Tengchong

The bus ride from Dali to Tengchong lasted six hours, careening through some of the most breathtaking scenery I have seen so far in China. It began with a descent from the plateau on which Dali is perched. This segment of the journey took place on a modern, four-lane highway. We then turned off the main highway and spent the next four hours on a narrow, two-lane highway climbing over mountain ranges, descending into valleys, and then repeating the cycle four or five more times. Our road was narrow and mountainous. However, paralleling us the entire way was a brand new superhighway under construction, involving massive viaducts, bridges, tunnels, and overpasses.

The bus played music videos and violent action movies with the volume turned all the way up. On top of that, two passengers behind me appeared locked in a battle to see who could play the loudest music on their cell phones.

Longcheng is not a very touristed place. That is, at least, not by foreigners like me. The town is mentioned in my Let's Go, but the description is short and there's no map. I decided to go this way because it's on the way to Myanmar (not that I'm going to Myanmar....I just like borders) and because it looked quite off the beaten path.

Tengchong is nestled in a lush green valley surrounded by mountains on all sides. It's not a large city and it’s pretty remote, but major boulevards criss-cross the city. These boulevards are mostly empty of traffic. I think it must have been built in anticipation of development which has yet to arrive (in fact, I saw a billboard advertising just such development).

First night I arrived I was at a bit at a loss as English is definitely not spoken here and I had lots of trouble trying to get the hotel room I wanted. Eventually I got a 20 yuan private room without bath, and since then everything's been great.

This is a great place to just walk around. There really is no sign of tourism at all, which is refreshing. No one tries to sell me things. People seem very friendly. And they look pretty surprised to see me. As it happens, there was one other foreigner in my hotel (another Israeli), so we went out for dinner (noodle soup, 3 yuan) and an evening of internet in what must be the most popular spot in town. I'm surrounded by Chinese teenagers video-chatting, playing video games, and smoking cigarettes. The internet cafe has "VIP computers" where you sit on a leather sofa while you surf the net.

On my second day I set out on a walk. No map. No compass (unfortunately, I left mine on the bus). Just my own two eyes. It didn't take long to reach the edge of the city, at which point I walked along farm roads through rice paddies. I walked for several hours through little villages. If Tengchong is off the beaten path, then these villages were *really* off it. In other parts of China, tourists are levied fees to enter "traditional villages" like this. Here I just wandered in.

Seeing these villages really made me think about just what it means to be "traditional" and "developed". These villages all have electricity. The Chinese government seems to have made this a major goal. They also seem to have running water. There is some modern technology - some people have trucks, motorcycles, farm machinery. But most continue to work the land much as they have for centuries. The majority of the farmers in the fields are working by hand. This seems to be right in the middle of rice-planting season.

I should have been content with my day of just wandering around without having to go to any designated tourist sites. However, there was one listed in Let's Go that intrigued me. "The Sea of Fire" is a geothermal region 12 km from Tengchong with geysers, geothermal phenomena, and (most appealing) the chance to bathe in hot springs. It wasn't worth it. In order to get there I had to take a cab there and back, for which I'm sure I paid too much, but I didn't really have any other choice. It turns out that all I got to see was some steam rising from the ground and boiling water and mud in a nicely landscaped valley. Turns out the opportunity to bathe in spring-fed pools requires an additional ticket ....to an all-inclusive spa. $21. No thank you.

The garbage trucks here play little musical jingles as they ply their route. Like ice cream trucks.