Kunming

Third time in China and it keeps getting better and crazier each time. Having checked into the hostel, I went for a walk through Green Lake park (feels like a smaller version of central park) before dinner and came across a group of musicians playing by the water; erhus, madolins, violins and singers, all with their own portable microphones. I was in heaven. I stopped to listen and after a while they invited me to sing... I gave them 'the turtle dove', something stereotypically English and they worked their way around it. We did some other songs too. I shared dinner with Ben, an Aussie on a bike, who approached me whilst I had my head buried in LP looking for the restaurant road. We decided to share dinner and went to a local chinese and had a wonderful evening of talking about life, decisions and travelling.
Friday the 13th was a write-off. I had hoped to go out of the city to visit some hills and set out to find the bus. I got on the number 5 and after an hour (and going past where I got on) it reached the terminus where I was to swap to number 6. I couldn't find it and by this time I was over it and with no Mandarin, I couldn't ask for help. I wandered to the museum to find it closed, and then tried the art galleries which had been knocked down. Feeling exhausted after 5 hours I went back to the hostel and had a snooze. 4 weeks on the go, it catches up with you.
That evening I went back to the musicians and took a Chinese flute I had bought. I gave it a go but was rather shy and was struggling with working out keys. But they appreciated the effort. I found the expat bar for dinner and met loads of people who over the evening filtered in. It was a bit of a cliche club and a few were a little odd and full of themselves.
This morning I headed back to the park. There ia such a community atmosphere there, it is just a blissful place to be. This time i was to try my hand at tai chi. Literally dozens of small groups just congregate in the park and set up with a little stereo. I just joined onto one and when they finished, I joined another. It was ao realxing in the warmth of the spring sun with blossoms floating from the trees.
I explored the Yuantong temple which was rather beautiful before checking out of he hostel. On the way back from a coffee, I walked through the park (again) and found hundreds of the locals dancing crazy dances to crazy chinese music. I watched for a while before plucking up the courage to join in. Many were dressed in traditional costumes. By the end we were all dancing round in a huge circle. Thankfully the routines were quite simple. Now I am at Kunming Railway Station waiting for the overnight train. A big adventure given everything is in chinese!Read more