Our adventures continued in Guiyang, which really wasn't a trip stop, but just a transition point from bus back to rail. We had a few hours before our train departed so we wondered down the road from the train station to get something to eat and buy snacks for the train journey. The town has grown significantly in the past 10-20 years and has a history a bit like the United States 'Wild West.' Originally it was occupied by minority tribes and the Chinese only had small garrisons established in the region to protect trade routes. However, after the Mongol invasions pushed through China and onward into central Asia, China grew more interested in occupying the region and began settling in the area.
Today it continues to be a major hub/cross roads for transportation and trade, hence my stop, and has also become a significant industrial hub for both raw material mining and production of iron, steel aluminum and further refinement into rail and aerospace parts and technology. Of course I didn't really know any of this during my stop and probably would not have noted the town at, if the town's folk had not gone out of their way to take note of me and my travel companions.
During our stop at the local grocer, we unwittingly became celebrities. The store looked like it was some sort of chain location, similar to a Safeway. It even had a similar color theme of red and white, but stores in Japan feel more European in their layout... somewhere between grocer and corner store. Just inside there was a little deli that served noodles and wonton, so we sat down for a light supper. Although we seemed to be an enjoyable oddity as the only white patrons, the meal passed pretty uneventfully.
At the end of the meal, some of the staff built up the courage to ask if they could take pictures with us. We agreed finding it a bit amusing ourselves, but we had also grown use to the fact that in China the tourist often is the attraction. However, when we posed for the picture they also added a member of the staff dressed in a customary outfit of the local minority group. She seemed almost like a store mascot, because we noticed a similar character on some of the advertisement posters around the store as well.
Then, when we wonder into the store to buy some snacks, the staff was very attentive and followed us through the store like shopping assistants, carrying our shopping baskets for us, offering recommendations on products, and complimenting us on our final selection, whatever it may be. We proceeded to check out and the entire staff gathered around as if fascinated by what these white people were buying in their grocery store. As each item was rung up one woman would read off the current total, which was clearly displayed for us on the monitor, and really, since we had no idea what she was saying, I can only assume her commentary was for the larger local audience: 'Five, ninety-five ladies and gentlemen, and the next item is a fine selection of instant noodles. Beep. Seven, twenty-five. Next up, instant coffee.'
Finally, after the items were bagged and and the crowd dissipated, we shook hands with our friendly bagging staff and headed for the doors. However, our exit was predicted, and the camera-man ran to the exits to film our departure with groceries in hand and a few friendly staff trailing a short distance behind. So, if you are ever watching grocery store commercials in Guiyang, watch out for me picking out a fine selection of junk food perfect for a train journey to Kunming. (Below: Even the statues at the train station were kind enough to offer new visitors advice and directions in Guiyang)
I really can't say much about Kunming, it was a short 24 hour stop and we just wondered through downtown and visited a local Green Lake Park. The park was interesting in that it was a bit more like a Chinese Garden. Laid out very precisely with artificial lakes, shrubs and tree trimmed and manicured for visual appeal. We had hoped to lay out on the grass somewhere and enjoy the sun, but the grass was for looking at not walking on. They had some paddle boats and inflatable clear plastic balls, which you could climb in and run around the lake like a Hamster 'Run-About Ball.' We wanted to try that but I guess they feared our western girth would sink the balls, and we were turned away.
The next morning we departed for Vietnam on a grueling 12 hour bus ride through the mountain passes of the border. The terrain leaving Kunming was rolling farmland broken up by rich red clay earth and a scattering of white limestone rocks. Initially the roads were straight and our pace was quick, smooth sailing, but then we began to climb into the mountains and the terrain closed in, the valleys grew steep and narrow and the road began to wind, hugging the contour lines and occasionally switching back on itself. The scenery was enjoyable but the combative driving in a large bus on narrow roads, with steep banks, began to make some of the crew sick. Before the final climb, and last pass, we stopped at a 'rest stop' for a breather and final bathroom break. The setting was picturesque, with a small gazebo sitting on a embankment above a stream that snaked up the valley beyond. However the facilities were just shy of a slit trench. A cement stall with an area to squat over a gutter that ran through the three stalls. The strategy was to use the stall on the uphill slope otherwise you had to deal with everything in your section of the trench as well as what ever was flowing past from the other two.
In the late evening we finally arrived at our border crossing point. The two nations are separated by a river and the two border towns face off across the river like to peacocks displaying their grand plumage to win a mate. We were welcomed into town by the warm glow of Vegas style display of street lights and neon signs, as the Chinese and Vietnamese boarder towns faced off across a river. However, just beyond the riverfront on both sides of the river reality sets back in, and you left asking yourself, is there really occupants on each side of the boarder staring longingly at the other thinking, 'Man it sure looks like they've got it made over there.'
All the bright lights, and displays of wealth and power, were distant second in the minds of our group, as we were busy trying to look unfazed by the long and nauseating bus journey, so we would not be held up at the boarder crossing on account of being 'ill.' We kept our distance from the guard points and fanned our friends that were feeling the worst, while our guide had our passports and immigration papers processed. Fortunately, we didn't raise any alarm and successfully made it through immigration and hiked across a footbridge into Vietnam. Enjoying the cool evening air before repeating the process successfully with the Vietnamese immigration team. Then, we boarded a pair of small vans for a final winding hill climb into the town of Sapa, a French Colonial Hill station, minority tribal region, and our first stop in Vietnam. As long as we survive the journey, which is dependent on our new drivers who have made this run too many times to believe the twisting road calls for any measure of caution, or even concern for oncoming traffic, or livestock in the dead of night... As my grandfather recalled of his voyage to America, 'Many travelers grew sick. I did not.'
