No, not Freddie. Kunming is weirdly fascinating. For the first time since getting into China, we saw sunlit skies... and it was bone dry too. I'm talking about needing to slab on moisturiser and drinking water every odd 15 minutes.
The air is relatively cool, windy at times. But in no way you shall succumb to following the darned Lonely Planet. Curse it, publications of the Devil! Never again, shall we be lured into accessing their online suggestions on "where to grab local eats" in Yunnan. We stuffed up and the food wasn't even decently remote on the bill to the value. Anyway, you live, you learn.
But the Celsius reading here is definitely warmer. I'm not shifting uneasily but it sure made it a pain to walk (we finally gave up when we realised how much more convenient it was to take the cab... and faster?) in midday. Tried a 20 Yuan massage by a visually impaired aunty that had palms the texture of molten lead. It was gooooooood. Besides the shopping malls and grand big roads, the people are immensely friendly, the Pu'er tea kicks real @ss and the likes of the Chuihu Gongyuan and Yuan Tong Temple will get you thinking a tad deeply on how much the Cultural Revolution, the clashes between the Muslims and Han people, and just about every Tom, Dick, or Harry of little Kingdoms / Fiefdoms of Olden China meshed together a potent Cosmopolitan of a city.
That's it. It's got the attitude of a man but the sensuality of a woman. All hit you in the nose while you admire the softness of the glass from the outside. I don't think I'm making any sense or even close to describing how I feel about this funny gateway to some insanely fantastic old towns (ahead we go!) of Dali and Lijiang (not to be confused with the state of Guangxi's) but I'll try again - you think of this soft-spoken person, then how this person blows you apart with a few words that carry a multitude of meanings. Still no go?
Sigh, perhaps it's difficult to sum up a city that holds the key to a road speckled by a dazzling galore of tribal heritage, dialects, cuisine and personalities, music and art, sights and grandeur. Kunming may not arrest more than a two-night stay but it sure will get you all warmed up for the great big adventure bound Southwest.
ps: I missed a giant, colossal snort of a spit at the park! Score!
note-to-self: 56% is a pretty big number when it's printed on a Chinese rice wine bottle.
