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The bus journey from Kunming went through interesting hilly countryside with many hairpin bends – we travelled along the small roads, not the expressway.
We'd booked into a new hotel, part of the Fairyland chain, which we’d discovered on the web and had rave reviews. Took a bit of finding as the website didn’t give the Chinese name, so we couldn’t ask for directions. Having actually been dropped very close by the taxi, we did a large loop before finding it. Great hotel, a basic but large room and in an excellent location. (Once we could recognise the logo it was easy to find our way back each day). We were wilting a bit having not had lunch, but it was too early to have dinner, so we went in search of a coffee place. In desperation we went into a KFC in a brand new shopping centre on the edge of the old town and had an okay coffee with nice egg tarts.
Next morning we felt like a Western breakfast so were considering KFC, but stopped at a Chinese fast food place near the hotel. There we had chicken burgers and sweet white sachet-coffees. They’d only just opened and were still clearing away the debris from the previous night! The food was just passable – but at least we’d avoided patronizing KFC. We watched with interest as three young staff members haggled with a potato seller who’d pulled up with a handcart. They picked over all the potatoes and chose them individually.
The old town of Jianshui consists largely of rebuilt replica buildings in the old style. A criss-cross of streets and lanes with interesting shops. Real shops not just tourist shops, it is a lived in town. Lots of locals wearing traditional ethnic clothing – often in combination with more modern dress. Often one piece – a hat, headscarf, shoes, jacket etc., with jeans or trousers. To my wei ren eyes this seems a good way to keep the use of the traditional alive. Within, there are still the old town gates, a chunk of the old town wall, historic buildings and Buddhist and Taoist temples to seek out. We bought a combined sightseeing ticket to visit the main tourist attractions. The Confucian Temple had massive grounds with many pavilions and quiet, peaceful gardens and a large lake opposite. Climbed up into the Chaoyang Gate (very like the entrance to the Forbidden City) then visited the Zhu family gardens. This is a beautifully maintained, extensive complex of buildings and courtyards with a lovely little lake. Now part of it is used as an expensive hotel.
As always we found some great places to eat. A little place crammed with locals enjoying a very popular duck dish (we both love duck!); another serving a great local specialty of lightly spiced fried goat’s cheese.
The combined ticket included a trip to Yan Zi Dong (Swallow Cave), which was quite a bit out of town. It seemed a bit hard to get to but sounded interesting so next day we decided to make the effort. After the dodgy breakfast the previous day we succumbed and went to KFC – at least they’d have egg burgers and reasonable coffee. ALAS no bread, coffee or orange juice - only a lukewarm puff pastry sandwich. Luckily the girl took pity on us and started up the coffee machine – and they had a decent toilet.
We caught a bus to the bus station and were directed to a small bus for Yanzi Dong. Maybe we’d just missed one because we waited 50 minutes for it to leave. At least we were among the first on and so got good seats. As it slowly filled we watched a passing parade of people in a variety of traditional dress with a staggering assortment of luggage and cargo – including miscellaneous livestock. We eventually left with the bus crammed with passengers including several on a long thin bench filling the length of the aisle, and a few sitting on "cushions" on the engine cover up beside the driver. As we left the bus station these “extras” hopped off and walked through the gate while the inspector checked inside – and of course they all jumped back on once we were on the outside.
The hour-long bus ride took us through some picturesque and fascinating countryside. Eucalypt covered hills that looked like reforestation. Orchards, vineyards and vegetables of many sorts. Small towns. People working in fields, oxen, tractor-carts carrying people and produce – I think it was market day somewhere nearby.
The caves were quite impressive. A dry cave at the top with Buddhist statues looked down on the entrance to a huge lower cave with a river running through it. It was very organized, like the Yanoda Rainforest park on Hainan Island. As we walked in guides were waiting and grabbed groups of about six and took them through. It was a brisk walk in along a concrete path with many steps, bridges and walkways up and down with little time to stop and contemplate or read the few English signs along the way. Just as well probably as the ones we did catch were “the elephant playing with water” and “the princess about to be married” variety. We walked through to the back of the cave, then came back out on the river in a dragon boat.
At the start we watched a guy climb way up through the stalactites near the entrance and unfurl a banner at the top. Scary!
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