnight train to LiJiang (a city in Northern Yunnan near our next destination). When we got off the train is was about 6am and still dark out. We haggled with a van driver for a while and eventually the 6 of us set off for Tiger Leaping Gorge. Tiger Leaping Gorge has been the number one place I've wanted to visit in China for a long time so I was very excited to be going. After a couple hours we found ourselves at the beginning of our hike. The hike was really beautiful and the inns we stayed at were amazing. We had some guys with donkeys follow us so that when we got tired we could pay them some money and ride the donkeys up.
Some people did opt to use the donkeys not to ride but instead to carry their backpacks up so they were free to walk without any extra burden. The hike starts at about 6,000 feet and at the top it gets up to about 8,800 feet, so the air is pretty thin and makes the hike more challenging. It was a beautiful hike. Here are some pictures of the first day of our hike -
We stayed at these really nice inns that had picturesque views of the gorge. The food there was great and things were actually quite cheap considering the inns could charge whatever they wanted and you'd still have to buy as you literally have no alternatives. At night, I saw more stars than I can remember ever seeing in life. The Milky Way was visible in strange blotches across the sky that didn't exactly have a color except a lighter darkness but still very definitely identifiable as the Milky Way. I think everyone on the trip slept at least 10 hours each night while we were hiking as well.
After Tiger Leaping Gorge we we took a train to Dali. Dali was a very cool city. We stayed in the Old City, which is what people usually refer to when they refer to Dali, and had a great time. The old city was a mixture of tacky wannabe old architecture built in the past twenty years, actually old buildings and places, tourist traps and authentic culture. There was a lot to see the first day so we all just walked around a lot, I got a hair cut, and we ate some good food although I can't remember what it was.
The second day we took a long bike ride around a lake near Dali. I saw a tandem bike and immediately decided to ride it. My friend Steven was kind enough to ride it with me. We all also got fish pedicures where the fish eat the dead skin off your feet. It was extremely ticklish.
After Tiger Leaping Gorge we we took a train to Dali. Dali was a very cool city. We stayed in the Old City, which is what people usually refer to when they refer to Dali, and had a great time. The old city was a mixture of tacky wannabe old architecture built in the past twenty years, actually old buildings and places, tourist traps and authentic culture. There was a lot to see the first day so we all just walked around a lot, I got a hair cut, and we ate some good food although I can't remember what it was.
The second day we took a long bike ride around a lake near Dali. I saw a tandem bike and immediately decided to ride it. My friend Steven was kind enough to ride it with me. We all also got fish pedicures where the fish eat the dead skin off your feet. It was extremely ticklish.
From Dali we took a train back to Kunming and flew back to Beijing. Overall is was a much needed respite from the Beijing grind. I might write more about it later but I'm tired now and need to take a nap and then study Chinese. Ta ta.
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