So since you last heard from us we have been very well behaved and thankfully don't have any near death experiences to report on! From our adventures in the jungle near Jinghong we travelled swiftly east, spending 3 solid days on buses from Jiancheng, to Luchun and finally ending up in Yuanyang. This is a relatively inaccessible part of the Yunnan province which has escaped heavy development for tourism, and so far has been overlooked to a certain extent.These are the sort of places in which you end up entering the kitchen of the place you've chosen to eat in, and pointing at the ingredients you fancy because not one word of English is spoken there, and even if it was, they don't have a menu anyway! Sows and their piglets, Water Buffalo and wild dogs wander the streets freely. The main ethnic group that reside here are the Hani people who have a traditional dress that is quite vibrant in contrast to the dusty grey streets of the towns themselves.Yuanyang is renowned for its rice terraces which were sculpted by bare hand over a thousand years ago. Glancing at the terraces its hard to believe they're man made, they fit so perfectly into the surrounding landscape. The 1000 meters of mountain slope terraces are still in use today. In the winter the terraces are irrigated in preparation for the next crop and this is without doubt the most spectacular time to see them, as at sun rise and sunset, each pool reflects the sky above them perfectly, resembling acres of pockets of liquid gold. Fascinatingly, although these terraces appear quite endless, China is actually the second biggest importer of rice in the world, and the rice that is harvested is only consumed within Yunnan.
From Yuanyang we headed further east to Yangshuo. In contrast, this is the sort of destination that will be on 99% of backpackers agendas when travelling through China, never the less it was still well worth exploring and gave us a chance to feed our new found love for extreme sports. Here we dabbled in more off road cycling, hiked up moon hill, gave rock climbing a bash and even discovered caving. While climbing we very sensibly hired an instructor instead of attempting to scale the rock face all by ourselves. (Side note: Most Chinese people have English names as well as their Chinese ones, which could be considered a slightly patronising way of saying 'you'll never be able to pronounce my actual name so here's something a little easier to digest', ashamedly this is quite accurate. So far we have come across a Frank, a Wendy, a Susan and a Spiderman, which as it turned out was pretty apt.) So with Spiderman's encouragement Abi and I pushed ourselves to our absolute limits and although exhausting, climbing was one of the most exhilarating experiences we had during our time in China. Best of all I have counted 64 different bruises on my legs as a result of this pursuit, which although look quite hideous, make me feel like a bit of a hero! Caving was similarly quite extreme and we found ourselves squeezing through tunnels only an inch or two wider than ourselves. Right in the middle of the cave was a mud pool which we had the opportunity to swim in, turning us into mysterious sea creatures, zombies and many other bizarre monsters our imagination conjured up whilst wallowing.
Not only was Yangshuo a fantastic place to simply have fun, it is also visually stunning. The landscape is dotted with karst peaks (eroded limestone) and orange groves, with the Li river winding its way through the middle of them, giving the area an almost Jurassic feel. This was a perfect place to end our Chinese adventure, as we bid farewell on a complete high. We left wanting more, which, although a little frustrating, can only be a good thing after spending two months in one country.
So from Yangshuo we had two brief days in Hong Kong where we stayed with a couch surfer for the first time. You will be pleased to know we have not been chopped up into little pieces and so far this seems like a really useful way to get to know a city. Michael is a economist by day and an extreme Frisbee player and comedian by night, and most importantly he provided us with free accommodation which was fantastic given how expensive Hong Kong is. On first impression Hong Kong is clean, stylish and wealthy, so much so anybody would think the opium trade was still in full swing!It seems backpacking here is like being taken out to eat in a really posh restaurant when you thought you were going to MacDonald's and realising you're wearing flip flops and jeans while the chick next to you is donning her finest pearls and her Louis Vuitton. The city is so scarily neat and tidy it feels like its been designed by a desperate house wife with too much time on her hands and a bad case of OCD. Every last little detail, of every street, corner has been cleverly thought out to be as pleasant as possible, and even the tube stations contain message boards with helpful suggestions like: 'Take care of the young and old, make safety your priority, lets do more for others! '
From Hong Kong we endured a 29 hour journey, door to door to LA, which I'm convinced was designed by Mrs H Kong's cousin who also had a love for the pristine. LA however, has another more gritty side to it which gives it a little more edge, a side I'm sure we would have discovered in Hong Kong also, had we have been there longer. There is clearly a huge divide between the rich and poor, and it seems the city may be in need of a Robin Hood of its own. Still the fact that cars have seat belts, and people actually stop when there's a red light was definitely a culture shock when we first arrived. I also had to keep reminding myself that talking openly about the person next to you having a bad case of BO is no longer acceptable as they actually understand what you're saying! We spent a week in the USA getting our western fix, and naturally had to par-take in our fare share of touristy activities such as eating burgers in a diner, visiting the Getty centre, Venice beach and of course the Hollywood sign. Here we also couch surfed with another boy called Joey who again turned out not to be a serial killer but in fact a very talented illustrator and a welcoming host. We are beginning to actually have faith in this rather obscure way of travelling. Ironically we managed to get ourselves lost far more than we did in China, as Americans seem to be incapable of giving clear directions, mainly because they drive everywhere! Thankfully this urban jungle turned out to be a lot less scary than its leafy brother, and had we been forced to sleep outside I'm sure there would be a bum to lend us a blanket. Interestingly enough, in the 1920s there was an efficient public tram system connecting this sprawling city but a large Californian based car company bought up all the public transport and dismantled it so everyone had to buy cars, which have now become an extension of their feet.
We have since escaped the USA in fear of turning into complete gluttons and have crossed the border into Tijuana in northern Mexico. Today we were greeted by Rudolf the red nosed rain deer being played on steel drums outside our hotel. I like this place already!
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