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| Old Town, Lijiang |
I recently returned from a 3 week trip to the Yunnan province in southwest China. I flew from Auckland to Bangkok for a 1 night stopover, then onto the province capital Kunming the following day. The trip also included visits to Jinghong and Lijiang. China was certainly an interesting experience compared to other Asian countries I've visited, namely Singapore and Thailand. The first thing that struck me was the fact that most people don't speak any English at all. Smoking is also more common there among the men, especially when eating.
Kunming was similar to Auckland, though with around 4 million more people. Jinghong was similar to Thailand, with palm trees and a very hot and humid climate. The temperature was around 40 degrees most days, forcing people to stay inside during the afternoon. The locals took this opportunity to sleep, which allowed them to stay out later in the evening. A Water Festival was being held to celebrate the New Year while I was there. The locals took great joy in splashing water on any foreigners they came across, including myself! I only drank bottled water, though did have ice occasionally. Also tried some of the local minority food like snake soup and pig gums. The end result being a case of food poisoning, which landed me in hospital on a drip. Luckily, I recovered quickly and was able to leave later the same day. I remember feeling like I was floating on air as I walked out of the hospital! Needless to say the local food was very different to the Cantonese-style food back home. Lijiang was very nice with lots of old style buildings, which looked even more impressive lit up at night. I was able to stay in the Old Town during my visit.
I originally planned to visit Beijing and Shanghai, though Beijing was in the middle of a sandstorm so decided to give them a miss. I took some photos using my Sharp GX30 phone, which I've uploaded here.