So, our visit to Kunming has been short and sweet. Yesterday the beautiful sunshine brought the teeniest bit of warmth, which added to the general relaxed aura of the city. Not much to report from the city really; we settled into the vibe and just took it easy, with a cheeky bit of Christmas shopping.
A few odd sights dotted around the pedestrian shopping area...a line of Chinese people in doctor-esque white coats lining the pavements, giving not-so-relaxing massages to tired shoppers. We saw one man literally hoisted off his feet, back-to-back with the 'doctor' and yelping a little in relief/pain/who knows. Another sight was one that will stay with me a little longer...a peacefully sleeping little boy laid out on a fold out bed beside the pavement, tubes coming out from his stomach into a clear bag. His mother was sitting besides him, looking worried sick, with a hat for shopper contributions in front of them. Now, we're used to beggars regularly coming up to us, but this was something else altogether...I won't forget that in a hurry.
So, tomorrow morning we leave for Jinhong on a 10 hour bus ride (short by our standards!), the capital of the Xishuangbanna region. Before I sign off, just wanted to post an article I discovered today that is brilliantly written and has pretty much read my thoughts...Pico Iyer's 'Why We Travel'. The part about how big American chains can seem unfamiliar and exotic is particularly relevant for China; every city has dozens of KFCs and McDonalds, but they still have a distinct Chinese flavour that is alien to me. I'll end on a quotation from the article by a Spanish philosopher called Santayana that encompassed why Patrick and I travel: “There is wisdom in turning as often as possible from the familiar to the unfamiliar; it keeps the mind nimble; it kills prejudice, and it fosters humor.”
To roam the roads of lands remote/To travel is to live (Hans Christian Andersen)
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