Yunnan, China

Over the next few weeks or months I'll be posting about my trip to Yunnan, China. Though it was just a week's visit, I've seen and experienced so many things. This is just an exploratory trip to China. I intend to make a much longer and more extensive trip in the near future. This is just to whet my appetite for the bigger picture and indeed it has. I chose this part of China because it has a different mix of people. While 92% of the people in China are Han Chinese, China is home to a lot of minorities and most of them live in Yunnan Province. I saw many of them and now have a greater appreciation of their contribution to the cultural landscape of China. I survived the hot and humid days and the latrines of rural China. I'm proud of myself and I think I can survive a longer trip and to other parts of China beyond the Great Wall. I'm amazed at the bounteous harvest of fruits and vegetables in this area. There is so much produce and the markets show off their abundance. There are these fresh lychees.

There are street food everywhere. Every morning they are lighting up the coals to start the fires to make whatever they make. The 'bao' makers are big business. This is a small scale operation. In the city of Kunming, it is big business, just like we make hamburgers, they make 'bao'.

There are Buddhist temples everywhere. I'm always intrigued by their flying eaves, so beautiful and so ornate.

I saw little village children playing in abandoned courtyards, so happy and oblivious of the outside world.

Join me on this trip as I enjoyed kebabs made by a 'Hui' couple or slurp noodles with my compatriots in China.

Join me as I sample some of the many teas of China.

I'm buying some "Pu'er" tea and the tea seller is making it as I and my taxi driver waits to sample it. He demonstrated the proper way of making Chinese black tea.

This was my cup of tea. I'm more of a drinker of red tea than the Chinese black or green tea. it tasted really good, very smooth, no bitter after taste.

I saw a lot of these endearing mud houses though they are rapidly being replaced by new and ugly concrete buildings.

I saw a few of the many different minorities of China and they are some of the loveliest people. The Han Chinese have been very friendly and helpful when they can understand my mandarin. I only speak some survival Mandarin but I managed. It's been a very educational trip and I look forward to my next and longer trip to China.

Time to recharge the batteries. This set of tools have served me well all over the world.