First day in Kunming, Yunnan

After a mind numbing journey of 24 hours, I'm finally in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. I was so tired and my head was cracking inside of me, I had a huge headache but still I left my hotel room to explore. I wasn't going to waste a single moment. The city is so amazing, while the construction cranes in the USA and other parts of the West are at a standstill, they are working overtime in Kunming. Until recently this was just a sleepy backwater provincial city but because of the money brought in by tourism, it has grown (and still growing) into this huge and vibrant metropolis. There were cars everywhere, motorcycles, bicycles and people and more people cramming the crowded streets, all jockeying for space. There were spanking new malls advertising modern food and clothing. This was not even Beijing or Shanghai. This phenomenon call China is so amazing. The Chinese has built more than 250 airports recently all over China, thus making traveling around China much easier and the tourist money just keeps pouring in, from local Chinese, Overseas Chinese and other westerners. It is one sure way of lifting the economy of some of the poorer cities.

I knew I didn't come to China to see modern metropolis like this. I came to explore the old neighborhoods, if there are any left, to see the old ways of life and the minorities of China, of which many lives around Yunnan. It was hot and humid, something I'm not accustom to.

The parking lot for motorcycles were cramped.

The parking lot for bicycles were also cramped.

The guidebook said, tucked into this area is the old quarter. It wasn't easy to find, because it was hidden by tall buildings and in between these buildings, one can see a remnant of the old quarter, teetering on the verge of disappearance. I think in 2 years this old quarter will not exist anymore. Indeed it is old, a bunch of ramshackle buildings hurdling together and in danger of toppling over. It was the only interesting part of the city of Kunming. I was excited as I realised I have discovered it and started to take pictures. Some of the residents were out and about, kind of surprised that someone would be interested in their neighborhood. They were accommodating in allowing me to even photograph them and their homes.

I am an overseas Chinese, a special term, 'huaqiao' that refers to any Chinese born outside of China. When you say you're an overseas Chinese, people in China will understand that China is not your motherland.

I love to peek into courtyards every time and everywhere. Some of them are so pretty and quaint as you will also see when I go to Lijiang, another city in Yunnan later.

They make a steamed Chicken soup with these clay pots and I think this is a restaurant, though I never found out where the seating are is. I saw only the kitchen. I would have sat down and tried some because this is one of the specialties of Yunnan cooking.

This old man was drying fish in the sun and he sat there fanning off the flies as the fish dries. They still preserve a lot of food, meat fish and vegetables, to eat over the winter months.

I don't know if they have running water. This lady is getting ready to shampoo her hair. She was so nice to let me take her picture.

Running water or not, they have 21st century communication, the cell phone. Thanks to China Mobil, the official Chinese carrier. They blocked Google so I wasn't able to get to my blog, I did so wanted to update it when I was there.

I was happy to be there and still able to see some of the old neighborhood.

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.

Beyond the Great Wall, Yunnan, China

A week ago on Sunday I was at this village 12 miles outside of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province. I just landed and couldn't wait to upload my precious pictures. In a short while I'll be sleeping on my own bed. While I love to go away, I love to come home also. I had the most incredible visit to Yunnan, Province in China. This old way of life in China is disappearing from the big cities of China, It's still there but one has to get pretty far out of town to see it. Who would have thought that a sleepy town like Kunming would grow so far and become like Beijing and Shanghai. The progress is so amazing and sad because I saw little pockets of the old village tucked in a little corner in Kunming amid the myriad of high rises. That too will be gone pretty soon, razed and its place another high rise mall. Building materials have changed too, they have gone from this mud brick dwelling to ugly concrete ones. Everywhere I see the old mud houses stand bravely on their own. Pretty soon they too will succumb to progress.

'Be Thou my Vision'

An ancient Irish hymn from the 8th century. I'm on vacation.

Nicol Sponberg singing 'Resurrection'

I'm on vacation.

