Kunming, Yunnan

Kunming is the hub of Yunnan province with a population of 6+ million. It is known as the "city of eternal spring" because of its warm days and cool nights all year round. We passed through Kunming coming and going from Yunnan. We flew into Kunming from Beijing and spent one night at a hostel that arranged our flight to Lijiang on Lucky Air--a name that to me sounds like we are betting our lives on a little luck.



For that one night, we stayed at the Hump Hostel. I think you have to question a place that provides condoms and ear plugs in the room, but not soap and towels.



We came back to Kunming on a 7-hour train from Dali where the below little girl was the entertainment in our compartment.She sang, she danced, and she could count to 10 in English.


But on this second trip to Kunming, we stayed with the Shorey family. Kevin Shorey was my high school youth pastor. He and his family have lived in China for a few years now. They have a nice big, comfortable apartment with towels and soap and a washing machine and great food and fellowship!

For most of our time with them, we just relaxed, chatted, and played Puerto Rico, but our first night in town, they took us to a special place for dessert: Modern Toilet. Has anyone else heard of this place? It is actually a chain franchise. And if you know Kevin or had an eccentric youth pastor in high school, then you can understand how this place is just crazy enough to be funny.




The chairs are toilets


Including poop pillows


Blue-lit urinals decorate the walls


And our brown chocolate ice cream came in a squatty-potty


The Shorey boys got a big squatty-potty of shaved ice and melons.


Even the telephone at the counter is a toilet

Us, the Shoreys, & Emma's friends from England enjoying dessert from a toilet

Dali, Yunnan

We took a quick two hour train ride to Dali, then boarded a bus to get to our hostel, The Lily Pad. We were packed like sardines onto the bus and the two girls above were nearest to me, so I kept asking them questions about where we were, how many more stops, etc. to make sure we got off in the right place. After we got off of the bus, they requested a photo together.

One thing that has been great about this trip is that I have gotten tons of Chinese practice. I have needed to ask questions about bus routes, trains, directions to hostels and restaurants, and had conversations with the people in all of those places forcing me to practice Chinese in ways I don't practice at home in Changchun. Honestly, I bet we couldn't even have done this trip of city hopping last year, but this year, with one semester of language learning under our belts, we have been able to do and see so much more!

This man was in our same compartment on the train. He was very kind and spoke slowly and clearly so we had a good conversation all in Chinese. He told us that he sells coffee in Lijiang and Dali so he does lots of traveling between the two cites. Later that night as Chip and wandered around the old town of Dali, we found his shop. He helped us to pick out some coffee, so we snapped a quick photo.



Dali, like Lijiang, has beautiful mountains. It also have lots of shops that sell minority goods.


With the help of our hostel, we arranged a day trip on a boat to two small islands. It was a very Chinese experience. In fact, we were the only four foreigners on the boat.

When we stepped onto the ship, they gave us fabric heart necklaces.

It was sunny but quite windy.





This is the first island. You can see from the photo that it was not large. There were hundreds of people on the boat, but we all crammed onto the small island.





Sellers had all sorts of fish and birds on sticks


We got some fried potatoes and a pineapple on a stick.



Island #2: Bigger and quieter



Because we were the only foreigners, we got lots of attention. This photo was on the boat with a couple of Chinese girls who wanted to practice their English.





Back on the boat, we watched a Bai (minority group) dance and had a three course tea. The first tea was very bitter, the second tea was sweet, and the third tea had a strong ginger flavor.


After the show, we got a picture with one of the dancers.

We stopped at a restaurant after we got off of the boat. We asked to see the menu and they invited us into the kitchen to see the veggies and spices and told us they serve mostly fish. We pointed to the fresh vegetables we wanted and they stirred fried them up for us. Jeanna was the only one in our group who cared much for eating fish, so we ordered her a small one. They pulled a small fish out of well, a canoe full of water and fish. He flapped around and they asked Jeanna if that one was okay. Then they killed it. Right in front of us. I turned my head just in time.

Jeanna's before and after photos of her delicious fish

One stop left in Yunnan: A couple days to rest in Kunming before Thailand Conference.

Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan

Online it says hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge is not for the faint of heart. They weren't kidding. It was no easy hike, but wow, was it ever beautiful. We and our friends, Jeanna and Stephanie, hiked through this amazing part of Yunnan that we had heard so much about.
We were not left disappointed.

It's called Tiger Leaping Gorge because a tiger supposedly jumped across the river.









Stopping for water and warming up over a small fire



Resting--we did this often as we hiked uphill for hours

Stop tempting us! Of course, we would rather be on a horse. Our legs are burning, but we want to do this.

Stopping for lunch






We spent one night at the Halfway House. The way the trail is set up, there are guest houses along the trail (each a few hours apart) so depending on how far you hike, you can stop and find a place to sleep and eat. And all the beds have heated mattress pads. Thank goodness.

It was even snowing in the morning.






In the morning as we started our hike, we got stuck behind a herd of goats. Since our legs were aching, we didn't mind the slower pace.







Stream crossing





Dinner at Tina's Guesthouse

Menu at Tina's



Winner of "the most beautiful place we have been in China" award!