Pan-Asian Gallivanting

After receiving my Vietnam Visa in Kunming I ventured south to Jianshui which houses a giant Confucious temple and other religious sites. I spent a couple days there and then headed south towards the Yuanyang rice terraces.

I did some hiking…rode in some vans….and was able to see these spectacular views of water-filled rice terraces. Since the town was quite cheap and I needed a place to camp out until my Vietnam Visa became valid, I stayed in this small town for a couple more days.

On the 19th I woke up early and started a long series of van rides and a bus ride to the border. Once across I hitched a ride to Sapa and spent the night. The first meal I had in Vietnam was Pho (and it was Phoing Amazing! and only 80 cents!)

I’ve been in Sapa for the past two days but I am a little disappointed because it has continued to rain and the fog here is hindering me from viewing the scenery. I thought about renting a motorcycle (well a moped with no clutch but gears) for 7-10 days and tour around but then I realized that I’m pretty tired of rice terraces to be honest. I think I need some warm weather! So tonight I will take a sleeper bus to Hanoi.

So currently (Dec. 9th) I am in Kunming. Yesterday I applied for my Vietnamese Visa and tomorrow I will pick it up at 5pm. The day after tomorrow I will take a bus heading south and work my way towards the Vietnam/China border. Hopefully I’ll reach warmer weather and see some beautiful rice terraces? Until then…this is Carmen San Diego saying goodbye!

Every person that I’ve met on the road has a shit story. One moment in their journey where they eat the wrong thing at the wrong time and then kaboooom…dirty discustingness.

I almost had this moment.

After eating too much Chinese food in LiJiang I suddenly felt it coming on. O SHIT! I hustled back to my hostel clenching by cheeks (we’ve all been there). When I finally made it to the bathroom I felt like I was going to explode, but I couldn’t get the light to work!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!

After stumbling a moment to get the light to switch on I couldn’t hold it any longer. O SHIT! That moment was about to happen to me :(

Luckily it was only a dry fart! PHHHHHHEEEEWWWW! And nothing icky and sticky came out until the time I made it to the toilette. I got very lucky….but I know that my moment will come. The question is, will it come while I’m on a bus in China or on a boat in India? Who knows? All I do know is that even if it does occur it will be ok because this whole trip will outweigh that one bad moment.

Sorry about the article not being PG…but I have to tell it because even I found it amusing the following day :)

BTW…this toilette is not where this close encounter occured. I’m just adding this photo to highlight what most toilettes in China look like. Not all are this clean….trust me I’ve seen my fair share of bathrooms that are even more dirty than this one!

LiJiang is like Chinese tourism on crack! The old town has been restored and filled with shops selling traditional Naxi (the local culture) food, clothing and other souvenirs. The most hilarious aspect was stumbling upon bars where the locals would perform Naxi songs and dances amidst smoke machines and pyrotechnics (entertaining yet degrading at the same time).

One of my days there I rented a bike and spent the whole day biking around the outer limits of LiJiang. I weaved in and out of old and authentic (compared to LiJiang’s old city) Naxi villages. After a long day I returned to my hostel and crashed.

The following day I took a night bus from LiJiang to Kunming.

Once back in Shangri-La Alek and I returned to our hostel from a few days before and then ventured out into the city’s old town. We stumbled upon the town square where locals were dancing (to keep warm, for exercise, or both). Since we were in a jolly mood we joined them….adding our own style of western dance to the mix. It wasn’t pretty but it sure was fun viewing the facial reactions of the locals as we attempted to dance.

After that we went to a disco club that we had been to the last time we were here. It is very odd because the bar is filled with Tibetans wearing western clothing, dancing to bad retro-disco music and drinking like fish. After about an hour of dancing they stopped the music and then began to take turns singing traditional songs. I recorded numerous songs so you’ll be able to hear them once I return. But, they closely resemble Native American chants back home.

The following day we rented bikes for half of the day and then went to the famous monastery in town (I forgot the name but it is very famous and the only on inside Shangri-La…just google it). Once again we snuck into this attraction and walked around for a couple hours taking photos.

The following day Alek and I went on our own ways. He to Dali and I to LiJiang. But, he’s heading south into Vietnam like me so maybe our paths will cross again?

While in Shangri-La with Alek he turned me onto Meili Snow Mountain Park and the trek that he was going to do in that area. Since it seemed interesting and I had nothing better to do (ha) I decided to join him for the trip!

