Backpack to Yunnan 云南

Kunming family life style

Yunnan

A man who love to play string instrument, he has hand made his own instrument.
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I've heard this name many times; I've heard many people tell me is a beautiful place but no one has really expressed it out how beautiful is really like.

When I was planning my trip to China, I told myself I must travel down to Yunnan and see for myself. Is only when you personally being there then you can really tell how's like to be in a beautiful place.

I've been to Western countryside but there is no place like Yunnan. I travel from Guangxi to Yunnan via train, over night on the train didn't sleep well due to the noise of the train on the move.

Kunming 昆明

My first stop in Yunnan was Kunming town, Kuming is a city life, when I reached Kunming; it was early morning 6am where the sky was already bright. The moment I was out of the train station, there were a lot of the local people approaching me and following me everywhere I go and asking me whether I want to stay in a hotel, they can bring me to the hotel. I was so sleepy and I've ignored these people. I knew, they can bring me to a hotel and they can earn some commission from there but there are so many hotel near the train station, there is no need for them to bring me in, I can do it myself, furthermore, I was trying to stay in youth hostel instead of hotel.

After walking for many hours away from the train station, no one was following me and I still can't find the youth hostel, which the Lonely Planet has recommended. I was at the location which the book says, yet I can't find the youth hostel, it was so close yet doesn't see it.

I asked the local but no one knew where the youth hostel was. Carry with my backpack for so many hours, my bag gets more and more heavier on my shoulder and I started to feel hungry too.

After I'd my meal, I decided to took a taxi back to the train station and check in to one of the hotel, since my next destination I was going to travel by train also, is better for me to stay near train station, in this case, I can save the time from traveling to the train station a few times.

Of course, staying near at the train station was not the good idea as there were many local people around trying to get their customers and there were too many people hang around waiting to on board the train too, it was a crowed place which I doesn't really like it.

Once I've check in to the hotel, I started to explore around, walking from street to street until my legs were tried. This is what normally I'll do when I'm on the travel mode, I never stop walking unless I'm taking my meals, on the bus or on my comfortable bed resting during the night, of course…. I'll stop by when I see something interest me.

There were so much to share on my experience in Kunming, are you patient enough to listen to my stories? (To be continuing….)

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My experience

In Kunming, I've learned to treasure my family members more.

I visited one garden on one of the Sunday, to my surprise, I've not seen a garden fill with so many people and they were all with their family members.

When I was in Canada, I happen to walk passed a garden it was fill with so many people with their family members also. But there was different in Kunming, what I saw was these people brought their own lunch box seating on a table eating together, friends or family members seat in 4 person on a table playing mahjong game, a group of old people gather together singing and playing their string instruments, this was something new to me.

I grow up in a Asia country, I've seen many gardens, most of the garden in my country is free to visit and yet there is not many people use the place, if I visit my garden in my home town, most of the time I'll see couples there instead of families have a great time together.

In Kunming, paid to go in the garden, yet there were a lot of the local people went in and spent their time at the garden. Furthermore, the garden was not near by at their doorsteps, you have to take a bus all the way to go there, very far from town. What does this tell us? It reflected how the local people treasure their family life. When I was there saw many people were with their family members, I begin to miss my family members, I was away from home more than a month by then. I used to travel every year, the longest trip was still 3 weeks only, never travel for more than 3 weeks longer, I've finally felt home for the very first time.

On the same day, after visiting the garden, I took a bus back to the town, somehow, I've got into the wrong bus or I've lighted at the wrong place, whatever the reason was; I came to a stall which was selling their famous noodles, I went in to had my dinner order.

A young lady served me my dinner, this famous noodle in Yunnan, it come with a plate of many raw dishes, a separate plate of noodles and a bowl of hot soup, I've never had any noodle soup served in this form. I politely asked her how was this going to be eaten, she smile and help me to pour all the dishes into the hot soup, follow by the noodles into the hot soup. I say “Thank you” to her and she begin to stand there talking to me while I was having my dinner.

Normally when I had my meal, I wouldn't want any stranger stands before, look at me eating, I felt very uneasy.

Anyhow, I've let her stand there, allowing her to share about herself, I've no idea why she was sharing so much about herself to me, it was our first time meet. It was my first time a waitress sharing her problem with me while I was seating and eating my meal.

Normally when my friends share with me about their story, they were seat down share with me but not like her, she was standing there, I can't invite her to seat down with me as she was at her working hour.

She was sharing with me; she came from Sichuan, she run away from home because of angry with her sister in law. She left home; walking from Sichuan to Yunnan, (no joke, I’d travel from Yunnan to Sichuan by buses and yet it take me few days) with only 50 Yen in her pocket, find a job and work. She has to work 7 days a week with meals provided and place to stay. As she share further, her tears roll down from her cheek.

When I ask her “did you makes any new friends around”, she said; she does want to know any friend, there is no guy that is true in their friendship with her.

After hearing so much about her sharing with me, I felt she was holding on to anger, depression, cheated, loneliness and no love. When I had finished eating my noodles, at that moment, I felt deep inside me, to give her my advise, I started to share with her; “I told her to go home, her father is waiting for her, he is very worry for you. If you don't felt like go home, at least write a letter home or give a call to your dad”.

After sharing with her for awhile, she begin to felt release, I can see her face expression change, there was a smile and she agree with what I've said, she told me she will call home to her father.

After sharing what I should share, the crowd came in to the stall and she has to serve the customers, there was no other chance for me to say “good bye” to her. I should have taken a photo of her for my memory; I didn't, as she was busy.

That day, I felt so good inside me, no word can express it out, a very big release from inside of me, I can say.

Now come to think about it, I believe she was seeking for someone to share with but no one had time for her. She was seeking for love and care; I'm glad that I didn't ask her to go away while I was eating. I remember her last word to me before I left the stall was; “you must come back here, we are friend, I can bring you to my home town".

There are so many souls out there in China crying out for help, their help is not only financial, also seeking for someone to care for them.

That night when I returned to my hotel, before my bedtime I was writing what happen and what I've learn on that day. This was one of the encounters I had in Kunming.