Nu Jiang valley

I had heard that the Nu River valley in western Yunnan Province is a beautiful, untouristed area. It was part of a resupply obstacle called "The Hump" (due to the high mountain ranges) in World War II. I shared that information with some of my fellow travelers and Paresh from England and I decided to check it out for ourselves. We weren't disappointed.

The Nu river (Nu Jiang) starts in Tibet, flows through western Yunnan and enters Myanmar, where it is called the Salween. It is entirely undammed. It is powerful. The current makes the Misourri look like a kiddie pool (and, amazingly, we saw a group of young boys playing in the Nu). There are dozens of areas with strong rapids. The photo below only begins to show the river's power:

From China

To follow the river in Yunnan, you must start in Liuku and work your way north. The river is surrounded by imposing mountains, which are dotted with small farms. Some of the fields were as much as 1,000 feet up the side of the steep mountains. I'm sure they don't go in to town regularly. We covered about 300 kilometers and walked the last 10, where we saw the best views of all. I'll just let the photos speak for themselves:

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As you can see, some incredible scenery. And lastly, an interesting sign we came across. Basically it says, if you cut the power lines, we are going to beat the crap out of you. Ahh, communism.

From China

And now I'm in Kunming, after taking my first-ever sleeper bus. A sleeper bus is three rows across of two beds high. The bed was just long enough to hold me and just wide enough for me to put my arms at my side. Not ideal sleeping conditions but it got me here. Kunming is just another million-plus city with lots of concrete. I plan to have some western food and perhaps enjoy a bit of nightlife. But in a couple days I will move on again--I just don't know to where.

Ganja?

Dali is a great town. There's a new city (that no one visits) and the old town, complete with city wall and gates. It's a backpacker haven. It also seems to be the stoner capital of China. And the drug dealers are everywhere. They're not who you'd imagine them to be, either. Ladies, often in the traditional clothing of the local people, sidle up alongside wandering foreigners and make known what they have to offer. "Ganja?" they'll whisper. "Hashish? You want to buy?"

To escape the skunky smell that seems to hover over the city, I rented a bike and went off around the nearby lake. We're talking a big lake. I pedaled for something like five hours the first day and covered more than 35 miles to the other side, where I spent the night in a small town. The next day, I wimped out and only went a few more miles before I took the ferry back to the other side. My ass and hands hurt from the less-than-perfect road conditions.

It's rice country, and it's harvest time, so I had a good glimpse at farm life in China. They cut the plant and then bash it into a basket to release the grains of rice, which is later spread on the ground to dry, often just on the road or highway.

Of course I snapped a few photos on my way around...

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...some nice views there, if I do say so myself.


Lastly, I've updated my map to reflect my travels so far in China. Play around with it and check out where I've been.


View Larger Map


Today or tomorrow, I'm heading out to some less touristed parts. The Hu river in very western Yunnan runs from Tibet, through Yunnan along the Myanmar border and into Myanmar in the south. It's apparently quite a beautiful area. May be away from the Internet again for a few days (the agony!), but I'll have more up soon enough.

The bare necessities

A quick update on my whereabouts。。。 I‘m in Dali， a pretty popular tourist/backpacker town in northwestern Yunnan Province。 Last posｔ，　Ｉwas in Shangri La， near the Sichuan border。 From there I went to Lijiang， which has an old town that’s been labeled a Unesco World Heritage site， but feels more like Disney Land。 Dali also has an old town， but it‘s home to more practical things， rather than street after street of souvenir stalls。I plan to spend a few days in the area，as there’s plenty to do。 Dali sits right next to a lake，and I intend to hire a bike and go around the lake over two or three days。 Some nice villages to stop at along the way。 After that， I‘m debating over a couple options。 More later。


And now for some basics， which I‘m sure you’ll be interested in。 At least my parents are every time Ｉtalk to them。

