Step 27 - We've got company!

Okay so this post has been long delayed, but primarily to the harassment of Kani, I'm going to finish it. I started writing this post while sitting on the roof of 'The Hump' hostel, in the centre of Kunming. I was finding the warm sun on my face and skin a refreshing change, and was enjoying the company of Byron, who's a long-time friend who has come up to travel around Yunnan province with me. We were also joined by Gosia, my future house-mate.

But how did we get to that point? Byron arrived in Chengdu on the 30th of January, around mid-afternoon. Having never actually received anyone from the International Arrivals section of Chengdu Airport, I spent about 5 minutes wandering around and actually arrived at the exit point just as he was walking out. Pretty good timing, right? Anyway we took a quick cab back to my temporary apartment and then wandered around the streets for a bit, having a snack as we went. For those who don't know, flying from Perth to Chengdu takes around 12-14 hours, depending on who you fly with and how long your stop over is (either Hong Kong or Singapore I believe). The point I am making here is that Byron had been up for at least 14 hours with very little rest so he took a quick nap as I packed my bags. Now, you already know that we were going on holiday, but what you might not have known is that I was also moving my gear to my new, permanent apartment (for at least the next 3 months anyway). So this packing was taking quite awhile. I believe it was around 4 or 5pm by the time I was ready, once I was done I roused Byron to come give me a hand.

Concerningly, he was really struggling to not feel cold - I guess that's to be expected coming from 30+ Perth into 5+ Chengdu. He was shivering quite a bit so I was worried about keeping him outside too long, in the cool evening air and worn-down from travel. Of course, it was bloody painful to get a taxi, but eventually one pulled over and we made it to the new apartment. I dumped my stuff and we continued to chill out there for the next 3 hours as the couch was comfy, the air-conditioner was cranked up high and the English tea in the pantry was going down nicely. Side note - Gosia buys English tea, but doesn't drink it. We went out for a relatively tame Chengdu meal of 'Fish-fragrant Eggplant, Fish-Fragrant Pork, and rice'. I think that was it. We weren't feeling particularly creative so hence the two dishes with the same sauce. Unfortunately, Byron didn't much take to eggplant... Fair enough I guess, a lot of people seem to have issues with it, but I love it. Om nom nom. Delish.

As it happened, the French girl who I had thought would have been moved out, was actually still living there. This created issues - Byron could crash on the couch there, but in the morning that would complicate issues as we had a 7:45am flight to Kunming. In the end it was easiest just for Byron to come back with me to the temp. apartment, and share a double bed with me. Lucky guy, I know, right?

So we slept and woke up around 5am, a wonderful hour as you would all know. Light snack of crackers for breakfast and then we were out the door to find a cab to take us to the airport. This had probably been my main concern for the past 48 hours - I'd never been up in Chengdu at 5am, and had no idea how easy it would be to find a cab. As it happened, there were quite a few cruising down our section of the 1st Ring road (For those unaware, Chinese cities are usually broken up by concentric circle highways that emanate from the centre of the city. The first circle is the 1st Ring road, the second the 2nd, etc etc). As usual, the first cab we hailed tried to rip us off. A cab to the Airport from around Sichuan University has generally cost me around 40-50 kuai one-way. This guy wanted 80, and wouldn't use the meter. Fortunately there was an empty cab that had pulled up behind us, so I told the first guy to buzz off and we tried this new cab. He was a good guy, so off we went.

It should be commented I guess that 5am is probably the emptiest I have seen Chengdu looking. I'm sure 4am is probably worse, but around 2 or 3am there still seems to be people out clubbing and whatnot. Or maybe that's just the only times I've been out on the streets at 2-3am... *cough* Moving on!

We arrived with plenty of time and had no issues at the airport. I had been concerned by something Byron mentioned; apparently in Western airports, they don't particularly like big rucksacks/backpacks, and generally glad-wrap them like giant parcels so that the various buckles/straps don't get caught in conveyor belt systems. No such problem here. Not yet anyway, and I've made 2 flights with the bag. So we chilled out and soon we were off flying high to Kunming. The flight is relatively short, around 2 hours. I believe the train ride takes much longer, as the terrain becomes much more mountainous as you head down into Yunnan province from Sichuan province.

So we arrived in Kunming around 9 or 10am to, as mentioned, wonderful weather. Getting a cab into the city was no issue, and finding the hostel wasn't *too* difficult either - it was on the 3rd floor of a building and we approached from the less 'commonly' used side I suspect, as there wasn't much in the way of signage on that front. Anywho, we dropped our bags and promptly went out to lie in the sun on cushions over a stone bench. I'll just say this - coming from the overcast weather of Chengdu, it was sooooooo goooooooooooooooood. As it happened, good old Chengdu was having issues with fog at the airport - Gosia was due to fly out around 10 or 11 but didn't leave till 1pm-ish. She would later regal us with tales of sitting in the plane, on the tarmac, for 2 hours. Being the bastard I am, I enjoyed a hearty chuckle at her expense, and let myself slip further into sleep under the clear skies.

I know I've mentioned the weather/the sky about a million times, but you try living in a city that gets less annual clear skies (or is it less annual sunlight... whatever) than London, and then tell me that I shouldn't be enthralled by this crazy phenomenon that is... nice weather. That seems as good a place as any to leave off - Byron had safely made it to Chengdu, and together we had flown to Kunming. Over the next few days we would visit the Stone Forest (Shi Lin), Green Lake Park, the Bamboo Temple and another temple, the name of which currently avoids me. Mostly, we'd have a good time. When wasn't it a good time? Following Gosia's dodgy directions. But you'll hear more on our journey in due time!

Peace out.