We boarded a bus for Deqin in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province. Once there we caught a local bus to XiDang which is at the heart of the Park. Before I get into the details of our journey it is important to note that Northwestern Yunnan Province is culturally Tibetan. This is evident in the Tibetan script added to shop and road signs as well as the abundance of white Tibetan Buddhist pagodas which dot the landscape. If I were to go to Tibet I would have to obtain a permit. And to get this permit I would have to pay around $1500 for a prearranged tour. So, basically this area is one of the few areas in the world where you can experience Tibetan culture without actually being in Tibet (I believe the other areas are just north of Tibet Province and in Northern Indian, which I plan on visiting on this trip).

On our first day we hiked for 5 hours to Upper YuBeng….boy was it tough. Even though we had only packed my 45 liter bag with both of our essentials, leaving useless stuff back at the hostel in Shangri-La to pick up upon our return, the hike was grueling and long. The terrain was so steep that it seemed like every step was like climbing two steeps of a staircase at a time. We switched carrying the backpack every thirty minutes but the steepness of the trail and the altitude left us wishing for the finish line. Our relief came when we reached the peak of the climb. What we came across was a train COVERED above and on both sides by hundreds upon hundreds of Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags blowing in the wind. It was almost like walking into a tunnel with all of the flags around. This tunnel continued for a good 2 minutes walk until we came to an opening in the tree cover, unveiling the astounding 6000-7000m peaks! (I also have a movie of this and can’t wait to show you!)

We descended down the trail and then nestled into a cozy family hostel for the night in Upper YuBeng. Luckily we arrived a night before there was to be a full moon and the evenings were spectacular with the towering snow-covered peaks glistening over the tiny YuBeng village.

On our first day in YuBeng Alek and I hiked up to the base camp (3700m) of one of the mountains and then further up to a glacial lake(4000m). It was astounding viewing these massive mountains and the glaciers that perched upon them!

On our second day we headed up to the Sacred waterfall at the base of Kawagebo Peak, one of the eight sacred mountains of Tibetan Buddhism. It took us a long time but once we arrived we stumbled upon a family chanting/singing to the waterfall. We then joined them as they circumnavigated the waterfall three times and then ritually cleansed our extremities with the water from the waterfall. (pictures to come…and a movie when i get home!) I can’t even explain how amazing this experience was! It was almost surreal stumbling upon such a sacred ritual in such a sublime setting…

After departing the waterfall we headed back to YuBeng and then back to XiDang. We ended up hiking all day (12 hours in all) and passed out once we arrived at the hostel in XiDang.

We left the following day for Shangri-La.

for more information on the park: http://www.nature.org/wherewework/asiapacific/china/work/art13271.html

After Dali I ventured up to Shangri-La for a couple days. Once there I stayed at a cozy hostel and met Alek. Since he’s Russian our initially conversations were very cold-war-esque. I would say something….then he would say something better and more impressive….in turn I would reply with something even more exciting and appealing…and so on and so on. Just kidding.

On my first full day in Shangri-La Alek and I rented bikes and tried to bike 20km out of the city towards Bita Hai Lake in the near by national park. Along the way we snuck into the local hot springs and a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery. It’s not like I wanted to sneek in but when the Chinese Government forces you to pay outrageous entrance fees to all of their country’s attractions then you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do to save a buck…am I right? So, for those of you thinking of visiting China in the future please take note. When approaching any attraction with a large gate pronouncing that you must purchase a ticket to enter here is what you do. First go to the gate to get a free map of the attraction. Second, walk 200-500m away from the gate so that the guards cannot see you. Third, walk into the woods, village or whatever is next to the gate and gradually work your way onto the main road towards the attraction. Once inside, Chinese officials rarely ask to see your ticket so you’re golden!

After perusing around the hot springs and the monastery Alek and I moved on to our desired destination, Bita Hai Lake. We approached the entrance to the national park which housed the lake and did what we previously did that day, we snuck around the entrance. Everything was going swell as we biked up the path towards the lake. Until a truck coming from the opposite direction stopped next to us and started yelling some crazy Chinese words at us. We had no idea what they were saying but we could tell it wasn’t friendly. Maybe they were on to us? Yup…that was it. They drove us back to the main entrance and told us that we had to purchase an entrance ticket of 110 Yuan and then a bus ticket to take us around the are for 80 Yuan. So, all in all it would have set us back 190 Yuan (about $30). BULLSHIT!!

