It never felt like I was on vacation until I got to Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai with my e-ticket in hand. I was off and although it was going to take a few stops to get me there, I was excited. I had spent a good few weeks going through different options for the summer and found that Yunnan had the best of everything I was looking for: beautiful landscapes, interesting people, and great food. My first stop was the tropical city of Jinghong in Xishuangbanna at the southernmost tip of Yunnan.
I got into Jinghong at around 5pm and immediately felt the tropical humidity and muggy air as I climbed down the stairs from the plane. Finally some real summer! Thailand, this is not, but the weather certainly wouldn’t tell you. Coming in from Shanghai I had had my fair share of hot weather in June but there was nothing comparable to the kind of hot I felt in Jinghong. The heat has also left an influence on the way of life here as the city would come to a stand-still between 1-3pm when the sun was at its hottest (Avg weather there was around 33+ ) and the citizens of the city would literally nap wherever they found themselves - at first I found it amusing but I soon found myself needing the break and rest from the intense heat too. It was no wonder that the shower at my hostel didn’t have any hot water either since anyone would just crave a cold shower the minute they’d come back from any outing.
Jinghong didn’t have much to showcase other than it’s intense blue skies, friendly people, great food, and scenic hikes – and that is exactly what drives people to come here. I definitely took advantage of all it had to give me. My first few days were spent exploring the city: The wonderful and sometimes bizarre markets, the botanical gardens, the palm tree lined streets, the delicious Thai food. The markets were my favourite seeing that I could spend hours looking at everything. The vendors also had a great time trying to sell me everything from frogs to pigeons, fish heads to chillies, from cow insides to chicken gizzards.
I also took the opportunity one night after a full meal of Pad Thai to have a full-body massage done at a blind-massage center, which isn’t something I would normally do but heck I was on vacation!!! I had to! That was an experience on itself only because I had no idea what to expect. It took me a while to find the place (I had by the time I left Jinghong, accumulated 3 maps, and all 3 were wide of the mark...) but once I got in I was told to pick a treatment and a number; each masseuse is assigned a number and if you are a returning customer and liked your last massage you can pick the same “number”... Because I had never been there I was just given a random number and told to go into the first room to my left.
It was a very plain, beige room with three beds and no lights. My “blind” masseuse followed me in and just pointed to the bed (hmmm ever see a blind man point?). Apparently I was to lie on the bed, face down with my clothes on. Hm, ok I thought so far not so scary. He then draped a white sheet over me and at this point another client came in with her masseuse on the last bed in the room. At least now I wasn’t alone under a white sheet with a blind massage therapist.
A few minutes later he was working on my shoulders over the sheet, and I was in heaven. I also caught him checking his watch a few times so maybe he had been only a little blind but I left satisfied and incredibly relaxed. 40rmb well spent if I should say so myself.
I was picked up the next morning at 8am along with two American girls and driven out deep in the Xishuangbanna hills to do a one day trek. We had gone through a little company owned by a brother-sister duo who specialized in treks, and for a small price we were driven 2 hours out of town and hiked along a stream that sliced through rice fields and into the thick forest towards a little waterfall. We spent the majority of 6 hours trying not to get eaten by tropical mosquitoes, hopping from slippery rock to slippery rock in the currents, and climbing over and under fallen tree trunks. It was rousing to be going through tropical forests deep in Xishuangbanna and alone amongst the woods, and we felt pretty darn privileged… Even covered in sweat and mud.
My time in Jinghong ended that evening after having a delicious meal at a local Dai restaurant with my new friends, and after having finished packing I made my way out to the bus station to get on my first sleeper bus. I wasn’t sure what to expect, having heard many different stories I had a few ideas of what I would find but lo and behold, I boarded a brand-new bus – I had gotten lucky! This particular bus had two aisles separating three rows of very narrow bunks and my assigned bunk was the very first on the door side which meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about any of my belongings getting stolen as no one would venture openly to the front of the bus where the driver and “hostess” were located to go through a foreigner’s things. After laying down and making sure all of my things were secure, I buckled myself down and tried to fall asleep. Unfortunately the ride did not agree with an older Dai lady directly behind me and she spent most of the night throwing up into little plastic bags. My attempts at sleep had now become attempts at blocking out the sounds of empty gags.
Luckily my bunk was located against the windows and I was able to look out into the night sky and noticed something I hadn’t seen in ages having been in Toronto and Shanghai – Stars! Millions of little diamonds dotting the blackest sky I had ever witnessed. I don’t remember ever seeing so many and I’ll forever remember these skies that led me to Yuanyang.
The airport in Jinghong
Some ducks lined up at the market
Trecking in the Jinghong hills
xx
The great game of Mahjong
