7 Days in China

Well what a week it’s been for a while there we thought that this blog would not make the net. China does not permit blogging and all sites are blocked. Have inserted some photos from the Mekong trip which we didn't have in time for the last blog. Our experiences in China over the past week may appear very negative and perhaps our naivety shows through, however it has been such a surprise, disappointment and contrast to the rest of Asia we have experienced so far.  China is a progressive modern country economically and industrially but socially is way behind the rest of SE Asia. They are very insular, rude and appear to be ignorant of anything outside their country other than commercial brands and designer clothes even if the spelling is different. Below is our 7 day (intended 57 days) in China.

John inspecting the quality of work in the village

We were hoping to take the slow boat to China via the Mekong River, again, but due to a lack of numbers (now quite understandable) the service was cancelled. Instead we caught the SLOW bus to China from Huay Xia (Laos) to Jinghong. Thinking that the buses couldn’t get any worse than the one to Luang Prabang we were unpleasantly surprised to see what our 12hr journey entailed. Crossing the border into China and the scenery were the only pleasures of the day. Having to tolerate constant spewing and spitting the entire trip we finally arrived in Jinghong on dark in the pouring rain. The nightmare continued, finding that no-one could speak or understand a single word of English and all signs other than a few street signs were in Chinese script. We caught a tuktuk to nowhere as he couldn’t find our accommodation even though we showed him the name in Chinese script (Lonely Planet has Chinese script for everything and place in the book). We began roaming the streets and eventually found a place to stay, with intentions of securing better accommodation the next day. The room was big and comfortable but the bathroom had a squat toilet and a very unpleasant odour. All communication was done with hand signals. Our next day was sunny and we explored the main streets, organised bus tickets to Kunming and organised a phone card with the help of a food stall young lady who spoke perfect English, she had been to university and when asked why she was working a food stall her reply was she didn’t wish to be a white collar worker. The phone card proved to be a waste of money as the balance check was spoken in Chinese unlike all other cards so far which display the value on the screen, again lack of basic communications did not help. Found a couple of decent restaurants however the food was not a match on Thailand’s.

Water Buffalo along the Mekong River

Arrived at the bus station the next day early hoping the next stage would be better. After getting on the bus (thankfully much better than the last), we were each handed a plastic bag, thinking it was for our rubbish (as one would). How wrong we were!! Instead they were for people to spit in, men and women alike! A filthy, dirty Chinese habit that must predate western history.  As the 10hr trip unfolded John began to feel the effects of a Chinese belly upset, cause unknown. About an hour into the trip the bus was pulled over by police in army uniform, one sporting an AK47 assault rifle. They boarded the bus and intimidatingly demanded identification from everyone and then after some bickering everyone was ordered off the bus except us, whereby luggage was removed and searched thoroughly. John decided to get off to watch proceedings but decided it wise not to photograph, he did however confirm which luggage belonged to us which they declined to search. This was lucky as John’s bag was full of drugs (prescription of course!!!). This whole procedure took about an hour before the bus was allowed to move on.  The trip continued, the lunch/toilet stop was a memorable experience, unfortunately, and is an entire story on its own (we hear that tourists describe toilet experiences in China like war veterans discuss battles). We arrived at Kunming an hour before dark and eventually found out that the bus stopped approx 20+ km out of town. From here we had to catch a local bus, thanks to some very basic communications and again hand signals with a security guard. We finally arrived in the city centre and by this time John was feeling much worse for wear, vowing never to catch another Chinese bus again, we then headed for the first decent hotel we could find which just happened to be the Marriot, expensive but very nice after our ordeal. Surprisingly, even at the Marriot, English is extremely basic and at the information/ tourist desk non-existent.

Taste testing the local rice whiskey with our guide Kee in foreground

After some R&R and further investigations into getting around China we felt that we were constantly running into brick walls, frustrated and bewildered by this TOTALLY different Asian country, from our previous experiences we’ve had to date. It seemed fruitless to continue through China on our own so we reluctantly decided to cut and run. In our opinion the only ways to see China is on an organised tour or hire your own Chinese guide for the duration. You can’t even arrange your own transport other than buses and trains, you must go through an agent and pay at least twice the local rate an issue not raised in Lonely Planet book. After two days at the Marriot we headed down to the accommodation we originally planned to stay (recommended by Lonely Planet), it was very comfortable and cost effective.

Kunming, China. A small provincial city

We decided to fly back to Vientiane in Laos where we could continue on our journey but in the reverse direction. It took another 3 days before we could catch a flight so we had to fill in some time. Because of the language barrier and size of Kunming (size of Brisbane and approx  6 million people) it was impossible to visit any sights on our own so a highlight was a visit to Carrefour (French supermarket chain worldwide). Unlike all others we had visited in SE Asia this one stocked some  local delicacies such as live toads, tortoises and what looked like skinned cats dead thankfully in the poultry section. Cleaning was very thorough in the meat and vegetable section as we witnessed the same mop being used to not only clean the floor but cutting benches as well. No wonder I was sick still and the locals are always coughing and spitting.

Fancy a cuppa? Tea bundles in China

Everyone is used to beautiful Chinese food around the world, however this is not the case in Kunming, Jinghong or probably the whole of China, surprisingly its bland, tasteless and meat if any very dubious. One dish we had was ordered from pictures as no English and it looked like chillied chicken. It was chicken but not the flesh it was chicken stomachs sliced similar to the way we dissected them in Biology classes. Chicken feet dishes were also very popular. Other dishes were inedible. Thankfully the rice was ok.

What a contrast the old and new of China

Besides the hazards of eating in China, walking down the footpath is dangerous as it’s where the electric motorcycles are allowed to traverse whenever they feel like moving of the road to avoid the traffic jams. You can’t hear them approach and when close they beep their horns and head straight for you, making you leap out of the way.

Well the day finally arrived so it was up early to avoid the worst of the traffic jams. We headed to reception to check out, collect our key deposit and arrange a taxi for the airport. When asked if she could call us a taxi the receptionist said in chinglish it was not hotel policy and that we could go out to the front street and hail one. John said it was Monday morning and raining it would be unlikely that any taxi would stop for a couple of wet foreigners with luggage. She just smiled and turned her back. Luckily a taxi turned up that minute at the entry to drop of a local guest. We just about flew in through the doors and indicated the airport on our map. No way was he leaving without us. Off we went and 30 minutes later stage 1 of our escape was complete.

Exit stage left

Stage 2 was completed after an airport bus trip to a distant part of the runway as Laos Airways is not permitted direct access to the terminal. Once in the plane the boot was on the other foot and we took great pleasure in seeing the frustration of the Chinese passengers who could not fill in their Laos arrival paperwork as it was in Lao and English. We were welcomed with a smile and the best flight food with endless coffee we have ever experienced.

Victory Monument  Vientiane, Laos
Know as the vertical runway as built with concrete the U.S gave Laos to build an airport in 1969

Arriving in Vientiane 2 hrs later we headed for our hotel, booked in then headed to the closest bar about 50m away and drank  Beerlao for the rest of the afternoon, chatted to some locals and tourists. Great drop and as good as Bingtang (Indonesian beer).

We now feel relaxed and looking forward to continuing our adventure albeit based on a reduced schedule which could allow for either increasing our stays or adventuring to other places and countries.

                                      Cheers and Beers for now (in this case very welcomed Beerlao)
                                                                                        J&J