I don't know if I should bore all with an extremely long account of the missing 5 days but I'm surely glad we're out of the cold, into the warm embrace of Kunming once again. The past 5 days were eventful to say the least - one of pure doubt, torture, self-discovery, exhilaration, and amazement. Little did we expect that the journey to Zhongdian and Deqin was possible but we pressed on, and when we passed that hurdle, we found ourselves battling our wits with the weather, only to be rewarded by the sheer beauty that formed the essence of the excruciating ride.
The journey began on the 20th at Kunming, the heart of Yunnan Province. We were fortunate to have had the opportunity to celebrate Hari Raya Haji, or 'Gu Er Ban Jia Jie' as it is known here, with the local Muslim community. I wasn't used to the cold then but the thought of observing one of Islam's historical milestone in a foreign land kept us going. Literally, we were lost sheeps in a sea of unfamiliar faces, united by the solidarity of Muslim brotherhood. The rituals were somewhat different from what we are used to back in Singapore but it did not fail to capture the spirit of the festival. To have witnessed Islam thriving in Kunming was enlightening and humbling at the same time. One of the highlights during the 'Gu Er Ban' observation was a local Muslim girl, Ma Si Yi, whom we took a photo of.
That night, we literally dived into the wilderness by purchasing a sleeper bus ticket to Lijiang. A note to all: if you ever plan to travel in China by night, DO NOT even consider the sleeper bus. It is, to say the least, GERMS-ON-WHEELS. You get the ubiquitous spitting, nose-blowing, and if you're very lucky, the occasioanal vomitting, onto the carpeted floor of the bus. It is worst if you get the bottom row of the double-decker 'beds' for it is even remotely possible to configure what you just inhaled. And the silly thing was, we 'locked' ourselves up in the bus for an additional 45 minutes thinking that the bus has yet to reach Lijiang.
Lijiang, despite the blistering cold in the morning, was a darling, especially to budding and amateur photographers alike. There are countless photo opportuinities at every bend of this UNESCO-protected ancient Naxi town. It is easy to get lost in it's cobbled streets and you totally wouldn't mind it a bit but getting lost in its modern counterpart just across the street is a different story. That was what happened when we searched in vain for Lijiang's main bus station to purchase an onward ticket to Zhongdian only to discover that it was recently moved to another part of town. The worst part was even the locals seemed oblivious to such a major relocation.
Despite it's scenic location and photographic blessings, Lijiang was where I faced 2 major hurdles in the trip thus far - a stomach upset and the bitter cold. It could have been the spicy dinner in Kunming or the roadside satays but I won't point any fingers. As for the cold, let's just say that I totally underestimated the weather and it didn't help that the room wasn't equipped with a heater. Physical and environmental challenges aside, Zhongdian awaits.
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