The Spring City

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I did Kunming differently. The truth is, I did very little in Kunming, I was so tired. The fast paced nature of our trip seemed to catch up with me. I did wander around the city a bit, but mostly I enjoyed the free wifi and comfy couches at our hostel. Instead of tales of exciting adventures I give you some pictures of what I saw.

Beautiful Gates near our hostel

With a hostel like this, why wouldn't you want to take a day and just hang out?

We splurged on an en suite private room!

Kunming is famous for over the bridge noodles. It was ok, but I've had some better  specialty food...

We went to a bar and when I looked up we saw a map of Kauai. Made me miss Jess and brought back so many memories about our trip.

At a different bar, I left a note on the note wall.

Look a temple! I should know more about it and be more excited about it, but I swear I've seen a thousand temples in China and they all kinda look the same....

This is in front of an exhibit about the Flying Tigers  (the flying tigers  were pilots who fought in WWII) notice the dinosaur in the foreground.... Is this China trying to tell us that dinosaurs were around in the 1940s? 

Stewart's sells Malt-O-Meal cereal!!!!!!! Made me miss home!

I've Met The Doctor in Baisha

On an excursion out of Lijiang I found myself in Baisha, a wonderful town, and home to the Naxi people. 

Getting to Baisha was a little confusing and when I left the hostel I must admit I was only half certain I knew how to get there. Once I was there I was only 60% sure I was actually there until I saw a restaurant I had read about in Lonely Planet. However despite my somewhat confused state I couldn't have been happier. With dirt roads and picturesque mountains this beautiful town was exactly what I had wanted to find. As I wandered through the streets I was also able to see an example of the last pictorial written language used in the world.

Naxi Writing (last pictorial language in the world) 

Although a definite improvement from Lijiang there were still some touristy things in Baisha, or at least what the Naxi people thought tourists wanted. Here you can see the original Mona Lisa (according to the man selling it). When I told him I has seen the original in France he seemed kinda offended...

We also got to see the Doctor. As an avid Doctor Who fan, I love that this man is known as The Doctor. I suppose technically speaking, I even got to go into his TARDIS.

We found it! 

Here is the doctor coming out of his clinic

His full name is Doctor Ho (very similar to Who) and he is a famous doctor of Chinese medicine. Fluent in five languages including English we were able to converse with him easily (perhaps he isn’t fluent at all and its really the TARDIS’s psychic power working in his brain). We arrived at his clinic (TARDIS) during a lull and were able to spend about ten minutes with him undisturbed. At 92 years old he told us his motto “Eat simply, live simply, and above all, be optimistic.” He also made us promise to visit again in 10 years as he will still be practicing medicine. As the Doctor is a very famous man new people quickly arrived to have a world with him. As other people came to see him seeking medical advice we were able to see him work with herbs to create medicine for a woman looking to get pregnant.

The Doctor explaining a perscription

Katelyn, Katie, The Doctor, and myself.

Lijiang – The Old Town

When planning our trip my friends and I wanted to see the important sites in Southern China. One of the places that kept coming up was the Old Town of Lijiang. My Chinese friends told me all about its beauty and charm. With its proximity to The Tiger Leaping Gorge and numerous small Naxi villages we quickly seized the opportunity to go. Finding a great hostel in the Old Town itself.

Beautiful Chinese Architecture

A Man With a Falcon!

It was so pretty!

When we arrived in Lijiang we were stuck by the clean air and blue sky. The feeling of joy quickly disintegrated as we began walking through the streets. All the shops looked the same, all selling the same dingy touristy things.

A McDonald's? 

However we did stumble upon a rather interesting sight. Here something that looked like a desk drawer was burning in the middle of the square. There was a huge media presence and the fireman watched it burn for a period of time before putting it out. Once the fire was out everyone clapped. I'm still confused by this event.

Genghis Khan was here!

Despite some beautiful sights in the town, I found myself very underwhelmed in Lijiang, seeking instead day trips out of the town. What I did however learn in Lijiang had a lot to do with Chinese culture in general. All the things in the shops were hundreds of yuan overpriced, however few Chinese tourists were haggling. It seems that in China people will at times over pay for things to prove that they can pay for them. This is so different from American culture where we constantly search for deals for fear of over paying.

Some of the best street food ever.