Pleasant Trip Down Southern Yunnan
Posted On Thursday, December 6, 2012 at at 1:40 AM by Alvin
Enjoying The Sun In Sub-Tropical Xi Shuang Ban Na (西雙版納)
Posted On Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at at 6:59 PM by Alvin
Just when we thought nothing would top the Yuan Yang Rice Terraces on this trip, Xi Shuang Ban Na (西雙版納) changed all that. Located in the most southern parts of Yunnan bordering Myanmar and Laos, Xi Shuang Ban Na offered such an unique atmosphere with sub-tropical flora and fauna, exotic Buddhist temples, the meeting grounds of numerous minority races of (傣、哈尼、布朗、基诺、拉祜、佤、瑶族) and the capital city Jing Hong (景洪) had that laid-back, relaxing feel that one could hardly find in China. We arrived in XSBN via the famous "tea town" of Pu' Er (普洱) boasting arguably China's most famous tea - we visited the little town's many city parks (洗馬河公園 and 梅子湖公園) before taking the three hours' bus to XSBN.
On stepping down the bus, we felt that we had been transported to somewhere tropical outside China except everything was still in Chinese and everyone still spoke Putonghua. The streets were lined with swaying palm trees, the temperature was a whopping 29C and the buildings and architecture had strong Laos and Myanmar influences. We spent time visiting the famed tropical gardens (熱帶花卉園 and 民族風情園 ), strolled along the pleasant Lancang River (瀾滄江- 湄公河) which originated in Qinghai Province and which was to become known as the mighty Mekong River lower down stream in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia territories. The temples at Manting Garden (曼聽公園曼飛龍白筍塔, 總佛寺) were outstanding and we spent an hour just wandering around the enormous grounds. Worth a special mention were the hundreds of peacocks we saw in the garden as XSBN had long been known as the home of the golden peacock (金孔雀的故鄉). 
Stunning Rice Terraces Of Yuan Yang (元陽梯田) Via A String Of Pleasant Historical Towns (玉溪,建水,個舊)
Posted On Friday, November 30, 2012 at at 8:02 PM by Alvin
On our way to the famed Yuan Yang Rice Terraces (元陽梯田), we passed through a few interesting towns where we took time off to sample life in China's lesser known parts - 玉溪,建水,個舊. As it happened, the days were spent under a blue sky which made the sight-seeing that much more pleasant. 玉溪 boasted the country's famous son - 聶耳, as he was the artist who composed the National Anthem and there was a plaza, theatre and museum built to commemorate his achievements. 建水 on the other hand was an ancient town paved with cobble-stones and dotted with ancient buildings all over - we stayed in a house which was converted from a 200 years-old government house, we dined at 香滿樓 and 楊家花園 which made you feel that you had been time-transported back 300 years. The atmosphere and food at 楊家花園 worth a special praise. 個舊 used to be a mining town rich in tin although we hardly saw any evidence to its glorious past, except a stone plague erecting here and there as gentle reminders to its glorious past. The town was tidy and spotless and we had a relaxing lunch by the lake of 金湖.
And so it's on to the much anticipated Yuan Yang rice terraces where we stayed for 2 nights. Arriving close to sun down, the town located at over 1,600m was home to the local Hani (哈尼) peoples who were out on their sunset strolls and chit-chats and the temperature was a decent 21C. Against the run of play, the following morning we were shocked to find that the whole town was strouded in icy thick fog ! Out came the woolly jumpers as the temperature went into single digits, and we were praying on both knees for the sun to come out so we could at least catch a glimpse of ANY rice terrace. Luckily, we had a spare day on our hands and the thick fog soon began to clear by mid-morning and we had the rest of our stay basking in clear sunshine.
The rice terraces were truly un-intentional man-made art at its highest form as the Hani peoples spent the past thousands of years perfecting the art of cultivating rice paddies on steep slopes. Winter time was the season for photography enthusiasts as the terraces were filled with water which shimmered and reflected the beautiful dawn and dusk sun rays. We also enjoyed walking amongst the Hani villages (15km !) and marvelled at the all-round vistas of these famed rice terraces appearing and hiding in turns in the receding and advancing ground mists. A magical experience !
Star Attractions Of Kunming (昆明) - Stone Forests (石林) And Dianchi (滇池)
Posted On Friday, November 23, 2012 at at 10:54 PM by Alvin
Having fond memories of our times in Yunnan (雲南) 5 years ago on our last leg of the Indo-China journey, we could hardly wait as this time we ventured back to beautiful Yunnan and hit south towards the Laos and Myanmar borders, enjoying a bit of warmth while the rest of China embraced itself for the onset of Winter. We first based ourselves in Kunming and visited the well-known Stone Forests (石林) - an area covering 400 square kilometers of stunning geologically-sculpted limestones, lying around 100km southeast of Kunming. The UNESCO national geological park was divided into different sections (大石林, 小石林, 步哨山, 乃古石林 etc.) covering calcium- and magnesium- rich spiky spires in different environments. We easily spent an entire day exploring the nooks and crannies mostly on foot, of this vast and awe-inspiring work-of-art from mother nature and we dragged ourselves back to Kunming for a late dinner at 9P.M.
The following day we spent a relaxing time on the lake side of Dianchi (滇池) where thousands of Siberian seagulls spent their Winter months basking in the warm sunshine and occasionally having a casual paddle on the lake. We moved on to the garden of (大觀樓) where Kunming residents enjoyed their weekends and we even spent a pleasant half an hour on the Ferris wheel where we had a commanding view over the nearby Dianchi. All in all, a nice day out as we readied ourselves for the next star Yunnan attraction - the famed photogenic Yuanyang rice terraces (元陽梯田) !
Lasting Impressions Of Tibet (西藏) And Qinghai (青海)
Posted On Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at at 6:30 PM by Alvin
It had been an amazing 3 weeks that we spent in these extraordinary lands - gasping for air and slowly getting used to the high altitude, mesmerised by the pilgrims and worshippers, rewarded with stunning vistas and beautiful temples with every turn we made and last but not least, the special atmosphere that was so distinctive and memorable. I would just say it with a few pictures. Enjoy !
