FINAL REFLECTIONS (Sydney)

As I finish this journal it seems fitting to leave you with a scan of the dog I was talking about at the beginning. (You can see that the dog is saying "you know what I'm thinking - just get on with it.")

On reflection I'm still not entirely sure I got the format right for this. The number of posts (around 105) seems too many for email - but I got lots of feedback last time saying people really liked the email because of its impact.

I hope you enjoyed reading this. I was fun to write - and fun to have the pen fly across the page and the words pour out.

China is a great place to visit and things there are changing very fast. My favourite city was definitely Lijiang - and I hope from the photos you can see why. The hilite of the trip? Buying food cooked in front of you on the street? Cheap DVDs? Staying in a hotel room with water running through it? Contemplating a pigs tail kebab?

Definitely have to give credit to Kathryn - without whom this trip would have been a lot more stressful, and less interesting. Definitely also thank Jo - who is an awesome travel partner. Finally I'm thanking God - who is perceptibly a lot more active there than you'd think.

JG

GLOBAL DOMINATION (Kunming University)

Outside our Uni we have some rather questionable statues of monkeys donated by an Indonesian diplomat. The theme of the statues at Kunming University is somewhat different...I think we should swap! This is much more inspiring!















(Note the book with the atomic symbol and the hand on top of the globe.)

LUNCH! (Kunming)

We had this awesome lunch - (albeit a little late).

















































The staff were all watching TV.

HAPPY THE BRUIN! (Kunming)

Gotta love it! Can't think why we have Copyright laws....



(We bought one of these bags)

CH-CH-CHANGIN (Dali)

In 2000 most of the police officers we passed wore green uniforms, with short sleeves and a bare head. Often being as short as 5 feet - they held as much intimidation factor as a 12 year old schoolboy.















The police at the train station today wore black & white uniforms, and loked tall in their boots and dress hats. Similar to the change from security guards to armed ticket inspectors on Sydney trains - you felt less inclined to mess with these guys.














I recall in 2000 on the train writing in darkened corridors with men on wooden seats loking out open wooden framed windows drinking tea out of glass jam jars. Today the glass jars have been replaced by perspex flasks, and the windows no longer open.














The trains have truly been tangaraised. No more 'hard beds', in a carriage interior of wood and vinyl. The interior of this train is beige - with touches of pastel blue and green. The bunks too are relatively well padded.

THE THREE PERGOLAS (Dali)

The two other features of Dali are the lake, and the three pagodas. For some bizarre freudian reason - Jo continues to refer to them as 'the three pergolas'.

For the sake of being a tourist - we rode to the three pagodas - but refusing to pay the fee and not actually being that interested, we snapped some photos from outside - and rode on.





We rode past fields and fields of rice-paddies, astounded at how labour-intensive the process of gathering rice is. After being picked - the rice grains were sifted into piles on the road and then left to dry. I'll never forget to wash my rice again.






















We arrived at the lake, where we were assaulted by women selling knick-knacks and men selling ferry tickets. The lake was about the width of Lake Macquarie - but much more stagnant. Large green fields of algae and weed greeted us. We'd eaten a fish for dinner the previous night - and its tastelessness did not improve our feelings towards the lake. In the end we bought some corn and sat beside the lake and made the most of it.

KILL THE MONKEY - SCARE THE PIGEONS (Dali)

As we rode down the central shopping area of Dali, we paused to let some police pass. Four officers held a dejected looking man - walking slowly for all to see. Jo decided not to take a photo.

WALLED CITY (Dali)

TRAVELLERS FREQUENTLY compare Lijiang and Dali and so we decided to go. Australian tourists say they prefer Dali to Lijiang because it is more 'authentic'. The truth is, its not as slick - and so the Chinese tourists stay away in droves, hence its appeal for culturally overwhelmed Australians.

Could also be something to do with 'foreigner-street' - a string of Glebe-style cafes - a feature noticably absent from Lijiang.

Dali's main attraction is a city wall - medieval style. A wall 30 feet high - and deep enough for two cars to pass each other and still leave room for a pedestrian in the middle.

