On the way to Dongchuan, we were to stop over in Kunming overnight since it was a long distance between Yuanyang and Dongchuan. There were still things to photograph along the way, though.

We later stopped for lunch at a roadside place just down the road from a tourist stop (a cave lit up with colored lights with local minority people dressed in traditional-looking clothing to try to attract tourists). It’s a shame how the government often incentivizes this reduction of minority groups to tourist attractions, made to sell their image as a novelty to the majority of Han citizens. I have seen this before when I visited other areas of Yunnan. It’s a problem all over China, and it is one of the reasons why one of my Chinese friends in Guangzhou once said that “tourism in China kind of sucks.”

Anyway, on to something that doesn’t suck: the food!

The now-famous potato pancake was enjoyed once again, along with the baked tofu. We also had some of the local “red” rice.

After lunch, we continued on to Kunming. On the way, we passed by Fuxian Lake (Fǔ xiān hú 抚仙湖), the deepest freshwater lake in Yunnan and the third deepest in China. Jerry told me that under the leadership of Xi Jinping, there is now a new government order that anyone living within 300 feet (or meters?) of the lake must vacate in order to fall in line with new environmental protection orders.

As we drove on, we were stopped by a group of young goats. I tried to take a video of it but realized that I had not hit the “record” button in time. However, as we continued driving, we encountered a small herd of cattle that were leisurely strolling along the road. This time, I got it on video.

That same day, Jerry told me that there had been five new local COVID cases and that we needed to pay close attention because it could result in Yunnan becoming a medium-risk area. My hotel in Kunming was also located in the district, right next to the area where the new cases were found. If more cases had been found, my health and travel codes would have changed from green to yellow. This would have resulted in me having to go through more strict measures in order to return to Shanghai, such as having to show a new negative test result before being allowed to board the plane. Luckily, there were no new cases reported, so I managed to escape trouble.

Dongchuan: Part 1

When we arrived in the afternoon, sunshine and blue skies (with some haze) were abounding. We stopped at another road stop area with a view overlooking the fields and valley area. Here, we spotted an old man sitting with his sheep and goat. He was wearing what looked like traditional clothing, had a cane, and was holding a long pipe. I really wanted to photograph him, but I was worried that he would find it obtrusive. As it turned out, he was actually fine with it and voluntarily posed for pictures.

After our impromptu photo-op, we went inside to order lunch.

When finished, Jerry and I took a moment to check out our surroundings some more.

He then mentioned that it might be logistically better to stay here for the night since the hotel that I had booked was quite far away. I agreed, so I cancelled the previous hotel reservation, and Jerry and I were shown to our rooms.

Just as I did, you might have noticed something rather “unique” about the bathrooms in this hotel. For whatever reason, on the wall in each bathroom is a photo of a woman dressed in some kind of lingerie. When I mentioned this to Jerry, he immediately laughed, and he and I agreed that we needed to see some of the other rooms. Below is a mini-gallery of the ones I saw.

After resting for an hour, we got our stuff together and hopped into the car to head towards the first spot, which was to see the banyan tree that stands alone up on a hill overlooking the valley.

This banyan tree is believed to be over 1,000 years old, but Jerry said that no one has ever actually tried to measure its age using any proven method. None the less, it is still an interesting site, and the surrounding area helps to make it appear more dramatic.

Although Yunnan is referred to as the province of “eternal spring,” since it is winter, many people light fires for warmth and burn away the last of the old crops, creating a haze in the air. I keep forgetting about this when traveling to areas during their dry season. Oh well.

We then hiked our way back to the car to continue seeing the landscape before our final destination.

The final stop for the day was Luoxia Valley (Luò xiá gōu 落霞沟). The main draw of this area is the sunset that is supposed to stretch over the mountainside across the valley. Jerry continued to speed along the narrow, winding roads until we finally arrived. Along the way, we passed by more local villages, hotels, and even a small bee farm where the locals get their honey. The entire time on the road consisted of speeding up, then slowing down while making turns along the twisting hillsides. I found myself pressing my foot down on a phantom peddle by instinct. This was quite similar to how my guide, Dahua, from my previous Yunnan trip drove while he traversed the long, winding twists. I can’t imagine the wear and tear on their vehicles.

Despite Jerry’s wild driving, we unfortunately ended up missing the sunset. But we still spent some time taking in the warm colors of the evening.

Despite going to bed early, neither Jerry nor I had good sleep as the construction trucks kept charging along the road in front of the hotel at all hours.

Dongchuan: Part 2

That morning, our last stop was to head to Damakan Village (Dǎ mǎ kǎn 打马坎) to see the sunrise. We had an early and quick breakfast, which consisted of a greasy fried egg and a “pancake” made from buckwheat with local honey on the side. It was quite cold out, and there was no indoor heating during our meal, so we ate while fully bundled up. I tried taking some photos of the moon, but the exposure time needed was too long, and I couldn’t get a photo that wasn’t blurred. It was then time to make our final departure in the cold, dark morning.

More high-speed driving (and some dogs barking) occurred along the twisting roads leading to the Damakan Village area. After making a wrong turn, we finally arrived. Photographing at this hour in winter is difficult enough when dealing with the low light, but it also didn’t help that the wind would periodically gust, making it more difficult to hold my camera steady. The clouds covered the area where the sun would have seared the mountainside, so instead, I just saw some of the cloud edges get seared instead. I didn’t get as many shots as I had hoped, but I still got a few.

When both of us had had enough, we got back in the car and hurried along the roads back towards Kunming airport. Along the way, we stopped briefly a few more times to get more shots, but the sun was often too strong and facing us, making photographing the landscape too difficult (or the scenery was too littered with things like power lines or bridges).

While driving, Jerry insisted on stopping to get a shot of the sun rays beaming over a mountain facing us. Looking out, I decided this was not worth capturing. Jerry, on the other hand, decided it was an opportunity not to be lost, so I indulged him. Later on, he sent me all of the photos he had taken of me. When I saw this last photo of me looking off into the sun rising over the mountain, I understood why he felt he needed to take it. He somehow managed to simply yet perfectly capture a moment that sums up me and my desire for travel.

People like Jerry are precisely the reason why I enjoy traveling alone, preferring to find someone local to take me around to sites and share their opinions, tips, and insights. I know that I wouldn’t be able to do this if I were traveling in a group or even with someone else, at least not as intimately as when I am alone. I treat my trips as my own personal exploration assignments rather than vacations.

So, as selfish as it may seem, I really need my travel experiences to be for me and no one else. I have explained this to many of my Chinese acquaintances after my travels, with reactions of intrigue and agreement. The situation with COVID has really messed things up around the world, so trips right now are even more necessary than ever before, and I sympathize with those who are unable to pursue these desires because of it. When the world finally (hopefully) regains its sanity and frees itself from fear, I hope everyone is able to pick up where they left off and continue to have their own unique and meaningful travel experiences.

Remember that it’s never too late for self-discovery, and travel can be a great gateway to exploring the depths of yourself.