Today it continues to be a major hub/cross roads for transportation and trade, hence my stop, and has also become a significant industrial hub for both raw material mining and production of iron, steel aluminum and further refinement into rail and aerospace parts and technology. Of course I didn't really know any of this during my stop and probably would not have noted the town at, if the town's folk had not gone out of their way to take note of me and my travel companions.
During our stop at the local grocer, we unwittingly became celebrities. The store looked like it was some sort of chain location, similar to a Safeway. It even had a similar color theme of red and white, but stores in Japan feel more European in their layout... somewhere between grocer and corner store. Just inside there was a little deli that served noodles and wonton, so we sat down for a light supper. Although we seemed to be an enjoyable oddity as the only white patrons, the meal passed pretty uneventfully.
At the end of the meal, some of the staff built up the courage to ask if they could take pictures with us. We agreed finding it a bit amusing ourselves, but we had also grown use to the fact that in China the tourist often is the attraction. However, when we posed for the picture they also added a member of the staff dressed in a customary outfit of the local minority group. She seemed almost like a store mascot, because we noticed a similar character on some of the advertisement posters around the store as well.
Then, when we wonder into the store to buy some snacks, the staff was very attentive and followed us through the store like shopping assistants, carrying our shopping baskets for us, offering recommendations on products, and complimenting us on our final selection, whatever it may be. We proceeded to check out and the entire staff gathered around as if fascinated by what these white people were buying in their grocery store. As each item was rung up one woman would read off the current total, which was clearly displayed for us on the monitor, and really, since we had no idea what she was saying, I can only assume her commentary was for the larger local audience: 'Five, ninety-five ladies and gentlemen, and the next item is a fine selection of instant noodles. Beep. Seven, twenty-five. Next up, instant coffee.'
Finally, after the items were bagged and and the crowd dissipated, we shook hands with our friendly bagging staff and headed for the doors. However, our exit was predicted, and the camera-man ran to the exits to film our departure with groceries in hand and a few friendly staff trailing a short distance behind. So, if you are ever watching grocery store commercials in Guiyang, watch out for me picking out a fine selection of junk food perfect for a train journey to Kunming. (Below: Even the statues at the train station were kind enough to offer new visitors advice and directions in Guiyang)
I really can't say much about Kunming, it was a short 24 hour stop and we just wondered through downtown and visited a local Green Lake Park. The park was interesting in that it was a bit more like a Chinese Garden. Laid out very precisely with artificial lakes, shrubs and tree trimmed and manicured for visual appeal. We had hoped to lay out on the grass somewhere and enjoy the sun, but the grass was for looking at not walking on. They had some paddle boats and inflatable clear plastic balls, which you could climb in and run around the lake like a Hamster 'Run-About Ball.' We wanted to try that but I guess they feared our western girth would sink the balls, and we were turned away.
The next morning we departed for Vietnam on a grueling 12 hour bus ride through the mountain passes of the border. The terrain leaving Kunming was rolling farmland broken up by rich red clay earth and a scattering of white limestone rocks. Initially the roads were straight and our pace was quick, smooth sailing, but then we began to climb into the mountains and the terrain closed in, the valleys grew steep and narrow and the road began to wind, hugging the contour lines and occasionally switching back on itself. The scenery was enjoyable but the combative driving in a large bus on narrow roads, with steep banks, began to make some of the crew sick. Before the final climb, and last pass, we stopped at a 'rest stop' for a breather and final bathroom break. The setting was picturesque, with a small gazebo sitting on a embankment above a stream that snaked up the valley beyond. However the facilities were just shy of a slit trench. A cement stall with an area to squat over a gutter that ran through the three stalls. The strategy was to use the stall on the uphill slope otherwise you had to deal with everything in your section of the trench as well as what ever was flowing past from the other two.
In the late evening we finally arrived at our border crossing point. The two nations are separated by a river and the two border towns face off across the river like to peacocks displaying their grand plumage to win a mate. We were welcomed into town by the warm glow of Vegas style display of street lights and neon signs, as the Chinese and Vietnamese boarder towns faced off across a river. However, just beyond the riverfront on both sides of the river reality sets back in, and you left asking yourself, is there really occupants on each side of the boarder staring longingly at the other thinking, 'Man it sure looks like they've got it made over there.'
All the bright lights, and displays of wealth and power, were distant second in the minds of our group, as we were busy trying to look unfazed by the long and nauseating bus journey, so we would not be held up at the boarder crossing on account of being 'ill.' We kept our distance from the guard points and fanned our friends that were feeling the worst, while our guide had our passports and immigration papers processed. Fortunately, we didn't raise any alarm and successfully made it through immigration and hiked across a footbridge into Vietnam. Enjoying the cool evening air before repeating the process successfully with the Vietnamese immigration team. Then, we boarded a pair of small vans for a final winding hill climb into the town of Sapa, a French Colonial Hill station, minority tribal region, and our first stop in Vietnam. As long as we survive the journey, which is dependent on our new drivers who have made this run too many times to believe the twisting road calls for any measure of caution, or even concern for oncoming traffic, or livestock in the dead of night... As my grandfather recalled of his voyage to America, 'Many travelers grew sick. I did not.'
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