The festival was an interesting distraction for a while, but now it is a huge impediment. I long to see something other than crowds of Chinese rubbernecking as they stroll past the booths selling….crap. It’s amazing how many forms crap can take: trinkets; clothes; jewelry; food. Sarah decided to take a day trip to Er Yuan and she invited me along. Er Yuan’s claim to fame are the hot springs that are close to the local lake. I couldn’t afford the hot springs, but I wouldn’t mind walking around the lake. In addition to that, it has a good food market where one can purchase roast or fried duck for very little money.
Trying to find the minibus that would take us there was a complicated task. With the comings and goings of festival goers there were minibuses everywhere. We just had to start inquiring until we came across the right one. At one point, we made the mistake of asking someone who ran a cab service with their minibus. They agreed to take us to Er Yuan for 200 Yuan (about $30). I smiled and politely told him to go f*** himself. Sarah’s response was to burst out laughing as though he had just told us the funniest joke in his repertoire. However, after asking another five or six bus drivers we found the public bus to our destination.
The hour-long trip actually took two. After a while we both thought that we had gotten on the bus, but then we saw the shops that sold bathing suits. No need to sell bathing suits if there is no lake and hot springs nearby, so I figured we were on the right track. The bathing suits were all very conservative in style complete with modest necklines and little skirts. No Brazilian bikinis here. When we finally arrived, we tried to ask the driver if this was the location to pick up a bus back to Dali. I should have gotten out my phrasebook. We tried our best to communicate in Chinese, but with very little success. Eventually the frustrated driver just smiled and nodded in agreement. He still didn’t understand, but he would do anything to get rid of the two crazy western women so he could be left in peace.
It is nice to know that there are still places in China that are untouched by the tourist trade, but if a foreigner arrives in Er Yuan and develops a case of the munchies, she doesn’t have many options. The food being sold off of carts looked suspicious to Sarah, and after coming off a mild case of dysentery, I was also feeling cautious. The people who had restaurants in the market area were completely unprepared for non-Chinese speaking guests. I can deal with that, but they also seemed stunned into inertia by having a foreigner step into their shop. Ultimately, I went to a local supermarket and bought some potato chips and a coke.
It doesn’t take long to walk out of town in any direction. From the city streets to the fields it takes about a 15-minute walk. It was a pleasant afternoon to be in rural China. The temperature was just right for a brisk walk and the air was clear enough to see the surrounding mountains. There was just enough of a breeze to keep the smell of manure moving away. As we approached the lake, there was a mini-mart and I whimsically browsed the selection of frozen confections in the cooler. What I could read didn’t look very appetizing (red bean this…green tea that) so I settled for a carton of yogurt. When I paid the owner, I noticed that he had a calendar for the tiger year. This was the one souvenir that I really wanted to bring back from Asia because I was born in a tiger year. I asked the owner how much he would take for it, he said 50 Yuan (over $7). I thought that was a bit ridiculous for a calendar when the year is 1/3 over and there were spatters of soy sauce on it. I figured he didn’t want to part with it so I backed off. I was exploring another section of the mini-mart when Sarah called to me saying, “Melissa, they want to give it to you.” I had just taken a bite of the yogurt and was making an ugly face because it had gone bad. I rolled my eyes when I noted the early March expiration date. I rushed over to the store owner who was rolling up the calendar and I tried to refuse the gift. He shook his head. I offered him money. Again, he shook his head. When I saw his resolve, I accepted. Because I couldn’t believe my good fortune, I blurted out a nervous laugh. Sarah took me aside and told me to keep the laughing to a minimum. “He’ll misinterpret it,” she said. When he handed it over to me I dropped my eyes and repeated, “xie xie ni” three times. I’ve heard that it doesn’t count until the third time. I was still wondering how he went from 50 to free. Sarah later told me that his wife told him to give it to me.
Reaching the lake was rather anticlimactic after the calendar incident. Actually, it was disappointing. It looked more like a reservoir. We turned around and headed back to town where we bought one crispy duck and one roasted one at the market. We only paid 20 Yuan each (about $3). This alone was worth the trip, and because I had done so much walking I felt fully justified in chowing down on fried duck when I got back to The Lily Pad.
