A rough start- the weirdest case of motion sickness ever
We, R, T and I, got to Kunming bus station with stacks of time and found our bus. A nice, modern Daewoo, mercifully not a sleeper (R and I are too tall to do that comfortably). It looked promising. We stowed our luggage and boarded, only to discover this particular bus had the weirdest seat numbering system ever devised. The three of us naturally had consecutively-numbered tickets, but I found myself in the centre seat of the back row, while R and T were in the row ahead, to the left. And it took a lot of fuss and bother to figure that out.
Why I’ve never been to Shanghai before
Expectations are a tricky thing: equally capable of being a barrier between or the impetus towards experience. I realised this when, after over 18 months in China, I finally decided to visit Shanghai. Why had it taken me so long to visit a city that is not only famous in China, but has a place in worldwide consciousness ? The answer: expectations, and my expectations, to be precise.
The world horticultural garden exposition in northest Kunming is a global exposition of the highest degree. First opened in May of 1999, this theme park remains a dazzling display of sights, sounds and colors. Containing dozens of theme gardens, this park will impress and amaze anyone interested in natural or man-made science, art, poetry or Chinese architecture.
I took the #71 bus from Beijing Lu in downtown Kunming to the main entrance to the gardens. The bus fare was only 1 RMB. Entrance into the gardens was 100 RMB. Although this entrance fee may seem high, compared to other destination theme parks, I thought it was very fair. After I paid the entrance fee, I was given a plastic card and a colorful map to enter the park. Being a naturalist-at-heart and a gardener by trade, I knew upon entering the gates that this place was special.
I woke up startled. The deafening sound coming from outside seemed to make the whole bus tremble. We were crossing an old wooden bridge, below was a roaring chocolate brown river.
“Jinsha Jiang”
An old man sitting next to me was pointing at the river. I looked at him tiredly still trying to wake up.
“Jinsha Jiang” He repeated again.
Jinsha Jiang, as the locals call it, translates to Golden Sands River. This river is actually a part of the great Yangtze River or Chang Jiang. It is the longest river in Asia, and the third longest in the world. It stretches from Qinghai, (a province near Tibet) to Shanghai.
The river has many names, but I will always remember it as the river that almost took my life.