Mayan or Yi?
Saturday, May 07, 2005
The end is in sight
I only have one more day in China before returning home to Chiang Mai. I have had most enjoyable trip, but I am absolutely exhausted!
We did have quite an adventurous trip to Chuxiong today. We took a bus that traveled on a road that isn't officially opened yet. Once it is done, it will be wonderful, but it is horrible right now. We entered a tunnel that is under construction. It had lights for about the first .5 km, but then went pitch black in smog and thick dust. You literally could not see more than 10 meters in front of you with the headlights on. It was extremely scary.
We had some interesting sights once we entered Chuxiong. There is a park here dedicated to the Yi People (tribe). There are too many similarities to the Mayan and Aztec cultures to simply be coincidence. In fact, some of their artwork even looks similar. I will post a picture above.
Anyway, I will be ready to get back home to my wife and children. I have had enough of the beds that are hard as boards. I have thoroughly enjoyed the sights, the people that I have met, and most of the foods that I have tried. In fact, I might have had the very best jiao zi tonight that I have ever eaten!
I am looking forward to the 3 hour train ride to Kunming tomorrow morning. It will be a delightful change from the bad busses!
We did have quite an adventurous trip to Chuxiong today. We took a bus that traveled on a road that isn't officially opened yet. Once it is done, it will be wonderful, but it is horrible right now. We entered a tunnel that is under construction. It had lights for about the first .5 km, but then went pitch black in smog and thick dust. You literally could not see more than 10 meters in front of you with the headlights on. It was extremely scary.
We had some interesting sights once we entered Chuxiong. There is a park here dedicated to the Yi People (tribe). There are too many similarities to the Mayan and Aztec cultures to simply be coincidence. In fact, some of their artwork even looks similar. I will post a picture above.
Anyway, I will be ready to get back home to my wife and children. I have had enough of the beds that are hard as boards. I have thoroughly enjoyed the sights, the people that I have met, and most of the foods that I have tried. In fact, I might have had the very best jiao zi tonight that I have ever eaten!
I am looking forward to the 3 hour train ride to Kunming tomorrow morning. It will be a delightful change from the bad busses!
Sole Sewer
Sole Sewer in Chuxiong, China
This old woman has been sewing soles of handmade women's shoes for 45 years. She is 75 years old.
Leaning House in Old Chuxiong, China
Leaning House in Chuxiong, China. This form of architecture is quickly disappearing due to urban renewal projects.
Changing China
China: It is a changin! This sign in Old Town Chuxiong, China, is advertising new computers for sale.
Friday, May 06, 2005
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Better Bus Ride
I took two buses today; one from Qujing to Kunming and one from Kunming to Yuxi. The QJ-KG bus was the reverse of the one I took the day before, in more ways than one. We bought the tickets early, so we had seats on the second row. That helped immensely. Also, the bus didn't have any wogity wheels, so that helped, too. Finally, since we were sitting at the front, we couldn't see anyone throwing up, so that, obviously, was a bonus!
The bus from KG to YX was pretty good, too. We had seats 1 & 2. My seat back was broken, that is, it wouldn't stay in the "up" position. The road was new and smooth and it only took 1 hr 15 minutes for the whole trip. The fare was 30 RMB or about $3.75 or so. Not bad, not bad.
We arrived at 5:15 pm in Yuxi and are staying at the nicest hotel in town. (often, that isn't saying much for Chinese hotels!) This hotel is owned by a ciggarette company and there are ashtrays and matches everywhere. I think there are three sets in my room. There are no "non-smoking" rooms and the whole hotel has a faint smell of stale smoke. It isn't bad, but it sure isn't good.
We walked into the towna and toured around a little. We had Chinese dumplings (jiao tse) for dinner tonight. It was pretty good. I took the picture of the old beggar woman asleep on the street not too far from our restaurant. I really hate to see old people begging. It is a dirty rotten shame.I took two buses today; one from Qujing to Kunming and one from Kunming to Yuxi. The QJ-KG bus was the reverse of the one I took the day before, in more ways than one. We bought the tickets early, so we had seats on the second row. That helped immensely. Also, the bus didn't have any wogity wheels, so that helped, too. Finally, since we were sitting at the front, we couldn't see anyone throwing up, so that, obviously, was a bonus!
The bus from KG to YX was pretty good, too. We had seats 1 & 2. My seat back was broken, that is, it wouldn't stay in the "up" position. The road was new and smooth and it only took 1 hr 15 minutes for the whole trip. The fare was 30 RMB or about $3.75 or so. Not bad, not bad.
We arrived at 5:15 pm in Yuxi and are staying at the nicest hotel in town. (often, that isn't saying much for Chinese hotels!) This hotel is owned by a ciggarette company and there are ashtrays and matches everywhere. I think there are three sets in my room. There are no "non-smoking" rooms and the whole hotel has a faint smell of stale smoke. It isn't bad, but it sure isn't good.
We walked into the towna and toured around a little. We had Chinese dumplings (jiao tse) for dinner tonight. It was pretty good. I took the picture of the old beggar woman asleep on the street not too far from our restaurant. I really hate to see old people begging. It is a dirty rotten shame.
