Cultural experiences

The streets of Kunming were buzzing with lights, sounds and smells. It was overwhelming not being able to verbally communicate with people, but with charade- like actions, we managed to find the nearest internet connection. Running on 4 hours sleep from the 36 hour train journey we had just endured, tensions ran high as we tried to find our hostel before either one of us snapped from the fatigue. Although we had been in China for the past 3 months studying, the city of Kunming seemed so far from all that we had become familiar with back in our university. My friend and I decided that during the mid-Autumn festival break we would visit the city, after hearing of its beauty from friends.
In our naivety of wanting to explore a little more of China, we didn’t check how far away the city was before booking, so there we were with tickets (basic seats, no sleeper beds) for a 36 hour train journey, in a country where we only knew the basic language, and it was during a heatwave too! It was challenging to say the least, personal space is non-existent on public transport at the best of times, but China took it to a new level.
The motion sickness kicked in, the rickety train had seen better days, and the windy mountain tracks saw sudden turns and drops. I was trying to embrace the cultural experience, but being the only two white western girls on the train, being constantly stared at didn’t exactly put me at ease to catch some shut-eye.
At the 30 hour point, the train had mostly cleared out, and we were able to stretch out in a semi comfortable position. As I swung my legs up on the seat, the young monk opposite me who had been staring at me trying to get my attention came over, sat on the chair beside me, and placed a phrase book in front of me. ‘Will you help me with my English translations?’ In any other circumstances I would have been more than happy to help him out but as you can imagine, fatigue had taken its toll and I wasn’t in the jolliest mood. So for the next two hours I helped him translate simple phases from his book. Two children opposite me took note of the free English lessons that were taking place, and came and sat opposite me with their English homework, which I then helped them with.
This train ride confirmed the reason I love travel and culture, an intimate experience that transcends language barriers, and connects on a human level, regardless of race, gender, wealth, and circumstances, we all want the same basic things in life; happiness.