All You Want After a Long Flight...

After the weekend with Angela, I moved back home and promptly signed up for an 8 day trip to Yunnan with a travel agency.

Before I left, aunt was really helpful in reminding me of all the little things I should bring, “Here’s insect repellent, sunscreen, face wash, bring some shampoo because the ones at the hotels will make your hair dry like wires, oh and do you have a case for your glasses?” Chinese parents are like that, they’ll scold you like there’s no tomorrow and support you when you’re about to leave. And I’m consumed with guilt.

I started washing all the dishes after that.

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The next morning, I was off to Kunming.

Kunming is the capital of the Yunnan Province. It was a 5 hour flight with a half hour stop-over in Changsha. My first impression of Kunming was green, poor, and agricultural. Looking from the sky, you can see patches of green, white and brown - being undeveloped soil. Yunnan people have their own dialect and way of speech so distinct that it's virtually incomprehensible to an “out-of-provinc'er” like me.

Driving through the city of Kunming, I see a lot of buildings being torn down, in fact my shabby 3 star hotel overlooks rubbles of a recently torn down building, bearing surprising resemblance to ground zero when I looked out of the Hyatt hotel window in New York City.

By the time we arrive at the hotel, it was already dusk. I quickly stow away my belongings and go outside to explore the city. I pass by what must've been the street of shoes, among which I was desperately hoping to find some restaurants that would rescue my stomach from growling any louder. Luckily in the end I find one that served their local specialty - Yunnan rice thread - which looks very much like angel hair spaghettini but made of rice. For 5 Yuan, I order a steaming bowl of hot noodles, bathed in an appetizing red oil and chicken broth, with pickled vegetables and ground pork. I took my big bowl of noodles up to the second floor, found a brightly lit table overlooking the lobby, and slowly savored every spoonful of that delicious goodness.