March 25, 2008

Kunming (CHINA)

Final Day in Yunnan Province: Stocking Up for the Long-Haul

The overnight bus pulled into Kunming at around 10:00 am this morning, bringing a 14 hour overnight haul to a close. As far as comfort goes, this last ride was comparatively good: the cold mountain air maintained a fresh feeling on the bus and I didn't hear any spitting the whole night. That is not to say no spitting took place - I know better than that - but at least I didn't have to listen to repeated guttural sounds the whole time.

The first order of business was securing the train tickets. Neil and I caught a ride with an entrepreneurial mini-bus driver who gave us a discounted lift to the train station. I used a local public phone to call the "contact's" phone number, and after a 45 minute wait a young woman showed up to complete the deal. Everything was in order and I handed over 480rmb: at 4:25 pm train K80 would depart on the 2,660 kilometer journey.

In the mean time, we decided to load up on last-minute goods. The tentacles of capitalism have reached even Yunnan province, one of China's most obscure regions, and we located a newly constructed Wal-Mart near the center of town. While Neil went after the gummy bears, I was thrilled to see just about everything: it has been years since my last trip into a Wal-Mart. Afterward, Neil went shopping at the Chinese version of Wal-Mart: the many discount DVD stores selling top-quality movies for under $1USD/each.

After a lunch consisting primarily of local spicy dishes and cold beer to wash it down, we spent an hour waiting around at the train station. Unsurprisingly, the station was utter madness...

With all these people, it was not surprising when a fight broke out. What was surprising was that Neil and I correctly guessed the reason: a man accidentally spit on another man's shoe. What ended up drawing seven police officers and train attendants over to disperse the crowd was the pushing and screaming by the victim's wife (surely a Shanghainese trouble-maker) who was enraged that the lowly man would not apologize for his mistake. The whole thing lasted 20 minutes, which was great for me because it meant more time killed.

However, for the next two days, waiting would become the name of the game.

Neil and I both had top bunks in the "Hard Sleeper" section, which contains two sets of three bunks facing each other in a door-less compartment. This is my favorite way to travel because the price is 50% that of a flight and 66% that of a "Soft Sleeper" (two sets of two bunks in a private compartment). At the top, no one can bother you by stepping on you as they climb in or out of bed, and there is also a storage area giving extra room to keep your bags at hand.

Dinner consisted of ramen noodles and saltines, but both of us were deep into books so the evening passed by quickly.