You could argue that this was a bargain, where
else can you travel for 20 hours for 198.5 Yuan? (approx £15), or perhaps you
could say we ought to have known better.
We had felt pretty smug, we arrived on the off chance at the bus station
in Xiaguan, with no tickets only hope and a great plan. Our luck paid off or so we thought, it just
so happened that there were 4 places left of the sleeper bus leaving in just a
few hours. Destination Xishuangbanna,
Yunnan province China. We had read in
the guide book good things, and therefore we used that as a decision to
go. After all, the promise of pristine rainforest,
Dai villages, and unspoilt countryside was something we really couldn't turn
down.
As the bus pulled in we hoped the destination
was worth it. Our excitement of getting
a seat turned into incredulity that we were going to travel 20 hours on what
appeared to be a shelf! This was located
at the back of the bus, a raised platform not just for the 3 of us but a snug
fit for the 5 that apparently had tickets for this 'exclusive' space. Luckily we managed to get our bags tied on,
literally bolted in as the door was closed.
This at least meant space to lie down, our only option as sitting
upright was impossible due to lack of head room and even adopting a contorted
position was fruitless as the bus continued over miles and miles of unpaved
road. Every bump of the head the result
of pot holes of the road. The lights
were turned off, after all it was night time, so reading was out of the
question, instead time was spent listening to the throat clearing and spitting
of our fellow passengers who seemed to have less trouble sleeping.
 |
| Bus of challenges |
Sleep came and went, heavy braking as the
bus swerved to avoid traffic, resulted in a javelin effect of bodies down the
bus that woke us all. Occasionally the
bus would pull over for the driver to take a break and a chance for passengers
to extract themselves for a few precious minutes. As it started to get light the bus turned
into a sauna, we were heading to a more tropical area after all, and the air
temperature reflected that. At least now
we could see through the small side window.
Outside, small villages appeared in view and endless stretches of forest
alongside the road a tantalising view of what was to come. At 3pm we finally pulled into Jinghong,
exiting the bus battered and bruised it was as if someone had turned on the
fresh air, the excitement returned.
The next few days were really good. We managed to get accommodation in wooden
bungalows on stilts. The area had a
really relaxed feel to it and was full of little cafes and restaurants to try
out. A totally different atmosphere to
the east of China. We had come here to
see the rainforest and that's what we did.
perhaps somewhat foolishly, although it didn't seem like it at the time,
we arranged for a mini bus to take us further into the forest area.
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| Rainforest |
There we were dropped off at a Dai village,
no map or guide. We were told just to
follow the track, go left at the temple, cross over a wooden bridge and keep
going until we reached the promised waterfall.
We passed wooden houses, a man squatting and smoking whilst watching his
buffalo and the world go by. Other
people were at work in small forest clearings, working small agricultural plots. We saw a great example of irrigation systems
using bamboo for water channels. From
here we started climbing up into the forest, through very tall trees with huge
root structures, but fairly brown towards the ground and clear of thick
vegetation. Have to climb over fallen
logs and branches. All the time we could
hear the noise of the river in the background and the singing of the
birds. Suddenly there was a loud roaring
noise and the waterfall came into view.
Two streams pouring over boulders on the way downstream. Very damp and misty near the banks.
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| Waterfalls in the forest |
We stayed for a while taking pictures, before
it was time to turn round and head back the way we had come. As we dropped back down into the Dai village,
the village women were just sitting in the square on a log with the
children. No one seemed to be rushing,
just enjoying the sunshine and each other's company. Further down the road the men were playing
pool, whilst the occasional person zoomed past on a motorbike with a basket
full of fresh produce. No one gave a
damn that we were there and continued as usual.
It was great. This trip was
definitely worth it.
 |
| Dai village |
Would I do that journey again? not anytime soon,
but the memories of that journey live strong, if not stronger than the
destination itself, and sometimes that's what the best trips are made of.
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