Summer in Yunnan and Laos
October 19th, 2006 by Greg
The last 56 photo and video posts (wow, maybe I should try to group those photos together as I've done with the last few) show you where I spent some of this Summer. There are some beauties in there if I do say so myself. The easiest way to view them is in reverse order starting from this page (look down). At the bottom of each page press the 'previous entries' link to see the page before until you can handle it no more. The photos and videos may make a little more sense if you read the brief explanation below: (click on the links to see photo galleries of each place)
- My parents arrived in Kunming on 14th July and we spent a few days hanging out before taking a bus to Dali, where we spent a few days. Did all the usual stuff: visiting Erhai Lake, going up Mt. Cangshan, shopping, eating and drinking.
- We then took a bus to Lijiang where my brother, Lucas, joined our merry band. We stayed in a modest but friendly family guesthouse which was a traditional Lijiang courtyard house. Lijiang was not at all as I'd remembered it from my visit in 1998. Overpriced, swarming with matching umbrella-clutching tour groups following uninterested Han tour guides dressed in "traditional Naxi" costume shouting monotonously through tinny sounding megaphones, full of bars charging prices more akin to Beijing and Shanghai than Yunnan, and shops selling tat – it is like Disneyland and kind of betrays its UNESCO World Heritage status. Nonetheless we did find some fun there. Found a pretty cool bar away from the centre and spent a good night there with Lucas and some friends from Kunming that I'd bumped into. Having said all of that, it probably is still worth a visit for the surrounding villages and the Lijiang Comtemporary Artists Studio, which I didn't get a chance to visit but plan to do soon. Moreover, its on the way to some really beautiful places like Lashihai, Tiger Leaping Gorge and Haba Snow Mountain. I guess I'm being a little harsh, people want to make money and of course they should. Its just a shame the UNESCO status hasn't spurred on the local government to prevent it from becoming a theme park.
- We then hired a driver to take us to Lashihai (a lake surrounded by hills and villages), where we kind of rained in for most of it. We managed to sneak out for a couple of walks through the area and it really was beautiful – would like to go back when its not raining. Unfortunately we were in a guesthouse with the dirtiest rooms I've seen in China (and that is saying something), not a particularly pleasant place to be when its pissing down outside.
- From Lashihai we were picked up by Gu Laoshi (a friend of Christina's) and a driver who took us on a rollercoaster ride through Tiger Leaping Gorge. This was quite a treachurous journey with bad roads and a fair few mudslides. At times it felt like this could well have been the end but we had a fantastic driver who took it all in his stride. On route we stopped off at a cafe/guesthouse that had "Happy Tea" on the menu. Dad wanted to try it but Lucas and I convinced him not to. I'm not sure we could have coped with seeing our father that "happy".
- Finally we arrived at Haba Snow Mountain. This was certainly the highlight of the trip round Yunnan. I won't begin to describe how beautiful a place it is – just have a look at my photos. We stayed at a guesthouse run by friends of Christina (Gu Laoshi and Asanmei), in a small Hui Minority village. For those of you who don't know the Hui are visually indestiguishable from the Han but follow Islam. Gu Laoshi is a Tibetan Buddhist while his wife is a muslim and their small boy Hao Jie has been given a Jewish name (Ruben) by one of the American students that was staying there; a fine example of multiculturalism if ever I saw one. The guesthouse (Hui Hui Jia – Hui Family Guesthouse) is a traditional courtyard home and a wonderful place to stay with an incredibly friendly family atmosphere. Christina was staying there too with the American students she was leading and it was great to see her in action – she's a fantastic teacher and guide.
- From Haba we went to Zhongdian (which has been given the name Shangrila by the Chinese Government). We stayed in a fantastic, but expensive, hotel there which was probably the best thing about our time in Shangrila. The new town is nothing to write about and the old town (while certainly pretty) seems like its heading the way of Lijiang. However we did spend quite a lot of time there trying desperately to find a way to get down to Xishuangbanna and didn't really get to see much of the place. I'm certainly willing to give it another try and would definately like to go further north.
- We ony had a few days before mum and dad had to be back in Kunming in order to fly to Shanghai and then home, and we wanted to have a quick look at Xishuangbanna, 'the Thailand of China'. We managed to get a bus to Lijiang and then flew to Jinhong, the capital of the Xishuangbanna region. In Jinhong we hired a guide, who turned out to be a bit crap (and rather creepy – might explain later), and spent a couple of days driving through the countryside and walking through various minority villages. From there Mum and Dad flew back to Kunming and then to Shanghai, while Lucas and I took a bus from Mengla in Xishuangbanna to Luang Probang in Laos.
- Luang Probang is such a beautiful little town. Apart from a day of kayaking we pretty much just chilled out there before going to Vang Vieng for some tubing down the river in tractor tyre inner tubes and some more chilling. Finally we went to Vientiane for one night, had one of the best French meals I've ever had, before flying back to Kunming. With only just over a week in Laos we really didn't do it justice but I got a very good impression. So peaceful, beautiful, and chilled out – a welcome relief from the hustle and bustle of China
- Finally, I spent a few more days in Kunming hanging out with Lucas before he had to fly home.
Since then I've been quite busy working. I've not only been in Kunming but have had business trips to Beijing and Shanghai and a little time out with Christina (during the Chinese national holiday) in Ruili, on the border with Myanmar. We actually spent about 5 minutes in Myanmar not so legally. It was raining very heavily and our driver was keen to get back to China as quickly as possible so we just caught a glimpse of Burma through the car windows. Back in London at the moment for more meetings – things are really getting off the ground with the business.
Anyway, thats it for now – I'll be back soon.
