20th December: Kunming, China

I had another planning morning (and evening) with lots of permutations at play for our next couple of months. Kaja is still recovering from her illness, so took it easy. I did pop out for coffee, of course, and had a lovely encounter with the security guard of the building. He was doing his exercises and stretches when I came back, so I joined in with him and we had a right laugh. I love that wherever you go in China, old people are doing exercises and stretches without fear of judgement. It’s something encouraged from a young age as it’s built into every lesson at school. Having good habits for strength and flexibility must have untold positive effects both individually and for reducing healthcare costs.

When we headed out, the weather was beautiful. The warmth of the mid-winter sun on our backs felt like an embrace. We had an amazing late lunch too of crispy fennel fritters; corn buns; a fermented tofu and greens sour soup, which is the closest we’ll get this Christmas to zurek!; stir-fried wheat gluten with green chillies; an amazingly caramelised and sweet-salty bamboo shoots and gluten cooked in lotus leaves; and local pu’erh tea. One of the best meals we’ve had on this trip!

After lunch, we wandered the nearby streets where there was a mixture of formal monuments, such as the party oath and to those lost in the revolution and Japanese invasion, and festivities. One group of old people were dancing to the equivalent of Chinese country music. Across the square, we were taken by a group from one of Yunnan’s many ethnic minorities in traditional dress playing folk music on string instruments and dancing. People passing by or watching were encouraged to join in and it was a very happy, inclusive scene. The similarities with folk the world over and the bonding effects of music were really apparent in the smiles of allcomers.

On our way back, we wandered via streets abuzz with locals and visitors but without the over-regenerated mass tourist ubiquity found in many old towns. There were tea shops everywhere! It shouldn’t be a surprise given that tea and coffee are both grown in Yunnan, but every third shop was selling one or the other! We took a fruity oolong and some sugar-coated hawthorns from the street sellers. We haven’t had these since Beijing and I’m not sure why given how tasty the sour-sweet combo is. We will try to be a little more adventurous with food and drink in these last weeks in China.