30-04-2006
Kjetil visits and we go to Yunnan
Ever since I first came to China I've been dreaming about exploring South China. When Martin (my brother) was here we travel to Sanya the southern most place in China, but it was more of a beach holiday than a true exploring trip. Therefore I jumped at the possibility when another of my childhood friends Kjetil came to visit me. He spent around three weeks with me in China and it was a grand time. We chilled a few days in Beijing enjoying the bars, restaurants and normal tourist sights that everyone that visits needs to see. Finally we headed down to Kunming in Yunnan. Though Kunming is both a large and nice city it was merely a quick stop for us. We preferred to get to Lijiang as soon as possible, because our goal while down there was to do the Tiger Leaping Gorge trek. Pretty much everyone I know that’s been to Yunnan rave about the trek, so for us it was a must-do.
We didn’t really know what to expect of Lijiang … Supposedly it was a very popular tourist spot, so we feared that it would be overcrowded. 
Much to our surprise the old part of Lijiang was a real charming city. It was built along canals with narrow streets much too small for cars. It was nice to escape traffic … living in Beijing it’s wonderful to escape cars and motorcycles whizzing by. All of Lijiang was very picturesque and we snapped away. Our plan was to spend a day or so there, do the trek and then hurry to Dali, which was supposed to be equally nice. We didn’t have that much time, so we wanted to cram in as much as possible… Those plans changed relatively quickly… We completely mellowed out in Lijiang, waiting a couple of days for good weather to do the hike. There were enough things to do, so we weren't bored. The city itself is a treat to walk around in, especially at night, when they light the red lanterns and the bars become alive with people chanting and singing. We found a favorite bar where they started playing more and more English songs for us as the days passed: we were becoming “regulars”. On one night we went and saw the Naxi orchestra. It was a very memorable concert, where the seemingly ancient band mixed good melodies with some haunting vocals. 
We extended our reach outside Lijiang by first doing a test climb to the top of Elephant Hill, so named, because the hill looks like the back of an elephant. It was a nice climb that offered a great view of Lijiang. We also rented bikes and pedaled North. We came across a very tranquil and nice village named Baisha. If we had more time, we would no doubt have spent at least a night there. In the village we meet Dr. Ho a famous Chinese medicine man. We enjoyed a cup of tea with him and afterwards he brewed me some powders that both looked and smelled strange, but he assured me they would cure my pollen allergy. We also experimented with food. I enjoyed everything, but Kjetil wasn’t always in agreement. One dish in particular fell into disfavor, Kjetil felt that it looked like crap, while it tasted and smelt like wet dog fur… Needless to say he left it to me to polish off the dish.
The Tiger Leaping Gorge trek was amazing. The scenery was excellent and it was really nice to get out into nature again. Kjetil had decided to quit smoking just prior to us going to Yunnan, so he struggled a bit more than normal. It was fun and the trek wasn’t nearly as hard as we were expecting it to be. Lonely Planet had stipulated 6 – 8 hours for the first “half” of the trek, but we were able to finish it slightly shy of 5 hours. 
By the time the other trekkers came in we were already sporting a healthy buzz from some fine beer at the Halfway House, the guesthouse, we decided to stop at for the night. In the evening we were a nice group of trekkers that enjoyed beer and baijiou. I managed to get so drunk that I couldn’t even find our room and had to get Kjetil to help me back. 
Needless to say we didn’t start bright and early the next morning … no one did, though everyone had planned to. I think we were back on the trail again around 2pm. We were expecting another 5 – 6 hours of trekking, but were surprised when it only took us 1 1/2 hours to finish off the trek. That suited us perfectly as we checked into Château de Woody for the night. Before heading back to Lijiang we did another trek down to the actual river where the tiger was said to have leaped across, giving the gorge its name. It was a nice trek as well, but not nearly as strenuous as the first one.
When we got back to Lijiang, we again lingered in town for a while before we headed to Dali. I think our frame of mind was still in the mountains, because though Dali was nice and it was fun to walk around there, it was tough to top Lijiang and the Gorge trek.
Heading back again to Kunming by the night train, we again discovered that trains aren’t made for tall Scandinavians, but with the right supplies and company any journey will be good.
