Thursday, May 23, 2013

kunmingling


As our train to Kunming sped along, my father decided to head to the dining car to get some water. Entering the car, the head chef spotted him, and shout out "YO!" to no one in particular. Perhaps the chef was calling over a waiter, perhaps merely announcing my father's presence, regardless, on hearing this startling exclamation, my father jumped. This of course amused all of the Chinese passengers, and as they laughed, my father communicated his desire to purchase water. Leaving the dinning car, my father stopped at the exit, turned toward the chef, and shouted out "YO!" This time all the Chinese passengers turned around startled, as my father left the compartment chuckling. 


We both went to sleep fairly early that night. Having the compartment to ourselves, we were able to take the bottom two bunks. Then at 11:00 at night, the train stopped, and there was a knock at our door. It turns out that we had guests after all. My father shot out of our commandeered bed  and sprang, with amazing agility, up to the top bunk. The couple that joined us had a baby in tow, and I could be forgiven for being concerned that I wouldn't be sleeping much. My fears were unjustified, as the tiny tot was a perfect gentleman the whole trip, and we waived goodbye to our guests who departed around 7:00 in the morning.

The rest of our morning involved a dramatic change of scenery. We were now properly in the mountains. Kunming is 2,000 meters above sea level. That's more than a mile. As our train climbed ever higher, we gazed out at the incredible engineering that made our journey possible. Through countless tunnels cut into the mountain side, and endless platforms raised up hundreds of feet from the valleys below, we rose ever higher out of the rain-soaked rice fields and into the arid highlands.

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a blurry picture through a dirty window, but you can see the tracks winding through mountain.

We arrived in Kunming at 11:00, quickly joining the teeming masses leaving the station. Securing a cab, we sped toward a hotel where we would only be spending one night before resuming our sleeper train schedule. Kunming is a city under construction. The honorific can be applied to most Chinese cities, but the level of construction going on in Kunming distinguishes this capital of the Yunnan Province.  The city is in the process of building a metro system, and in doing so, they have torn up most of the major roads in town. More on this later.

Arriving out our hotel, we were able to check in by 11:30, and by half-past noon, we were showered and ready to hit the town. The first order of business was to mail some post cards. I had a map of central Kunming in my guidebook, and it's (criminally negligent) scale suggested that the post office was right up the road. Thus began our principle activity in Kunming: walking. 

Walking down the sidewalk toward the post office was complicated by the fact that more often than not, there was no sidewalk. Metro-related construction meant that where once there was a perfectly good (and safe) place for pedestrians to stroll along, now there was a 60 foot hole in the ground. So we were directed to walk in the street. 

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walking (not dancing) in the street

I have probably not devoted enough of this blog to explaining the synchronized chaos that is Chinese driving. Lanes - indeed direction of travel - are more suggestions than enforced rules. You can always, always pass someone, even if that means veering into oncoming traffic or into pedestrian ways. To stop for a pedestrian must be considered a great dishonor, I've never seen it done. And of course, there's millions of mopeds, scooters, trikes, and bicycles swarming in and out of the gaps left by cars. 

It was into this maelstrom that my father and I strode. Every once in a while, a choice piece of sidewalk was made available, and we hurriedly scampered over to it. But for the most part, our walk consisted of a very consorted effort to not become a Chinese traffic statistic. We walked for about four blocks, then walked for about two more blocks, then consulted the map, then walked for another two blocks, then stood and waited to cross the street, then walked for a few blocks more. By the time I spotted the sign for the post office, my father and I had all but given up hope. We deposited our postcards, bought a few Chinese lottery scratch tickets, and began to head back the way we came.

We retraced about four blocks, before deciding that it was prudent to seek out some lunch. Buying some nuts and dried bananas from a vendor, we continued our search for real food. Hungry and footsore, we decided on a very small, very local joint that helpfully had pictures of the food. Using my camera to take pictures of each of the courses we wanted, I then showed the chef - who had a window from the kitchen to the dining room - and he quickly set about preparing our meal. The food was terrific. My father attests that it's the best he's had in China. The final bill for the two meals - plus a coupe of cokes - came to ¥27. About $2 a piece. Excellent.

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cooking up our orders

We didn't know it then, but that would be the highlight of our day. Walking became something of an art form who's medium my father and I practiced over the next five hours. We walked to a central squire. Then walked through markets. Then walked to a shopping district. Then just walked. Outside of a few museums that closed early, Kunming didn't have much to offer. My guidebook steered us this way and that until finally I decided that we should take a cab out to Kunming University, which was reported to have wonderful little cafes.

The problem was, no cab driver would take us there. I managed to get within a few kilometers of the university, on damn road that led there, less than a 10 minute drive, and the cab drivers kept turning me down. I went from annoyed, to frustrated, to incensed. Eventually (after dabbling in some more walking) by father and I hoped on a #5 bus that may or may not be heading to the university. For ¥1, we hadn't made a major investment. The bus took us most of the way toward the university, before veering left onto a street that, for all I knew, led to our doom. We quickly exited the bus and (surprise!) walked the rest of the way to the university. We managed to circle 3/4 of the university before finding a way into the grounds, and enjoyed a break in a little grocery store-cum-cafe.  I'd hoped to find an English Language Bookstore that had been advertised, but after walking two or three blocks fruitlessly, we gave up. Boarding a mystery bus (I had sworn off taxis for the day) we managed to get back to the shopping district, and walked the seven or eight blocks back to our hotel.

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a sea of mopeds near the university

Once there, we purchased two Budweisers, which came in early-70's era pull-top cans. Exhausted from our urban marathon, we gorged on the nuts we had procured earlier, then went to sleep without any supper. I had hopes that Kunming would not be a total wash, but those hopes would have to be realized the next day... 

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