It would appear the locals worked out that the heady medieval days of roving Mongol hoardes were long gone - and so in their infinite pragmatism - decided that the bricks could be used elsewhere. Today the city wall covers 1/4 of its original ground - but local buildings look very solid.

Not much more to write home about - except that the excellent MCA hotel offers guests unlimited internet access.

BAD APPLE? (Lijiang)

Something we ate today is disagreeing with us. My large intestine is having a sale. Jo's is closed for a stocktake.

TSER-SWOR ZAI NAR? (Lijiang)

Without question - the most important phrase in Mandarin Chinese. It ranks just above the all important "tway guin" [costs too much].

In the car on the way to the airport Mrs Chen drilled us on this phrase, "you need some pneumonic to help you remember it - something to do with church..."
"I know - how about a saw, hanging on the wall of the toilet at church - like in a workshop. Church-saw/Tser-swor," I suggested.
"Yes - that's a good idea," she replied.

I was without Kathryn and Jo for a few hours - and this phrase came in handy. Like the French - Chinese people appreciate you making an effort with their language (although they're much more likely to misunderstand you in a hilarious way) - today they were sympathetic.

[Where's the toilet?]

BREAKFAST (Lijiang)

We were feeling culturally adventurous again, and so breakfast was another search for the elusive jiao-zi. According to Kathryn - this is properly served fried - but everywhere we order it - we end up with Wonton noodle soup. The dish seems to have different interpretations in different areas.

I had a go and ordered eggs for us, "Wo you sange jee-dun." Surprisingly, the girl understood what I was talking about.

LAR-WEI! (Lijiang)

Foreigner!

THE FOUR year old ran across the laneway in the dark - pausing when he reached my ankles. His eyes travelled up my legs, past my t-shirt up to my face. His eyes widened...

LAR-WEI! LAR-WEI!

I suppose it is normal for a four-year old to do this. We drill them through all kinds of identification exercises - dog, cat, mouse, chicken, horse, square, circle, foreigner, opressive dictator, dodecahedron etc.

However, after 10 days in China, enduring the endemic racist xenophobia that is natural to this country - I really wasn't in the mood.

There is something about this phrase that echoes and bounces around inside your head. To cope with this - Kathryn and Jo have decided to make a techno dance track. Something along the lines of "Boom Ch Boom Ch - Lar-wei! Lar-wei!" Or maybe they've just had too much sugar.

NAXI ORCHESTRA (Lijiang)

ONE OF the childhood rites of passage is to go into the school library and look at pictures of Medieval England. One chooses whether you are the King, Queen, Knight, Lady in Waiting or Court Jester. Whilst imagining yourself in one of these roles you make a subliminal connection to the past - to a sense of Western Identity.

Imagine for a moment that this privilege had been denied, that all those books had been removed from the library before you ever got to them. Imagine further that you then discover this world of the past at middle-age. You would be amazed, transfixed - as a missing part of your identity is revealed - like the last piece of an incomplete jigsaw.

The Naxi orchestra itself was boring. Jo and I were like four-year olds dragged to a lecture on bacterial entomology. Whilst quite rhythmic, it had all the melodious qualities of a year-4 orchestral jam session. The other Westerners had their heads slumped in their hands, eyes closed, or simply got up and left.

What was facinating to watch was the faces of the Chinese audience. The conductor explained the history of each peice, with what appeared to be a series of funny jokes. (I'm guessing - my Mandarin is quite limited.) The Chinese were transfixed - children of the Communist era - their past denied to them, now opening up.

DINNER (Lijiang)

DINNER WAS kebabs. You could get anything - but we decided to steer clear of the pigs tails. We sat at little tables by the canal and ate prawns, quail eggs, egg-plant, beef and potato slices. Fantastic.

STROLLING ALONG (Lijiang)

We spent the day strolling along the streets of Lijiang, eating ice-creams and looking in shops. I had a green-bean icecream (love it) and Jo an magnum.

BREAKFAST (Lijiang)

BREAKFAST WAS at the Laru Cafe - Yunnan coffee and french toast! Ahhh Civilization!