Yunnan. What if your parents tell you one day that you will be going on a 8-day trip there? I believe that as youngsters, you will feel that this is a place where only old people go. This was how i felt then. However, the beautiful breathtaking scenery and uniqueness of the different cultures of this place changed my perspective totally.
My family and I went there during December. Being someone who hates to wear spectacles, I had no choice because the air there was too dry. Moisturizer became a 'must' for Singaporeans like us who are used to the humid climate. Once i reached there, the one thing that caught my attention was that they had two separate lanes on the roads; one for the cars and buses, one for the motorcycles and bicycles. The people there love to travel on battery-operated-bikes. Maybe this is the reason why the government decided to separate the traffic. As Yunnan is located at a high sea level, the air there is different than Singapore, where Singapore is only 600m, and Yunnan (Kunming) at 1800m.
Yunnan consists of a few big areas. Those that we went to were Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La. They are ranked accordingly to their sea level and living conditions. The higher we go, the more difficult it becomes to breathe. Each of them have a unique tribe that creates the identity of the place. Different names, dances, specialty food, costumes and dialects defines them from each other. Corn/wheat fields are a common sight there, as the air there is very fresh, thus producing food that tastes exceptionally sweet, especially the vegetables. Throughout the 8 days, we had our fill of them as there will be at least 4 dishes made with vegetables.
Kunming is a 'capital' of Yunnan, thus it is more of a city life, where we can see people who look better-off and a place where it sells more high trend stuff. Dali produces a type of stone called the 'Dali Stone'. This famous stone can be only found in this place, and on some stones, we could see scenery. The scenery on the stone was the work of Mother Nature, which was amazing! There is even a Stone Forest there, which were made up with stones that are as high as the trees! That was when i understood the name of the attraction. The 'forest' was said to have existed because very long ago, the place was underwater. Due to certain reasons, the sea dried up, leaving behind stones that were around 4-storey tall. The entrance fee was $50, which was exorbitant.
As for Lijiang, it has the reputation of having the biggest ancient town which has worldwide recognition since 2004, being listed as one of the world-protected places. The town was the living quarters of the villagers, however, as the tourists numbers shoot up, the business-mind villagers transformed it into a tourist attraction within a few years. Many of the villagers either moved out, or rented it to people who wants a share of the profit that Lijiang's tourism industry is making. Now, most of the shops sell souvenirs or specialty that Lijiang produces, especially handmade-cloth. However, part of Lijiang's originality were lost, as some shops are owned by foreigners. We walked around there for 2hours, yet we only covered a small part of it. So can you imagine how big it actually is?
Now, coming to the juiciest part. Shangri-La was my favourite part of the trip. The sea level reached 3500m above ground level. We were sleeping on the coach on the way up, but when the sea level reached 3000m, our tour guide forbid us to sleep. She said that for people who are not used to being so 'high up', could experience serious high-mountain sickness. Some even die in their sleep. We were so scared that everyone's eyes were fixed on the scenery and tour guide, without even dare to bat an eyelid. Symptoms of high mountain sickness can be headache, dizziness, diarrhea, vomitting, etc. My mum did some research before we went on this trip, and bought pills beforehand, which my family ate for a few weeks. The pills were told to help to decrease the symptoms. However fit you are, you will experience it. I did, but only minor ones.
The cattle and flowers there is different; only certain species are able to survive in the harsh climate. Thus the food on our table became lesser. There is only one type of flower that are able to grow there. We had the chance to ride on the horses! It is the most beautiful place I've ever seen, with green pastures and yellow flowers, with houses that are 50m apart from each other. It is near Tibet, so most of them are Buddhists, where all speak Tibetan language.
The best part is, we got to climb a mountain! We took the cable car halfway up, armed with our oxygen tanks, me and my sister perservered to climb to the peak, which was 4995m above sea level. We were so proud of ourselves! We could see other mountains beneath ours, and the whole of Shangri-La! The temperature became so freezing cold that i thought my hands had frost-bite because I couldn't feel them.
Though Yunnan has frequent earthquakes, however, it didn't stop more people from visiting this out-of-earth paradise. this is the reason why I miss that place (:
Ngee Ann Polytechnic Tourism & Resort Management
Year Two-s
TR02 Fly Here, Fly There.
Eat Good Food,
Creating Wonderful Moments & Experiences,
Is All That Matters!
Travel 2.0 (:
