Jinghong is the capital of Xishuangbanna perfecture and lies beside the Mekong River. The region of Xishuangbanna is in the deep south of Yunnan, next to the Myanmar and Lao borders. It has a laid-back Southeast Asian feel to it with it's small villages and tropical forests. But we knew we were back in China when the spitters hit the streets and the horns kept honking.
We ate pretty decent food, drank cheap Yunnan beer, got a massage at the Blind Massage school, but the ladies who gave us our massages were far from being blind. I shouted outloud to Mel, "They're not blind!" and she replied, "They ain't deaf, either!". Oh well. I probably would've felt a little uncomfortable if Stevie Wonder was giving me a massage. It was one of the best massages I've had, though. We rode bikes on bumpy, dirt roads. Trying to avoid the traffic was like dodging bullets. We went to an "authentic" Dai dance show. The superfashion. dance. music. storytelling show was filled with lots of ornate, bright and elaborate costumes, but really bad choreography.
We stayed here a couple of days, then headed off to Lijiang on a 20 hour bumpy, twisting and turning, horn honking bus ride. We did have a bed to lie on, but really what was the point? I probably would've gotten more sleep if you threw me out of a moving car down a rocky hill in a potato sack. Jesus! They have to honk at EVERYTHING, even if it's 20 feet down the road. It's soooo annoying!
But we made it here in Lijiang. The old town is a delightful maze of cobbled streets, rickety old wooden Chinese buildings, gushing canals and plenty of cute shopping stores with Naxi women in tradiotional dress making crafts and scarves. I feel like I'm in the ancient times. Temperatures drop at night so it can get bitter cold, and as I sit here in the wooden cabin next to a fireplace, I feel content. Even though most Chinese are Buddhists, there are some that are Christians so the celebration of Christmas is in the air with carols, decorations and lights galore. Surrounded by beautiful mountains, lakes and the third largest gorge in the world, there's a lot of exploring to be had around here. Who knows when we'll ever leave this place.