Alek and I were so close and we were determined to get in! First we tried sneaking on to one of the buses without a ticket but the guards saw us and shuffled us away angrily. Then, with my minimal Chinese phrase book and hand signs, I tried to get a couple locals behind the main building to go inside and steal a couple tickets for us, pleading that we had mayo (no) money. We failed miserably. :(

Finally we left as the sun was beginning to set. Since it was a long bike ride back and the nights in the area are very cold we decided to hitchhike back. After 30 minutes a large dump truck carrying wood stopped and allowed us to hitch a ride on the top of their truck. What a view it was as we slowly rumbled through the countryside. :) I have a video of this truck ride but I won’t be able to show you until I get home.

Not the artist…but the town.

I arrived in Dali on the 24th of November. What I stumbled upon was an attractive old city surrounded by a lake to its east and mountains all around.

As we all know China is developing at an alarming rate! This is no more evident than being here and watching the swarms of the emerging middle-class Chinese flock to Dali in their pre-arranged tours during the day.

So, during the day Dali was not so attractive on the main strip of restaurants, shops and cafes. But once dark approached they all left leaving me with a quiet, classically Chinese old town, cobble stones and all.

I spent 3 nights here since I found a quiet hostel off of the old town’s main strip. Walked around mostly looking at all the sights and people.

Here I am backtracking on my journey….but I’ll give it a shot.

After leaving Hong Kong on November 21st I began a very long journey to Yunnan Province. First I took a train from Kowloon, Hong Kong to Shenzhen, China where I passed through Chinese immigration. Then I took another train from Shenzhen to Guangzhou.

In Guangzhou I experienced my first dose of China and what it is like to be in a country where nobody speaks a lick of English. Thumbing around at the train terminal, I went from ticket booth to ticket booth trying to get them to sell me a train ticket to Kunming that evening. Finally I came upon a teller who spoke a little bit of English…and by little I mean 10 words tops. In the few words that she knew she told me, no more like pointed to me on a map, that I was at the East Train Station and that I must go to the West Train Station in order to purchase the ticket. Then she graciously told me which bus # to take.

So there I was, hopping onto a bus that I wasn’t sure whether or not would reach the train station in a totally new and unknown culture…eeek! Luckily I reached my destination, bought the sleeper ticket and then left for Kunming.

It took 29 hours and I arrived in Kunming at 1am…

So…here I am in Li Jiang, Yunnan, China and I am very frusterated. China is no longer considered a developing nation…at least in my mind. They have all of the ammenities as we do in the US, except for clean toilettes…but that’s another story. The only thing that China does not have is a fast internet connection. I think this is partly due to the fact that every single thing that is accessed or sent via the internet is checked by their government. Thus making connections speeds much slower due to all the work that their routers must do to filter certain web pages and content. Hmmmm….maybe this won’t even get posted because someone here won’t let it?

Anyways…I was hoping for a fast internet connection so that I could add more photos to my smugmug account. Since a blog is almost nothing without photos, this is crucial for this site! But, it seems that I won’t be able to add as much content to this site as I desire. Maybe I’ll be able to do this in Vietnam…but I won’t get my hopes up.

I’m trying to figure out this whole issue with smugmug and I’ve almost entirely given up on it. I’m currently thinking that I will buy more SDHC cards for my camera and then use smugmug solely as a platform to store my favorite images and then use it to display them on this blog. But we’ll see. I can’t buy memory cards here in China because most of the ones that I’ve looked out were either refurbished or knock-offs. I think I’ll wait until I get to a more reputable country as far as selling original electronics.

Until then…I hope I don’t run out of space on my SDHC cards!

First impressions of this city can only be summed up with these adjectives: efficient, clean, wealthy, vast, aromatic (in a good way) and impressive.

Hong Kong reminds me of a bustling NYC. If only you were to replace the population of NYC with Asians, add a much more efficient and fast subway system, expand chinatown throughout NYC, add thousands upon thousands of neon lights to every possible inch of the city and surround it with mountains then it would resemble Hong Kong.

I could spend so much time here just exploring and eating. But the problem is that Hong Kong is so damn expensive! Well…compared to the rest of Southeast Asia. Prices here are actually quite good if your willing to sleep in a room that resembles your closet and eat at small street vendors.

Unfortunately I can only spend a couple of days here. Once I have my Chinese Visa then I’m off to Yunnan Province where hopefully I won’t fall into any of their notorious squat holes while dropping the kids off at the pool. Until then enjoy the pictures…they speak for themself!