Travel Planning for Last Days in China

Saturday, July 5, 2008--Fenghuang (Continued)

The rain had stopped by the time I left the cyber cafe. I wandered the streets of the old town. It is so much fun to see the old houses and watch the people. Since I am unusual here (being a western tourist when most are Chinese), everyone looks at me and says hello to me. I stopped and had a plate of spicy fried rice with bacon at a place facing the river. Then I walked more until it got dark and people were putting lighted candles in paper boats to go down the river. The simplest versions were really just paper cuttings shaped to look like flower blossoms with one candle. Others are in the shapes of boats with multi-levels and 4-5 candles. One section of the old town is dark at night with the restaurants and businesses using candlelight to operate. It is nice being along there. Because of the narrow street and the old buildings, it feels as if one has gone back in time 100 years. Finally, around 21:00, I headed back to my room and read until bedtime.

Sunday, July 6, 2008--Fenghuang to Huaihua

I was up early and arrived at the bus station about 7:20. I had to wait about an hour, however, until the bus filled up before we could leave. Then it was a two hour ride to Huaihua through the mountains on a twisting, narrow road that was lined with nice old wooden houses and small villages. I could imagine that this roadway looked much the same (except that there is better pavement now) as it has looked for many decades along it.

I am in Huaihua because it is a transportation crossroads. The town itself has nothing special to see. Outside it, however, is an old town that I will visit tomorrow. Today, however, I had a list of things to do to have everything prepared for the rest of my days in China.

First, I headed from the bus station to the train station. Fortunately, it wasn't too far. But the lines for buying tickets, as usual, were very long. And I could see that the windows would all close in 45 minutes for a lunch break of 2 1/2 hours!! I was lucky, two students who speak English got in line behind me. We visited as we waited, and they were there when I bought my ticket in case I needed them. (Fortunately, I didn't.) I got to the ticket window with only about 10 minutes remaining before closing time, and they were next and got their business done with about 5 minutes remaining. Everyone behind us was frustrated that we were taking so long. Anyway, I got an overnight train from here to Kunming for tomorrow. It was my least favorite choice of times, but the sleeper berths were already sold out for the trains leaving in the early afternoon for the 16-18-hour trip. I had to buy a berth on the train leaving at night that will not arrive in Kunming until the late afternoon the next day. But I got a ticket!!

Next, I got a hotel. I waited for that, because I could have had to stay here an extra night if no berths were available on any of the trains leaving tomorrow. With my ticket in hand, I knew I only needed to be here one night. I'm back in luxury. I checked into a 3-star place across the street from the train station. The employees all wear fresh flowers on their lapels. My bathroom has a green plant sprig, too, and the usual phone beside the toilet that is common in better Chinese hotels. My room is actually a suite, and it comes with breakfast and English news (although via the communist broadcasting syndicate here).

From the hotel, I went to a travel agency. I had decided I would like to buy an air ticket to save me about 15-16 hours on a bus! The ticket I bought cost only about $110, an the bus would have cost about $25, so it is well worth it, I think. My train arrives in Kunming on the 8th, and on the morning of the 9th, I will fly to Shangri La. It's an old town up in the Himalayas that is considered to be the place that James Hilton had in mind when he wrote Lost Horizon. I will stay there 2-3 days and then work my way through other two other villages (Lijiang and Dali) in the mountains back down to Kunming for my last days in China.