Welcome to China, “almost” land of the rising sun :)
Nihaao!!!! CHINA IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂
I’ve only being here for a day but I’m loving it!! It’s So different!!! I think I’m gonna have a great time here and this is only starting. At the Vietnamese border, a guy comes to me and offers me to exchange money, Dongs (Vietnam) for Yuan (China). I never exchange in the black market, but I had only 7000D ($ 0.5) and I knew the exchange rate. What could happen?? Well he was offering me 5 Yuan which was a pretty good exchange, so I decide to accepted it. It had been a good thing for me if I only knew that Chinese have cents in bills and not in coins!! The bastard gave me 5 cents of Yuan instead of 5 yuan!! Ahhh! When I noticed I could only laugh at my ignorance…
Then at the Chinese border, I had to step into “the office” for 35 minutes, because they had never seen a Colombian passport! Can you believe it? They were comparing my passport with pictures in their computer and checking every single security mark it has, with magnifying glass, flashlight and black light in hand. After much waiting, I was welcomed in China.
Also for those crossing into China overland: it’s now prohibited to bring any Lonely Planet China into the country! They say it’s because it talk about Tibet and Taiwan. I didn’t have one, but a very upset/frustrated fellow traveler was in awe as they took his away.
I got into this sleeper bus that would take me to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province. The ride was alright, although the beds were a bit too small for me. I wasn’t able to stretch my legs completely and I could feel my neighbor only 20 cm away.
We made it to Kunming, where all my ignorance bloomed again. This city is HUGE and way more developed than I had expected. It’s wicked!!!
I made it to the train station, where all my doubts were confirmed, everything here is in Chinese, and hardly anybody speaks English! That hasn’t being a problem though, sign language is always a powerful tool.
I saw my first sunrise, watched how Chinese people do aerobics before work, and I mean almost everybody is doing them outside their offices, and amazed myself watching the ancient architecture melting with the modern one.
I found a very nice place to stay ( The Hump across the Himalayas for those coming this way ) and I’m staying here for the night.
I’m really excited about being here, all my “fears” have disappeared, and I’m ready to rock China with all my strengths. Prepare this ride is gonna be wild!! 🙂
catch you later!!!
SAI =)
Weird!!!! Colorful chickens!!!
Tags: China, Kunming, Photography, Simon Uribe, Travel, Yunan
simonuribe@yahoo.com
Simon….Im loving all the stories and you have managed to get some great people shots – they are even more wrinkled than Nepal!!
have fun matey
Steve
Isn’t Japan the land of the rising sun?!
You come across as very enthusiastic. Bon voyage!
“the land of the rising sun”, claramente Japon… pero bueno… para nosotros sudacas es lo mismo… jejeje
Por aca igual… alles in ordnung. Ya la carta esta en el dep de Biologia.
viel spass noch
Ooops!! 🙂 jeje, so a a bit more to the east for the land of the rising sun, he?? alright alright… close enough though 🙂
Hey Simon!
Welcome to China!
I just got into Beijing yesterday probably be here for a few days then moving south/west en route to tibet.
See you soon
Rob