My Trip to three
Ancient Cities in Yunnan – Kunming, Dali, and Lijiang with Julia, Johnson, and
Eric
August 2012
Wow! The opportunity arose to travel with Julia and
her family to Yunnan Province on the short summer break from Kid Castle! The
school is open year round so we only got a week off, but it was enough time for
Julia, Johnson, Eric and I to catch a flight down to Kunming and do a bus tour
of a few ancient cities in Yunnan Province.
Did I say bus
tour? Yes, I certainly did… I am not a
bus tour kind of person; however, we were traveling in the midst of the high
tourist season and our traveling options were limited. This was a pre-arranged trip and I was under
the impression that the bus tours in China would be different from other bus
tours around the world. Why you ask? I believe that this was a subconscious
plan implemented by my evil twin to send my conscious mind into a state of oblivion
(for lack of a better reason). In many ways, the bus tours in China are
different from other bus tours around the world in a horrific way and as I
attempt to tell you about my travels, please keep in mind that we all had a
great time and that my writing for the most part will be from a cynical point
of view.
We arrived in
Kunming at 2:00 early morning and stayed in a rather scary looking hotel in
Kunming. Breakfast was at 6:00am and from there we left for Cangshan Mountain.
The road to Cangshan Mountain, which is outside of Dali, was very long and
seemed like it took forever to get out of Kunming. Our bus tour guide was a
young enthusiastic Chinese girl with many stories to tell. She propped herself
up, legs straddled on the first two seats
in the bus, grabbed a microphone and began to talk as soon as we were on
our way; she did not stop talking for 3
hours! I kid you not – she did not stop to take a sip of water, to take a
break, to eat a cracker – nothing. So here, we are – less than 4 hours of sleep
– crammed into a bus – with a chatty Cathy! Does this sound like Chinese
torture treatment? I believe it was. I was looking around the bus hoping to
make eye contact with anyone who was suffering as much as I was, but to my
dismay, everyone on the bus looked passive and relaxed. I began to think that
there was something wrong with me so I took out my iPod to listen to some music
and tried to tune her out. Soon after I saw another tour bus pass and that
guide were doing the same thing (It must be a China tour bus thing)! When our
tour guide finally decided to take a break and shut up, I was able to enjoy the
beautiful scenery and the ride.
Driving along the outskirts of Dali the
beautiful architecture of the buildings and the breathtaking scenery displayed
itself lazily throughout the countryside. The outskirts of the city looked
enticing to visit, but jumping out of the bus to explore was not an option. We
arrived at Cangshan Mountain soon after and climbed up many stairs passing a
few little outdoor shops filled with beautiful homemade items. There was not
any time available on this obnoxious time sensitive tour to wander amongst the
shops and bargain with the locals. We continued to race up the stairs to our
destination and our reward was rich as the mountains were beautiful covered in
lush greenery, dabbled with wild flowers and different shapes of waterfalls. Many trails were available to explore, but
time was limited and after a cable car ride to the top of the mountain and back,
it was time to go.
Moaning and
rattling that old bus crept over the rolling plains, quickly moving up curvy
mountain roads deep into the abyss of the Yunnan Province. For a period, there
was a feeling of being far away from civilization and I was almost grateful
that I had the security of the bus tour to guide me on this journey. There were farm homes that looked like small
compounds, but large enough to house an extended family. Dabbled throughout the land and up the hills
farmers tended to their rather huge gardens and nearby a group of cows grazed
as the lonely cow herder enjoyed summer breezes and the warming sun. There was
a great feeling of peace and tranquility, and it was soothing to know that
every day these people were tending to the earth. Upon returning home, there
was a feeling of longing to see these rural farm people once more so that I
could once again experience the inner peace they instilled in me.
Our next stop was
Lijiang and after stopping in town for dinner, we drove around town looking for
a hotel (they forgot to book a room for us). We finally found a nice hotel
around 12:00am and Julia informed me that we would be getting up at 5:00am to eat
breakfast, and head out to Snow Mountain. This was madness and unacceptable! The
meaning of the word vacation or holiday is not synonymous with the word torture
and getting up at 5:00am was out of the question. Julia, Johnson, and Eric
needed a family day together and we could all meet later in the day.
The next day
after a long leisurely morning, I ventured out to visit the ancient city of Lijiang.
They renovated the city and made it into a tasteful tourist destination with
many shops and restaurants depicting the culture of the people showing off
their lifestyle and artistic talent that has endured hundreds of years. The
people were friendly and knowledgeable, I was able to relax, enjoy the day and
wander through the streets of this wonderful city. Later Julia, Johnson, Eric
and I met and went to the Naxi Ancient Music Festival. It was a fantastic show
and a great way to spend the evening. After the show Julia, Johnson, and Eric
wandered through the city and I strolled through an avenue of bars and
restaurants. Each establishment was open and airy providing music and
entertainment for the pleasure of the passersby. The next morning we were back
on the bus, headed back to Kunming to visit the Stone Forest.
On the way back
to Kunming, we stopped at a couple of local veggie stands where locals had huge
vats cooking corn on the cob – it was delicious. There were also Pomegranates
fresh off the trees, small tasteful bananas, and many other kinds of unfamiliar
fruit that was delicious! We also made a
few stops to places that sold Jade and other types of jewelry. I believe that
they took us wherever they wanted us to spend money. We arrived at Stone Forest
late in the afternoon, the Forest was breathtaking, but very crowded and we
rushed to see it at the speed of light with barely time to take pictures. At
this point, the thrill was gone, I just wanted to go back and explore the town
of Dali, but I was not going to get my wish.
After the long trip back to Kunming, we
settled into our hotel rooms and I was able to catch the news and some of the
Olympics on Chinese TV. The next morning we ventured out to visit the Flower
Market and it was something to see. They specialized in rose oils, lotions,
coffee, tea, bamboo products, jewelry, and many other things. The market went
on for miles and it was like venturing into maize with hundreds and thousands
of things to buy at reasonable prices. Once more, our time was limited and next
we rushed to the airport for our trip home. It turns out that our flight was
delayed and because of this, we spent many hours in the airport waiting for the
plane.
I was not
impressed with the city of Kunming, and like most cities in China, it has a
problem with pollution. It was nice to get out of there and head home, but
leaving that beautiful countryside was hard. Memories and visions of the rural
farmers working the land and the peace and tranquility of this beautiful area
etched in my memory allow me to visit this land whenever I choose.
The nice thing
about the bus trip was that it took us too many places that we might not have
been able to visit if we were on our own. The positive outweighed the negative
on this trip and the people on the bus tour were the nicest people that you
would ever want to meet! I was fortunate to be invited to go on this journey and
I am glad I went even though it took my body around three days to stop feeling
like I had been crunched up and sitting in a tin can.
