Tuesday 17th July: Lijiang- Kunming J
It rained all night and was still raining hard when we got
up. That limited what we could do for our last day. We were going to go back to
Kunming on the sleeper bus at 8.30pm which left us the day to enjoy the region.
We hired a driver to take us to Wenbi Temple in the mountains for the afternoon
and back to the bus station around 7pm. Wenbi Temple is one of many temples in
the surrounding mountains. This one is a fully functioning temple with monks
living there, monks as young as 14. We took a walk in the mountains around the
temple and loved the quiet; being able to hear the life; taking the time to be
one with nature. And higher up the mountain there is a new temple that will
only open next month. Still, the driver said we could visit it and it is quite
magnificent. I thought about the reasons why I can’t enter a church in Europe
and why in Asia I love visiting temples. It must be the feeling I get. I find
churches dark, cold and overbearing. Temples, on the other hand, are colourful,
with carpets on the floor and though cold inside, the vivid paintings of
representations of their deities make it a welcoming place. Driving up to this
temple, we were gradually engulfed in clouds and Leo collected “clouds” in an
empty bottle of water. He was really chuffed with his cloud. I don’t recall
walking in clouds before! I expected not to see anything just like when you are
in the fog but no. It was a lovely and peaceful afternoon.
At 8.00pm we boarded our sleeper bus and unlike in France (I
am the only one in our family to have ever taken a sleeper bus so it was quite thrilling), the Chinese
ones have three rows of bunk beds- narrow and short but comfortable enough.
Much better than sitting on a train for a whole night. Our last night in China on
a sleeper bus! I think our children are lucky to have so many different
experiences and they appreciate it.
Reflection
“Beijing is not China.” I have been told this many times and
it is so true. Though I knew it was true, three years in Beijing has made me
feeling smug and comfortable. Travelling for two weeks opened my eyes again and
it was great, with high points and low points of course, but great all the
same. I realised that only I know that I lived in this country for five years
and experienced some of the Chinese ways. However, it doesn’t show on my face. To
the people we met on our journey, we are white tourists foreigners. The worst
kind: be a tourist and a foreigner. But I know different and that is some
consolation.
I will miss China. It has been a wonderful five years when I
have felt alive again and free. Now, we're off to Laos.
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