How/what do Ｉeat？

I haven‘t gone hungry yet。 And I’ve eaten remarkably little western food。 I‘ve had a cheeseburger twice and the odd order of fries at a hostel。 But typically， it’s Chinese all the way。I tend not to eat at hostels， as it is quite a bit more expensive than eating at a neighborhood restaurant。 I can say/read only a few food-related things in Chinese， so Ｉdo tend to eat the same foods frequently。 I know how to order beef noodles， boiled dumplings and steamed buns like a pro， and I can read the symbols for those items。 Other times， I‘ll just point to something on the menu and hope it’s good。 Or if I‘m with a group of people， we can get several items to share， with rice。

It’s also fun to browse what street vendors have on offer and just ask for one of whatever they‘re serving up。 Usually quite tasty。 I‘ve had some amazing breads and fried dumplings。 My favorite dish so far was in Xian--Lamb soup with shredded bread， noodles and vegetables。 It felt like a bottomless meal。 Typically， I’ll spend about 30 to 60 cents for breakfast （usually some type of bread） and around 80 cents to 1。50 for lunch and dinner， unless I‘m slurging。 A homemade burger and fries today cost me three bucks。


How do I communicate？

People speak English in the weirdest of places。 I’ve found more people able （or willing） to speak it in smaller towns than in Beijing。 But it‘s not necessary。 Hand signals work wonders。 You can come up with a mime for nearly everything。 Also， the limited Chinese　I know comes in handy nearly every day。 I‘m pretty proficient in numbers and know other important words like “today” and “tomorrow，” which are essential for arranging transportation。

So regardless of what you might have thought （or hoped for）， I’m not entirely helpless here in China。 I‘m getting fed （good food） and I’m feeling quite unrestricted。



And since I know you’ve been so worried， Yes I‘m feeling quite a bit better。 I don’t know whether the herbal rememdy is to blame or time and warmer weather have done the trick。 Either way， fever is gone and just a bit of cough left。

Slip slidin' away... (almost)

The route from Xiangcheng in souther Sichuan to Zhongdian (now called Shangri La, in a tourism ploy) in northern Yunnan is amazingly scenic. You go over two very high mountain passes and are surrounded by beautiful rocky peaks.

Such as this one:

From China

But this was to be the first day in China that I've actually felt in danger.

The first pass took us back and forth, slowly up the side of an enormous mountain to a prayer-inducing altitude. On one side is the mountain. On the other is nothing but a vast expanse; a river is somewhere several thousand feet below. When there is a barrier, which seem to be quite arbitrarily placed, it surely won't stop a heavy bus.

But still, we made it up and down just fine and had our lunch break at the bottom. Getting going again, we come up to a muddy stretch of road--probably worse than the one I encountered last week. I would have sworn we'd end up stuck. The driver doesn't bat an eye. It's full speed ahead, and he blasts right through it. It was far from the only mud slick of the day.

An hour later, we're halfway up the side of a mountain. We've been criss-crossing up the side of the beast without issue when up ahead, I notice another horrible mud slick. I don't mean like wet, runny mud. I mean thick, gooey mud. The kind you lose a shoe in.

Half the bus is asleep (I have no idea how). The Chinese guy next to me looks worried. He stands up to get a better look. I do too. I don't know how we're going to do it. It's mud from the cliff wall to the edge--the edge of a 2,000-plus-foot drop. Can those trees hold us? I think. Once again, the driver is gung-ho into the mud track. We slide, we get stuck briefly, and we slide some more. If we weren't in an all-wheel-drive bus, we would have fishtailed right off the side of the mountain.

The Chinese dude and I are holding onto the seats in front of us for dear life, as though that will save us in the event of a fall. But we pull through. I breathe again and look over. Chinese dude makes the hand motion of his heart pounding. I feel the same. And that was only the first of many muddy paths in the road.

Going through one, a guy in the front starts chatting with the driver.

"How 'bout them White Sox?" he asks, handing the driver a cigarette.

"Yea, hell of a deal" he replies, as he lights up, oblivious to the fact that we are mere feet from certain doom.

Or they could have been talking about the Cubs; my Chinese isn't that good.


Bottom line, this was--bar none--the best driver I have ever seen. He knew exactly where to place the wheels, exactly what gear to use. Someone with less experience would have put us all in peril. So I hope he gets a nice $5/month raise this year.

By the way, if you're afraid of flying...take a bus trip in China.