More Adventures!

(Heather)

Douglas Adams once wrote, “It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression, ‘As pretty as an airport.’” Well, in our case, I’d actually tweak this saying, and have it read “It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression ‘As pretty as a sleeper train from Kunming to Dali.’”

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I believe Timmy’s post left off with our adventures at (and after) the sound and light show in Yangshuo, so I’ll pick up from there. Wednesday morning we met our guide, Summer, in the lobby of the hotel, and hopped into the bus to head back to Guilin. Once in Guilin, we toured Fubo Hill, which is a peak named after an esteemed Chinese general that offers spectacular views of old Guilin and the surrounding karsts. The Fubo Hill scenic area also contains the 1000 Buddha Cave, which is a compelling site—it’s a limestone enclave wherein hundreds of Buddha carvings and sculptures can be found, alongside ancient Chinese poetry also inscribed into the walls. Some of the carvings and poems date back thousands of years, making the site even more poignant when you take a moment to really consider what you’re looking at, and how gosh darn long it has been there.

After Fubo Hill we toured the Reed Flute Cave, another geologic wonder. The Reed Flute Cave is also a limestone karst cave; this one has thousands of stalagmites and stalactites that, over the course of eons, have created visual masterpieces. As you tour the cave, the formations are labeled and illuminated according to what people have “seen” in the rock, pillars, crags, and pipes. I’ll be the first to admit—I really saw bok choy in the “bumper harvest” formation, and Santa in the “Santa Claus” formation (yes, Santa. I know).

Once our time at Reed Flute was over, we scuttled off to the airport to await our flight to Kunming. Once in Kunming, we had a quick dinner in the city, and then it was off to the train station to board the sleeper train. For those, like myself, whose previous experiences on sleeper trains have been plushy rides through Austria, well, this was different. All five of us (and a saintly stranger) crowded into one “compartment” containing six bunks. Please take the word “compartment” loosely, as there are merely partitions between each bunked section—no doors, no curtains between you and the main passageway. Hundreds of locals milled about, making dinner, preparing for bed, and generally looking perplexed at what on earth this group of ragtag American ruffians was doing on their train. In any case, despite some initial shock at the situation, the ride was quiet and smooth, and conducive to sleeping.

We arrived in Dali on Thursday morning, and were taken to our lovely hotel, which looks like something out of a Chinese opera—there are painted wooden carvings of fish, birds, and flowers in cobalt blue and emerald green on every corner of every building (I’m told this is traditional Bai architecture), and the courtyards (yes, plural) are teeming with lilies, koi ponds, and something that I think is jasmine but nevertheless smells intoxicatingly, ethereally good. Dali in general has proven to be breathtaking, as evidenced by our trip to the Chongsheng Temple and Three Pagoda cultural area. This area is surrounded by snow-capped Himalayan peaks, and features some of the oldest pagodas in China, and some of the few traditional edifices to survive the Cultural Revolution. Next to the three pagodas is the Chongsheng Temple area, which has been reconstructed and is a smaller-scale model of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The buildings in this complex are stunning—each is intricately decorated, and laden with gold or bronzed statues of Buddha or other local deities. Further, the buildings in the area reflect the culture and livelihoods of two of the key ethnic minorities in this part of China—the Yi and the Bai. In particular, some buildings have what look like miniature curved horns on the top, which represent the horns of the water buffalo, used by the mountain farming Yi people to plow their fields and till the earth. Likewise, other buildings have low, curved roofs, causing the tops to look from a distance like boats; these boats in turn symbolize the traditional fishing culture of the Bai people. In one of the highest buildings I encountered a prayer service by monks, replete with chanting and offerings of oranges, pomelos, Chinese dates, and incense. All of this beauty was only enhanced by the fact we were graced with crystal clear blue skies and puffy white clouds. This is how February should be everywhere.

Off to Shaxi Village tomorrow!

Cheers,
Heather