Peter:
We've left Yunnan province (highly recommended) and are now in Guilin in Guangxi province. This is the area of karst rocky outcrops and picturesque rice paddies. One big postcard! Unfortunately its raining today and the weather does not look good for the rest of our time here. We've found a massive internet cafe with literally hundreds of terminals (and a fast connection) so Vera's been uploading some photos.
Peter:
Southern China, more than the north is renowned for its culinary catholicism. The joke we heard was "we'll eat anything with 4 legs that isn't a chair, and anything with 2 wings that isn't an airplane". By all accounts this is true. One of our guides mentioned a delicacy for some (though definitely not for her) of eating live newborn mice. They are dipped in spiced soy sauce and downed in one go. Of course I grew up with seal flipper pie, happily slurp raw oysters, and in Zim they eat flying ants, so no one is passing judgement here.
One of the trickiest moments for me came in Kunming. It was after my "Dali belly" experience and I was feeling very fragile. I had just gone 48 hrs with hardly eating and we had gone back to Kunming and had early check in at our hotel. It was a decent hotel - [Chinese] 4 stars and I thought it would be my best bet for getting safe food. I went off in search of some soup or some noodles in chicken broth - something to start my road to revival. The hotel had a Cantonese restaurant and I went in for lunch. It turned out this was a real high end place with very expensive and exotic dishes. I opened the menu and the dishes were presented as pictures. I immediately opened to "goat's testicles" and there they were looking up at me. My stomach did a somersault. After swallowing I looked further past the shark fin dishes and beyond "bull penis soup" and eventually found a simple noodle bowl containing, hopefully, no genitals.
In Guangxi province where we visited Guilin and Yangshuo, snake was very popular and written on most of the menus. Most impressive was snake wine. We took a boat from Guilin to Yangshuo and the boat provided lunch but also offered regional specialties that could be purchased as well. As we floated down the river, the waitresses would come on top deck with various Guilin delights - a bowl with prawns swimming around; osmanthus flower wine (famous in Guilin); and my favorite, snake wine. "Would you like some snake wine sir?" She was holding a large glass gallon jar, like a pickle jar. In the bottom curled up was a blue snake with a mottled pattern covered with a clear liquid. It looked like it belonged in a natural history museum and for all I know it was covered in formalin. Although based on my caterpillar fungus wine experience I suspect it was 50% alcohol or higher. I politely declined. Surprisingly, so did Vera.
Peter:
After Lijiang we returned to Kunming. Kunming is the capital of Yunnan province and called the city of eternal spring because its high elevation and subtropical location keep it pleasantly warm and in bloom year round. Unfortunately Vera got a touch of my stomach bug [Vera's note: "a touch" - hah!] the last night in Lijiang so when we arrive in Kunming we go straight to the hotel and manage an early check in. Our Yunnan guides have been so helpful in getting us through this difficult time. We spend day in the hotel, mostly sleeping and watching bad movies on HBO.
At least the hotel in Kunming had an english channel with movies. When I was laid up in Lijiang the TV was all chinese. I was too ill to read, so I lay there watching the chinese sports channel. Tremendous array of sport: English darts, English snooker, Chinese basketball, Asian curling, World ping pong. Still, it took the mind off the belly.
Our last day in Kunming our guide picked us up again. Unfortunately I'd had a relapse of the bug and it was a very gingerly day for me.
We went first to the Minorities museum. The people westerners think of as "Chinese" are the Han people, the overwhelming majority in China. But there are many minority groups as well such as the Tibetans, various central asian groups (Tajiks, Kazaks, etc), and others. In mountainous Yunnan province which borders Tibet, Burma, Laos, and Vietnam, there are many more such as the Dai, the Yi, the Bai, and the Naxi. The Minorities museum is a huge museum on the outskirts of Kunming with displays of dress, language, art, etc. There was hardly anyone there (Sunday morning) and one of the museum workers gave us a personal tour. I found this fascinating. The traditional dress, especially, was incredible and what struck me was the sense of aesthetic. There was an exhibit there of traditional clothing that was shown in Paris and this could easily have been this year's collection rather than traditional dress.
After a morning at the museum we went to Green Lake in the center of Kunming for a leisurely stroll and some lunch. Lots of people at the lake on a Sunday. Check out the photos of the kids in the giant plastic bubbles! The park also brings out groups of musicians - mostly middle aged men and women who perform in orchestras. All manner of instruments - bowed, plucked, woodwinds - and traditional singing as well. From there it was on to the old city gate of Kunming, flanked by the pagodas from the 9th century. Check out Vera's shots of city life on this Sunday
Peter:
I was really impressed by my limited time outside in Lijiang. I'd love to go back and explore and especially climb some of the hills in the area, including Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Lijiang is a UNESCO world heritage site and you can see why. It is home, mainly, to the Naxi people who are believed to have been in the area for the last 1400 years. The Naxi have a polytheistic religion called dongba with led by shamans. The Naxi also have their own pictographic language (think hieroglyphics) with about 1400 characters. They also have unique musical instruments, although similar to traditional chinese instruments, and a unique form of music.
Naxi society is matrilineal. Inheritance passes from the mother to the youngest daughter and women typically control the money and trade at the markets. In some villages there are no husbands. The man just comes to see the woman late at night after everyone has gone to bed and then leaves by morning. Relationships can be monogamous or polygamous. The father has not responsibility for the child. Children are raised by the mother and her siblings/parents.
Naxi houses are made of timber. In some ways the old town area of Lijiang reminded me of the Swiss alps. The timber homes look a little like Swiss chalets, although chalets don't have bamboo roofs. The town itself is nestled in hills and on clear mornings the spectacular mountain called Jade Dragon Snow Mountain rises over the town. There are cobblestone streets and a pretty river flows through the town. It is a very touristy area, but despite this it retains its charm and beauty.
Peter:
Well, I knew it would happen. I dodged the bullet of street food in Beijing, yak butter tea in Lhasa, but something in Dali laid me really low. After an anniversary dinner in a ＶＥＲＹ DODGY restaurant (we'd walked around too long and were too hungry to make a rational decision), we stopped for a drink in a cafe. I noticed something called "caterpillar fungus wine" which of course I had to try. Turns out the "wine" was 50% alcohol with some tibetan fungus extract. I don't know if it was the fungus that hit me, but something sent my GI tract into an uproar. Vera, fortunately, was not afflicted and has been a tremendous nurse. So Vera will have to post on the beauty of Lijiang. I can only comment of the hotel porcelain.
Peter:
Dali is famous for its pagodas. Pagodas are used to provide spiritual protection to an area. I have some wierd association of the actor Abe Vigoda (Godfather, Barney Miller) whenever I hear the word pagoda. Strange mental images...
Vigoda
Pagoda
