Kunming - the capital of Yunnan, and with its year-round temperate climate, also named the "City of Eternal Spring". Pretty much a fully developed city, with skyscrapers and shopping centres abound. The cool breeze accompanied a blazing noon Sun. We dropped from the station and took a private car to Cui Hu. The driver chatted animatedly about the culture of the city. He reminded us of a shrew rat.
Cui Hu lay lazily in the middle of the city, a picturesque lake where the young and the old come in seek of solace and sanctuary from the concrete jungle outside. The elderly danced and sang by the lake to the accompaniment of folk music. Lily fields crept across huge ponds, and ducks frolicked in the crystal green waters. Loving couples sat and admired the sunset closing down, the time trickling to a standstill. The scenery, especially at sunset, was enamouring.
We hurried to the train station, bought our tickets to Guangzhou, then went off to explore the city. Found a hip teenager hangout at Jin Ji Fang, and the yummy food district nearby. Some little girls begged our snacks away from us before we hardly got a bite though... sigh. My sinful, crispy zhua bing..
The next morning we caught the coach for a one day tour to the Stone Forest, Shih Lin. A detour to one of the famous temples in the region, once Wu Sangui's base in Yunnan. I sought a reading from the monks there, for a sizeable sum.
"Master, your fortune looks bad. You'll never be able to fulfill your dreams. Even your family will be affected by your demise."
"Wow...what should i do?"
"I suggest you burn incense at our temple's chalice...are you willing to do it?"
"Yea, sure. Where do i do it?"
"First you can pay a small donation... $300."
"Er no, i'm just a poor student."
"Oh then we have a student package for $100..."
...WTF. Goddamn scammers. I wish they'd do an audit into all religious organisations, and uncover all the bloody Durais.
Onwards, Shihlin, the amazing karst landscape spanning over hills and fields. Our guide, from the Yi tribe, brought us on a journey through the attraction. The other tourists looked thrilled with touching all the rocks and camwhoring. They did seem to notice that me and Jon were awfully bored, though. The rock formations aren't exactly the most exciting thing on earth.
I did converse with our guide though, so it wasn't that bad. She told me about their loss of language and dresscode in modern times, their marriage system, and her gloomy future. After working as long as possible, she'd have to end up working in the fields.
Our tour ended with a tea session of fine Pu'Er tea made by the ethnic minorities, then with a complementary foot massage at a TCM centre. Later on, walking along the street, we happened on a tea wholesale shop, and wandered in for a look. The owner was awfully nice and let us taste different kinds of Pu'Er tea, as well as enriching us with knowledge of its production and varieties. Certain varieties, as old and treasured as vintage wines, can fetch thousands of dollars! We bought a couple packets for the old folks back home, then retired to our hotels.
Kunming, third day. Today we planned for a free and easy trip, and found our way to the Ethnic minorities exhibit village. This is definitely the must-visit attraction, a vast grounds with over ten different ethnic villages and special performances at each point. Not having the time to explore rural Yunnan, it was still nice to settle for a sneak preview at all the groups scattered across the province.
There's Dai tribe from Xishuangbanna, which idolises water as it lives near lakes and rivers. Their people bath at least 3 times a day. Its counterpart in the hills, on the other hand, bath 3 times IN A LIFETIME! At birth, at marriage, then at death. They'd probably be easy to smell out.
We caught the performance by Wa tribe, which adores the colour black, and likes dark skin and hair. It is said of their people that, 'Hui shuo hua de jiu hui chang ge, hui zou lu de jiu hui tiao wu'. They put up a song and dance rendition, with their long matt hair flaying about like a shampoo advert.
Next was the Miao tribe, which probably rings a bell, because of their Gu3, the famous worm curse. We question the Miao people, and they freely admit that they do have such a thing! The curse can allow you to make anyone fall deeply in love with you. Only the older generations still 'grow' it now, though.
Other tribes include the Bai from Da Li, as well as the Tibetan and such. We caught a couple more performances, as well as a highly entertaining elephant show. After exhausting all its features, we finally ventured out and onwards to Dian Lake nearby.
The gigantic Dian Lake, once part of the sea, now stood with all its glorious waters in the suburbs of Kunming. We strolled amid the seabreeze, looked for four-leaf clovers in the litter, tried to hitch a ride umpteen times, played at the playground, then tried to find our way back.
Night time, and we searched for a cinema to relax our travel-weary senses. The movie, Kung Fu Panda! Neat story, i liked the humour and animation, but it felt too short. We snapped pictures with the Kung fu panda costumed guy outside the cinema too. And after the movie, we made a mad rush for the last bus to leave for our hotel. It feels almost native here, already.
The next unhurried morning, spent buying rations and boarding the train to Guangzhou. After the past week of diarrhoea, i had a fever and retired to sleep quickly. In the 24-hr journey across China, i probably slept 20 hours off in a hot, muddled dream. But the train was pretty good, with ambient music, comfy beds and clean toilets. Our bunkmate, an uncle from Guangdong, works in Kunming as a construction worker. He's typical of China's caste of labourers, travelling long distances away from their families for the sake of making a little money. He showed us pictures of his son.
When i awoke, it was evening. I sat by the window, watching the breathtaking scenery flow by. Rice terraces, outlines of mountains overlapping incessantly, shepherds driving their herds of goats across the verdant fields, and oxen snorting in the rivers.
As the sun set behind the rolling hills, bathing everything in a blinding orange, i looked on, numbed by the pain.
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