The bus from KG to YX was pretty good, too. We had seats 1 & 2. My seat back was broken, that is, it wouldn't stay in the "up" position. The road was new and smooth and it only took 1 hr 15 minutes for the whole trip. The fare was 30 RMB or about $3.75 or so. Not bad, not bad.
We arrived at 5:15 pm in Yuxi and are staying at the nicest hotel in town. (often, that isn't saying much for Chinese hotels!) This hotel is owned by a ciggarette company and there are ashtrays and matches everywhere. I think there are three sets in my room. There are no "non-smoking" rooms and the whole hotel has a faint smell of stale smoke. It isn't bad, but it sure isn't good.
We walked into the towna and toured around a little. We had Chinese dumplings (jiao tse) for dinner tonight. It was pretty good. I took the picture of the old beggar woman asleep on the street not too far from our restaurant. I really hate to see old people begging. It is a dirty rotten shame.I took two buses today; one from Qujing to Kunming and one from Kunming to Yuxi. The QJ-KG bus was the reverse of the one I took the day before, in more ways than one. We bought the tickets early, so we had seats on the second row. That helped immensely. Also, the bus didn't have any wogity wheels, so that helped, too. Finally, since we were sitting at the front, we couldn't see anyone throwing up, so that, obviously, was a bonus!
The bus from KG to YX was pretty good, too. We had seats 1 & 2. My seat back was broken, that is, it wouldn't stay in the "up" position. The road was new and smooth and it only took 1 hr 15 minutes for the whole trip. The fare was 30 RMB or about $3.75 or so. Not bad, not bad.
We arrived at 5:15 pm in Yuxi and are staying at the nicest hotel in town. (often, that isn't saying much for Chinese hotels!) This hotel is owned by a ciggarette company and there are ashtrays and matches everywhere. I think there are three sets in my room. There are no "non-smoking" rooms and the whole hotel has a faint smell of stale smoke. It isn't bad, but it sure isn't good.
We walked into the towna and toured around a little. We had Chinese dumplings (jiao tse) for dinner tonight. It was pretty good. I took the picture of the old beggar woman asleep on the street not too far from our restaurant. I really hate to see old people begging. It is a dirty rotten shame.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Horrible Bus Ride
Today, I took a bus from Kunming to Qujing, in Yunnan Province, China. It was the worst bus ride of my life! First of all, we had the very back seats in the bus which is always bumpier than the rest of the bus. Then, have you ever been to the supermarket and got the shopping cart with the "wogity-wogity" wheel? Well, we got the bus with the "wogity-wogity" wheel. One (or more) of the back wheels were severely out of balance and the whole back end of the bus shook when we got over 60 kph. I normally don't get car sick, but, to be honest, I did everything I could to not be sick. One little kid in particular "blew chunks" more than once; the second time, all over his mom. Yuck! There were many people who got sick on this bus. Thank goodness it was a non-smoking bus or I really would have been sick. Chinese public buses have "stewardesses" who assist you along the trip. This stewardess passed out bottles of water and plastic 'bus sick' bags. It was pretty gross.
We made it on in to Qujing where we had a wonderful lunch and a great tour of this little city. It is supposedly the second largest city in Yunnan with about 1.5 million people. It has a KFC, but the westernization stops there!
Tomorrow, we are headed back to Kunming to catch another bus to Yuxi. Hopefully, the bus ride tomorrow will be lots better!
We made it on in to Qujing where we had a wonderful lunch and a great tour of this little city. It is supposedly the second largest city in Yunnan with about 1.5 million people. It has a KFC, but the westernization stops there!
Tomorrow, we are headed back to Kunming to catch another bus to Yuxi. Hopefully, the bus ride tomorrow will be lots better!
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Some seed fell on the path
Some seed fell on the path where it was quickly eaten by birds. Matt 13:4
This is wheat that was harvested, but was lost in the collection.
China has Changed!
OH MY GOODNESS! I can't believe how much China has changed in the past 15 years! I first visitied China in Feb 1988. The things that strike me the most are:
many, many fewer bicycles
many, many more personal cars
huge, beautiful buildings
cell phones everywhere
western items galore
western stores (Wal-Mart, Carrefour)
internet availability
new roads
western restaurants (Pizza Hut, McDonalds, KFC)
not being stared at as much because they have never seen foreigner before
coffee houses everywhere (even in the little cities) Starbucks is only the mega citiesEven though China is changing, it is still CHINA! Today, I had lunch at Pizza Hut in Kunming. It was really good. They were advertising some new things. One of them was e-coupons on their website. The other was an ad for Oolong Chicken Comsume. (Tea Chicken Soup) Ugh!
many, many fewer bicycles
many, many more personal cars
huge, beautiful buildings
cell phones everywhere
western items galore
western stores (Wal-Mart, Carrefour)
internet availability
new roads
western restaurants (Pizza Hut, McDonalds, KFC)
not being stared at as much because they have never seen foreigner before
coffee houses everywhere (even in the little cities) Starbucks is only the mega citiesEven though China is changing, it is still CHINA! Today, I had lunch at Pizza Hut in Kunming. It was really good. They were advertising some new things. One of them was e-coupons on their website. The other was an ad for Oolong Chicken Comsume. (Tea Chicken Soup) Ugh!
Friday, April 29, 2005
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