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The Big Trip Report Haoma Ba (8) - Sat, 12 Oct 2002
“Nihao” to you all from a crowded train compartment going from
Kunming to Nanning in China. We've now been here 4 weeks (China that is!) and
other than the toilets (don't ask!), spitting and the endless horrific building
and roadworks, we've been having a great time.
We started with a week in Beijing. This was a gentle introduction to the rigors
of China, as we were staying with our English friends Ian and Fiona and their
menagerie. This enabled us to get over our jet lag whilst seeing the sights
of the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven and of course, the Great
Wall. This is a couple of hours from Beijing and we spent a great day hiking
along a section of it - awesome!
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Then armed with the 'Lonely Planet China' and a Chinese phrasebook it was time to fend for ourselves. We flew down to Chengdu, Sichuan (a surprisingly pleasant experience). Like Beijing, Chengdu was covered in a cloud of smog (9 out of 10 of the world's most polluted cities are in China, the price of rapid development). From here we went to see the pandas, including tiny newborns in incubators! We also saw the world's tallest Buddha (71 meters sitting) at Leshan; and we did a fantastic 3 day camping horse trek in the mountains of northern Sichuan.
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We then headed south to Yunnan province, taking a 14 hour sleeper train (pretty
comfortable) followed by an 11 hour bus ride (pretty agonizing). We arrived
in Lijiang, a very cute old Naxi minority town, unfortunately enveloped by an
ugly new town (all too common in China). The old town is a big tourist attraction
and as we were here during the Chinese National Week holiday it was swamped
with Chinese tourists, and the hotels all doubled or even tripled their rates.
Ouch! (Although, in reality, most things are pretty cheap here. We normally
spend $4 on a meal for 2.) After a few days we decided to escape to the majestic
scenery of Tiger Leaping Gorge. We did a 3 day thru-hike high above the Yangtze
River. The hiking was hard and in places treacherous, but we were rewarded with
friendly guesthouses, great food and company, washed down with lots of good
local beer. Only 50c for a big bottle!
It was hard to leave the peace of this remote location, but we had places to
go. So we jumped on another crowded bus designed for midgets; and with the obligatory
smoking, hawking and spitting; set off for Dali. This was another cute ethnic
(Bai) town turned backpacker haven, with yummy banana pancakes, pizza and cappuccino
available on every corner. Also, a certain weed was growing wild throughout
the place.
Speaking of food, our fears as to the quality and type of food available have
been completely unfounded. Most of the Chinese food has been excellent, from
Beijing Duck to spicy Gungbao Chicken, and fabulous noodle soups. There's also
been plenty of Western food, although here something often gets lost in the
translation.
Speaking of translation, for the most part we have been completely at sea in
an ocean of incomprehensible Mandarin characters. Occasionally we are helped,
but more often entertained by the bizarre English-esque translations - known
as Chinglish, for example, 'drug lord' on a local pharmacy.
An overnight train took us to Kunming, a relaxed small city where animated crosswalk
men do the moonwalk. We also visited a Tibetan Buddhist temple where the Buddhas
are surfing the waves - dude! Must have been picking herbs in Dali!
We're now off the train and have survived another bus journey to arrive in Yangshou,
another backpacker haven, surrounded by incredible egg-shaped limestone mountains.
The landscape is quite surreal – the classic images of rural China. We'll
leave you here as we relax over a nice cup of ginger tea, or maybe a few LiQuan
beers.
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