The end of the Yunnan trip
When we got up to leave on day 13 of our trip, we were happy to get out of there, although some were grumpy because they were unable to shower. I tried to take a shower, but it was pretty miserable so I made it quick. We were driven to another large hotel in order to eat breakfast. The hotel we went to had a beautifully decorated interior which looked like a Tibetan temple. After jook, noodles, and cake, we hit the road to go to the “Green Home” Bio-gas center where basically they take both human and animal waste, ferment it, and produce methane to use as fuel. It can be used to cook, heat, lighting, etc. As a NGO, it still has trouble getting started. We had lunch at their restaurant that uses bio-fuel to cook the food. It was pretty good. For some reason, we got so far behind on our itinerary, we were supposed to get to Baisha the Naxi village at 2, but ended up arriving around 6. The Naxi pictograph is the only currently used hieroglyphic language used today, and we took a 45 minute class on it. In the curriculum, the students learn the pictograph language, although originally only the Dongba, the spiritual leader, used it. In order to attract tourists, the Naxi use it everywhere. After our class, we went to the Dongba’s house to have a banquet. It was ok, the food seemed a little different. Our homestays ended up being huge-mine was 16 girls in one house, which included Anita, Ellen, Lilly, HeeJin, Nina, A.D., Stacy, Megan, Lindsay, Sam, Josie, Alex, Caroline, Jamie, Elizabeth, and me. We dropped off our stuff quickly, and returned to the Dongba’s house for a party. There, masters of 3 different cultural arts demonstrated their skills. This included leaf whistling, singing, and dancing. They invited us to try, but all failed. It was fun to try though. There was some more dances and singing, but the party was cut very short. We then returned to our homestays to sleep.
Basically we got up and left the next morning early around 7:30. Our family didn’t have food for us, so we had to go catch the bus to Kunming. As we left, we could see the beautiful snow capped mountain that looms over the town. Then we drove for about 5 hours back to Dali where we had a really nice reflection lunch talking about our experiences on the trip. It was a cool room, one with all four walls with glass elevated above the rest of the restaurant so one could see the lake which is the same one as the Dai village’s. Then we hopped back on the bus for another 3hours. On the way, we played a massive game of mafia with 29 players-7 mafia, two cops, and two doctors. It was pretty epic. When we made it to Kunming, we were so happy to have a shower and wander the city. We got McDonalds (since we are all Western lovers) and wandered around the city. We felt really tired after such a long trip, so we turned in early. The next day we woke up to go to the Kunming airport to fly back to Beijing, which mercifully was warmer than Kunming.
After being able to think about this trip for 3 weeks after the fact, I still can’t really believe how much we did! It took me over 7,000 words to write it all out (No, I do have a life, I didn’t count them all, I wrote it out in word first before I transferred it over the internet). This was definitely a one of a kind experience. And although I didn’t spend a lot of time with one minority, I think I really learned a lot about them all. Living with them gave me a deeper appreciation of the people and how diverse Yunnan really is. If you have a chance, one should really go to Yunnan, because so much of the diversity, both ethnically and environmentally, are located in Yunnan and it’s a great overview of all of China.
Basically we got up and left the next morning early around 7:30. Our family didn’t have food for us, so we had to go catch the bus to Kunming. As we left, we could see the beautiful snow capped mountain that looms over the town. Then we drove for about 5 hours back to Dali where we had a really nice reflection lunch talking about our experiences on the trip. It was a cool room, one with all four walls with glass elevated above the rest of the restaurant so one could see the lake which is the same one as the Dai village’s. Then we hopped back on the bus for another 3hours. On the way, we played a massive game of mafia with 29 players-7 mafia, two cops, and two doctors. It was pretty epic. When we made it to Kunming, we were so happy to have a shower and wander the city. We got McDonalds (since we are all Western lovers) and wandered around the city. We felt really tired after such a long trip, so we turned in early. The next day we woke up to go to the Kunming airport to fly back to Beijing, which mercifully was warmer than Kunming.
After being able to think about this trip for 3 weeks after the fact, I still can’t really believe how much we did! It took me over 7,000 words to write it all out (No, I do have a life, I didn’t count them all, I wrote it out in word first before I transferred it over the internet). This was definitely a one of a kind experience. And although I didn’t spend a lot of time with one minority, I think I really learned a lot about them all. Living with them gave me a deeper appreciation of the people and how diverse Yunnan really is. If you have a chance, one should really go to Yunnan, because so much of the diversity, both ethnically and environmentally, are located in Yunnan and it’s a great overview of all of China.