Shuang Lang, Dali, Yunnan
View just outside the hostel.
View of the ultra gorgeous er hai.
When we first saw this everyone was super excited! Haha but tons of flies buzz around them and they are then speared on satay sticks and deep fried.
Courtyard inside the hostel.
Rice snacks at the night pasar malam which was more than an hour's walk away. No street lights, so we used our own torches. Oh, and then we had to walk all the way back. On our first day. Haha!
Gu Cheng
A 15 yuan, long bus ride away.
Walnut cake! Best eaten freshly made. I bought 3 boxes back!
Da bai cai shrine.
The ultra long walk along the wall that leads to absolutely nowhere. Seeing the dead end was like a punch to the face. But here I learnt how to do things distinctly china from a friend. We spit berry pits over the walls onto unsuspecting passers-by below.
Back "home"
Teaching boisterous kids the alphabet! They are super cute but they can be rowdy sometimes, like all kids are. :)
Hai Di
Discovering this place was one of the highlights of my trip. It's super serene, beautiful, has sea breeze and great food, and no one tries to chase you away from prime spots or makes you buy anything to just sit there.
Beer chilled in the lake.
Eating like kings.
Their version of xiao long bao! It is literally what the name says it is. 3.5 yuan for 8, super yummy :)
Cycling to Wa Se
Super unforgettable. The scenery was super super amazing, the roads were wide and clear, the ride was smooth, and where there were downhill slopes.... so, so happy. Once on a supremely long downhill slope my cap flew off, and I didn't even care. I continued on till the end of the slope and then decided to turn back, because it was so exhilarating. Luckily I found it hanging on to my ponytail haha. My dad would have killed me; it was his cap from army days.
Boat ride to a random little island in Wa Se!
Huo Shan
Huo Shan Primary School's kids! Super adorable!
Our lovely sleeping quarters, haha. It's an abandoned schoolhouse. Super freezing cold at night and I woke up constantly during the night even though I had 2 heat packs.
Treacherous climb down. I had a lot more fun going down than climbing up. I was the number one liability up, and I am very, very grateful to all those who helped me and encouraged me! What an awesome bunch of people :))
Farewell, Shuanglang
Firecrackers! 4 yuan for one! Made such a din that all the neighbours ran out hahaha.
Bundle of fieldpacks and trekking bags! I borrowed the army one from Yong.
Beautiful sunset to bid us goodbye.
Li Jiang
One full day of R and R!
Having a Na Xi Ba Ba, which sounds like a vulgarity.
Tibetan Monastery.
Many more photos up on facebook! I usually don't post fb photos on here, but if photos have people that need to be tagged they go on fb. :)
The trip to Yunnan was awesome. Much more awesome for me, because I've never been away from home for so long so it was really a different experience altogether. The team was awesome and made up of super fun people, and everyone got on really well together. The children were adorable and receptive to lessons, and I do believe we managed to teach them a thing or two about English. The food was amazing too - we ate like kings almost everyday. I miss so, so much about the place.
I quite disliked visiting China the past few times I've been there, but this experience has made me change my mind/ The people from the smaller provinces are more simple-minded, nicer, and genuinely warm. And I'm slowly starting to adopt their laissez-faire life philosophy. Though that may be quite a disaster in Singapore haha. I will be back. :)
