HeyHeyanda Big G'Day to ya

Wednesday, 3rd August 2005

Our train arrived into Kunming around 7:30am and we sleepily made our way to the front of the station, found bus number 23 and walked to Camellia from city square where it dropped us off. We booked in for 2 nights, done a huge load of washing in the bath tub and soon the room was one big colourful clothesline.

We headed down the road to the City Café for brunch.

Here we met French Remi. He seemed a nice guy so we decided to head out and spend the day together visiting some of Kunmings sites. The first stop was at the Tang Dynasty Pagoda. A beautiful place to visit and the photo for this travelogue was taken just up the road from it.

Then it was to the Yuantong Si which is over a thousand years old.

Here we fed the fish in the ponds, took a heap of photos, burnt some incense and then left. We spent the rest of the day walking from here to there, eating Joutsa and having a great time. The evening, after booking our bus to Dali, found us in the Camellia's open restaurant talking over beer.

Thursday, 4th August 2005

Today we spent mostly at the Guihu Gongyuan or Green Lake Park.

We spent hours walking and talking. From here we aimlessly walked around Kunmings streets. When we returned to the Camellia we sat for dinner at the City Café and I tried to get into my internet again. The Camellia Hotel is one of my most favourite hotels. At the front gate it has a train/bus/air ticket booking office. Why bother waiting in line at one of the many bus stations if you don't have to.

Also just down from the City Café there is a place offering the same.

The Camellia has a huge variety of people staying in its rooms. There are rooms in any ones price range. It has four bed dorms, cheap rooms with bathrooms and from there it goes UP in price and comfort! Don't get me wrong, the dorm beds are great. The shared bathrooms are fantastic and each stall has a little cupboard where you leave your shoes and clothes in safety. This visit we were of course in one of the 'nice rooms'.

HHHhhhmmm! That's good beer money gone!

Late in the afternoon my friend and I had a small tiff over whether Chinese sleeper buses had beds on them or not. This is my second visit to China so why in the world would I know if a Chinese Sleeper Bus had beds on it or not. She had barely been out of the school she taught in let alone out of the city, so of course I was wrong. Sleeper buses don't have beds in them, of course they don't. They just call them Sleeper Buses because everyone's SITS in them. GGGRRR!

By this time we had nearly had enough of each other.

When it was nearing time to catch our Sleeper Bus (hhhmmm) we crabbed our packs and grabbed a cab to the bus station. French Remi had decided to hook up with us and join us for the night's adventure. Upon arrival at the bus station we tried our best to locate our bus. Someone pointed 'out there', so out there we went. Someone else pointed 'over there', so over there we went. In the end we gave in and went back looking for real help.

A lady in blue was kind enough to show us the way.

There is now way on earth we would have found that bus. When we boarded and found BEDS that you LIE DOWN IN nothing more was said of the conversation earlier that day! Hence, the reason they are called Sleeper Buses is because they are made up of steel framed bunk beds as thin as a coffin and as small as a Chinese.

The bus left on time or around 9pm or so.

We drove around the corner and there we sat for nearing four hours whilst they filled the bus with boxes full of chicks and chickens. They filled the remaining space in the luggage compartments and piled them on the roof. Whilst waiting they and tried to sell the remaining beds with no luck. As we sat on the side walk anger began to rise in one of my travelling companions. I tried to explain that the journey only really took five hours if not less and that if we left at 9:00pm then we'd get to the new town at two in the morning. I tried explaining my philosophy on travel in some Asian countries i.e.: don't worry, you'll get there!

Words were said to the bus staff and I thought it best to go walk on my own.

Finally the bus staff found a Chinese man who was walking past whom knew a little English. He explained also that it really only took 4 to 5 hours to get to Dali and we'd be there and still have to sleep before the first bus to the old city. Of course none of that mattered and if China wanted to br3eak into the western market etc it has to do this and that. The very fact that it was this person's choice to come here never entered their mind. We come to China to visit. Why in the world should China change for us.

Maybe my friend should have chosen Japan or Korea to teach in where everything runs right on time.

The journey, well I must say, I enjoyed sitting on the side walk in Kunming more. This sleeper bus ride had more people smoking in it than a Russian Disco. I smoke myself but cough cough, splutter splutter, even I was near throwing up.

Beers N Noodles toya...shane