We had a great trip and really enjoyed ourselves. As always the only regret was that we didn’t have enough time to see everything we wanted to see, but I think that will always be the case when you travel.
21-03-2006
Martin and I enjoy Sanya
SAS gave me a good Christmas present this year … well … indirectly at least. During December they had a Christmas calendar where they sold a new destination at rock bottom prices every day. The result was that my brother, Martin, was able to secure a ticket to Beijing. He had 2 weeks here in March and we were determined to make them memorable. 
The plan was simple: Get to know Beijing, see the Great Wall and then head down south to enjoy some sun and beach in Sanya, the southernmost city in China on the Island Hainan. Hainan is known as the Hawaii of China.
2 days after Martin arrived we boarded the plane and headed to Sanya. In order to save money on the flight we flew in to Haikou and grabbed a bus to Sanya. The arrangement worked well and we also got cheap sight seeing from the break-neck drive between the two cities.
In Sanya we had booked in to a nice hotel with three pools and the works. It was super nice. We immediately set out to conquer the pools and the beach. To our surprise it was almost deserted, this despite the fact that Sanya is a popular tourist destination, especially during the cold months. As it turned out it’s due to a few simple facts. The Chinese hate getting tanned, because they relate being tanned to being poor. 
To them a tan indicates that you work outside in the fields or worse. It is also considered beautiful to be very white … goths and black metal people would be very popular down here. Another reaon is that when they go traveling they go to see the sights, not to lounge by the pool or hang out on the beach. As a result we could have fun without upsetting people. It all changed at sunset, then the Chinese came out of the woodwork, crowding to the beach. By then we were burnt to crisps anyway, so we didn’t mind.
Martin had brought his tightrope or loose line as he calls it with him. I was determined to learn it and with a lot of tutoring and patience from him I actually 
did. It was a lot of fun. By the time we left I could walk on it, turn and even walk backwards. I was by no means good, but I think I was entertaining to any onlookers. Where my brother entertained with his skill, I made people laugh when I fell, face first into the sand. I was surprised at how quickly I progressed though my brother excelled when he pulled out his juggling balls and really showed off. I know it'll be a long time before I try that, as I struggle to juggle even when I have two feet planted firmly on the ground.
We also enjoyed the cuisine Sanya had to offer. Our favorite place was an outside restaurant where you pointed at whatever you wanted and then they BBQ’ed it right in front of you. Fresh and tasty. In the evenings we didn’t really go out and party, we opted to have a few drinks at a bar around the corner from our hotel. We especially enjoyed White Russians … the drink … Though truth be told there were a lot of Russians there, apparently this is one of the cheap places they go on vacation. Later in the evenings we retired to our room and enjoyed beers, drinks and cigars on our terrace. All in all it was very enjoyable.
Though we enjoyed being lazy by the pool, we decided to go exploring. What better way to do it than on a scooter? … We could both think of a few better ways, when one of the scooters broke down after 15 minutes, but instead of wasting much time on it, we drove back to the shop, got a new scooter and got our rent-time extended longer than we had paid for. We then proceeded to zip around getting acquainted with Sanya and its surroundings. We even went to the place that graces the back of the 2 yuan note (Chinese currency).
We agreed that driving around on scooters was fun, but a car would be better, so on our last day on the island we rented a car and drove around. Our first destination was Monkey Island: a safe habitat for a large family of monkeys. To get there we took an exciting cable car ride across a narrow inlet above fish farms. We then walked around looking at the monkeys and even saw the obligatory show where monkeys do tricks and stunts.
We enjoyed it and after spending a few hours there headed back to the mainland and drove on. We sped into the mountains to enjoy the serene landscape, before we headed back to Sanya. We stopped by Yalong bay … a luxury resort area that blew us away. The resorts there were some of the most beautiful we’ve ever seen. It definitely had honeymoon potential. 
We started running out of time, so we shot back into town to pick up Mark, the guy we rented the car from. He drove us to the airport and off we went.
Sanya was a really nice place and I still seriously contemplate making it my winter home. In the summer it’s too warm there, but in the winter … perfect! We’ll see!