Food on the road

Most of our thoughts are not original as someone put it, we read popular magazines or watch television and we think that that's how life is. There are a lot of people who live lives that are totally different, they march to the beat of their own drum. When we think of travel, we think of luxurious rooms, beaches or dancing on a cruise liner or fancy restaurants and fancy restaurant meals. The truth of the matter, most travel involves none of the above, the accommodation could be some flea infested room in some one's house or dirty Nile water. If I had a choice I would always opt for a cheap room. Most of the time, meals means something thrown together from a local Salumeria(Italy) or Choucuterie (France). I remember on my first trip to Italy, my sister and I bought some canned sardines, canned pickles, water from the tap and bread from the local store and that was our lunch while visiting Siena, Italy. Last year, Sophie and me bought a ham sandwich from a local bakery and that was our lunch when we visited Versailles. That was a good sandwich. It is not always easy to find a good and affordable restaurant on the road especially in the major tourist cities. I've never found such restaurants in Rome or Paris. There are restaurants but they're not the ones we could afford. It is easier to find good and affordable meals in smaller towns. My greatest delight in food are found in smaller towns. I remember staying at a cheap hotel, next to the train station in Bayonne, France. When the train goes by, the house shook. It, obviously was in a cheap part of town, an ethnic part of town. That was the great part, there was this Moroccan restaurant just steps away and I had the greatest meal I can remember of Couscous and Lamb Tagine. One reason I love Sicily is that it isn't that touristy and cheap and good restaurants are found at almost every corner. We never had a bad meal in Sicily except once, it was a new restaurant. We should have just followed the locals, they know where to eat. Don't believe what you see on TV or read in magazines. Life on the road is very different. When you read this, I'll be on my way to China, I intend to eat most of my meals at roadside stores. That's the beauty about Asia and the Far East, the fare on the roadside are so incredible. It is definitely something to write home about.

On our visit to Cairo, after completing the tour of the Pyramids, we begged our taxi driver to take us to eat. He took us to his friend's restaurant, of course. He probably gets a commission and I know he got a free meal. It's hard to imagine that this is Cairo, the lushness is disarming, it could be any part of the USA. The desert seems far away even though it's just steps away. This is a beautiful place. There were not set menu and it was 70Le per person, a hefty bill for a local but it was like US14, still expensive, we never pay US14 for lunch in the US. There was a lot of 'Sharwama" or grilled meat. It was OK. Sometimes when you depend on a local who gets a commission, you get bulldozed into this kind of situation. We should have waited to get back to Cairo and got some 'kushari' for 5Le.

Pickles, vegetable fritters and Baba Ganoush.

I remember staying at a hostel in Brussels where I ate at the cafeteria, the price couldn't be beat. I think it was 8 Euros for dinner. I remember having one of my nieces with me who refused to eat at the cafeteria. I remember eating at some nearby joint and paying 14 Euros for a hamburger. Kids, these days, have so good at home. Wait till they grow up and make their own money. I make 6 figures a year and I still munch on bread and canned sardines when I travel.

Inspiration

I look at old photos once in a while, in between trips. I'm still doing research on the itinerary for my next trip, I'm in the middle of deconstructing what I had planned to do in Yunnan, China. I'm going for a more ambitious itinerary. While doing that, I'm going through some old pictures, not really old, these were taken just last October. It's hard to imagine that a year has almost gone by. Times flies whether or not you're having fun, as the saying goes. It surely does. Sometimes it's fun, other times it's boring but the time just fly by, regardless. From these pictures I'm reminded of the opulence or old Europe and the quaintness of remote Europe. What an incredible mix, making it an incredible place of adventure. Expensive it may be to take a trip there but its money well spent and so worth it. To come back with memories like this. It is not like buying a designer dress, handbag or shoes, things that wear out and before you know it have to sold on ebay for next to nothing. I haven't shopped in years, stores would go bankrupt so fast if they depended on my business. I'm constantly on the Internet researching business opportunities and ideas for my next trip. Maybe one day I'll get paid for doing it. In the meantime I'll just do it for fun.

Some of you might recognise this..... the spiral staircase at the Vatican museum.. Isn't this the most gorgeous piece of construction?

Old stone villages are my downfall.

Isn't this the cutest picture? I'm buying something from this French store keeper. They like it if you buy something. So don't just look, buy something, even if you might throw it away. I didn't, I bought a slice of pain d'spice cake from him.

While I was outside, engaging the shopkeeper, Sophie was inside, snapping pictures. These are her pictures.

Perched villages, that's another of my downfall....I can't get enough... makes me wonder if I shouldn't move there.