“Wal-Mart? In China? Inconceivable!”
“You keep using that word... I do not think it means what you think means...”
Hope the Princess Bride fans out there appreciate the gratuitous reference... I'm more than a bit late with this entry, but my next stop in China combined the best of ancient traditions, culture, and... well... this:
I've already waxed nostalgic about Yangshuo, and it was definitely hard to leave. I could have stayed there another few days easily, but it was only the lurking knowledge that China is one gi-normous country (oh, yeah – that's a word these days) that kept me moving. Even with a month, I was having to cut out a bunch of places, each one harder than the last.
So, it was time to hit the road, or the air in the case, and head off to Kunming for my next leg.
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The plan originally was to catch a cheap flight over, skipping any potential nasty long train or bus ride. Just like Europe and much of the rest of Asia, China has its own collection of budget airlines, with flights starting around $50. Sweet. The only downside is that to maximize their tight profit margins, any flights that are completely full are often shifted and/or cancelled at short notice, which makes life as a passenger a bit exciting, planning-wise.
This happened to me as well as I got late notice that my flight was bumped a day. I'm a "pint of beer is half full" type of guy, so I appreciated getting another day in Yangshuo. The only bummer was that my experience in Kunming was going to be limited to a half day at best.
But even with such a short stay, I got a great vibe out of Kunming. It's always interesting how you can make snap judgements about places and people within an hour of arriving, and more often that naught, your gut is right on the money.
In this case, Kunming lived up to its billing as being one of the more laid-back cities in China. Big? Sure, and bustling, but the people just seem to dial their energy down just enough... even crossing the streets was pretty easy, and lacked the massive adrenaline rush of, say, Guangzhou. I couldn't help but mentally compare it to a Chinese version of the West Coast, although I couldn't pick out the Mandarin equivalent of 'dude' or 'hella' punctuating every conversation. Bummer.
So, after setting up shop at a great local hostel (with an interesting way of generating additional revenue through the charging for toilet paper), I hit the streets looking for dinner.
And smacked right into the great contrasts of modern China today.
On one hand, I came across a really cool street musician playing a traditional instrument, and who shared a smile when I showed him his picture:
The other? China is modernizing at warp speed, and that means a rapidly growing middle class looking for more consumer options.
Which, of course, means an opportunity for Wal-Mart to expand into the world's biggest market...
Strange. Very strange. It had most of the major global brands, from Nabisco to L'Oreal and Crest, but with some interesting quirks to fit the local tastes. Blueberry and Hazelnut chips? Sure. Green tea toothpaste? Yup. And of course, there were a huge assortment of Chinese brands and goods, that even after a few weeks, I'm still seriously clueless about.
Right, so enough of Wal-Mart... and back to the more authentic charms of China!
The next day fell into the category of “really tedious travel days”, as I took a variety of buses to Dali – a fantastic walled town, on the shores of a large-ish lake (large-ish is, in fact an official geographic unit of size) nestled at the foot of verdant green mountains.
So, you know in advance that there was a happy ending, but the journey itself was pretty painful. Lonely Planet is normally spot on, but the long-distance bus station had moved, so when I tried to find anything headed to Dali, I got lots of head shakes. Now I feel a bit sheepish, but when a brusque lady walked me and my baggage a few blocks, then pointed to a little van instead of a large bus, saying “Dali, Dali!”, I thought she was working a hustle, and just grumpily turned around.
My bad – it turns out she was right, and everyone takes a shuttle bus to the new station before setting off. I finally got sorted and on the right big bus, where we started out with massive and brand new four lane highways. Sweet.
Less sweet was the fact that equally massive construction meant that we had to take a laborious detour that added a few hours to the trip.
Arriving in Dali made it all worthwhile though... some super-helpful Chinese girls from Shanghai helped negotiate and share a taxi, then I found myself at the Jade Emu hostel. There must be something about southern China, but the hostels all seem to be amazing places to stay. Immaculate rooms, a cold Beer Lao (tasty!) on arrival, plasma TV's and DVD players in my room, and more and more coolness – it was pretty much hostel perfection. The owner even contrived to show the first games of the World Cup on the big screen from Chinese TV, but having the audio commentary from BBC Radio 5 sports. Genius!
Wandering the town was a blast, with its intact city walls and gates protecting the traditional building inside.
When it comes to exploring Chinese cities, it's really best to just pick a direction and see what happens. And Dali was no different, as seemingly at every turn, I found tiny alleys, ornate doorways, and great local restaurants. Plus, unique to the area, almost every white wall was intricately painted with all sorts of designs and scenes:
It was so cool, so chock full of things to feast your eyes on, that with only another day here, I actually had to take a breath and remind myself not to rush around, but to just chill out and enjoy the moment. Just lovely.
Dinner was a funky mix of West meets East – at a long-standing backpacker favorite called Cafe Jack's. I went with the odd combo of a mint leaf/chilli pepper salad and a gooey, gooey grilled cheesesteak sandwich that put me into that delightful state known as a food coma. Mmm.
Slow walk back left me in perfect position to see the West Gate at sunset... I felt a bit like I was in my own game of Frogger, dodging cars, bikes and pedestrians for this long exposure, but it was all worth it:
Grabbing another beer, then watching South Africa score a cracking first goal to kick off the World Cup was a pretty special way to call it a night...
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