On the Road with Brent & Erika

We are in stunning, vast China now! We decided to pass up the hill tribe trek for now (we might do one in Vietnam later--we'll see). For one, we were tired after the Gibbon Experience, and two, we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to see as much of China as possible. We took a 21 hour sleeper bus from Luang Namtha, Laos across the China border and into the city of Kunming.


Brent took this from his bunk window in the bus to Kunming.

Both Brent and me had some trouble at the border with our passports. If anyone has had the privilege of seeing Brent's passport photo, you might recall that he took that photo sporting a nice moustache that makes him look like a 30-something Mexican. Three border workers stared at his photo and back at Brent and would not buy that they were one and the same. So then Brent busts out his driver's license, but in that photo Brent has a huge Grizzly Adam's beard--it only confirmed that this guy was into disguises and could not be trusted! It really took a long time of Brent smiling in different ways to convince them, and then my passport caused further suspicion with the maiden name/married name issue. It was really funny, but we were trying not to laugh. China is already a completely different feel from Southeast Asia. First of all, almost nobody speaks English, not even a little bit! So we are having quite an adventure communicating!!


The Man of Many Looks or The Master of Disguise?

The bus ride was really enjoyable. We were in these comfortable bunk beds with stunning views of China's southern landscape. I felt content looking out the window for hours! We also slept a lot, and when we arrived in Kunming, we got on another bus to the city of Lijiang, where we have spent the last three days.


This was my home for 21 hours (the lady next to me threw up half way through but luckily hit the trashcan perfectly)!

We got extremely lucky (thank you, God!) because on the bus to Lijiang, there was a young Chinese couple sitting in front of us (Chan and Ming). They study in Toronto, Canada so both had good English, and they took it upon themselves to take us under their wing. We ended up getting rooms next door to each other in Lijiang, eating several meals together and sightseeing for a day together. They were so nice, generous and hospitable! They translated so many situations for us, insisted on paying for many things and just went out of their way to show us around Lijiang. Also because of their presence, I ate more daring Chinese cuisine than I would have on my own. My most daring was duck tongue (pictured below!). I'm sure by the time we leave China, I'll have tried even more.


Chan and Ming


What do you want for dinner? The palace plotects the meat cubelets? Or sand candy elbow? (no wonder it's hard to navigate this country!)


Me eating duck tongue

A little bit about Lijiang...it's a quaint city surrounded by mountains with cobblestone streets. It's a city you can wander around and get lost in down the many narrow streets. The weather is also very cool due to the mountains so we have been enjoying that aspect for sure! Another interesting thing about this area are the local Naxi people. They are an ethnic minority in this region of China and are known for having the last existing written language based on pictures.

Scenes from the streets of Lijiang (Naxi women in blue clothing):














Finally, we took an excursion outside of Lijiang and hiked the Tiger Leaping Gorge. This is an extremely deep gorge formed by the Yangtze River. What a gorgeous place! We hiked in great temperatures, surrounded by jagged mountains, low-hanging clouds, cute little villages with the rushing river below us. After hiking for 4-5 hours, we stayed at an idyllic little guest house with a killer view and an amazing bed! I am a big fan of the Westin "heavenly bed," and I would dare to compare these two. We had a soft mattress, big, fluffy down pillows, and a white down comforter, which felt delicious in the cool open-window room. So, I slept really well, and enjoyed our 4 hours of hiking today immensely!


Typical village with terraced crops


Village scene


Our mountain guesthouse


View from guesthouse window following afternoon rain


Me in China's "heavenly bed"


Brent and I with the Yangtze behind us


Brent crossing a waterfall

Now our plan is to leave Lijiang tomorrow morning and fly to Xi'an, where the famous terra cotta warriors are located. We chose to fly versus taking the 53 hour train (no thank you!). So tonight we are just relaxing in beautiful, cool-weather Lijiang (someone told us it was over 100 degrees in Xi'an)! Until next time...thanks for tuning in...


The Daily Kitten--China style. That is for you, Carolyn!

--Erika