2nd January: Dali, China to Xishuangbanna, China

Another early start today, watching the sky turn red across Lake Erhai. We said goodbye to Shan and to the hotel owner, who was busy watering his amazing green walls, and got ourselves a DiDi to the train station. There is no direct train from Dali to Xishuangbanna, so we first had to go back to Kunming to change. This is the northern terminus of the Laos-China Railway, opened in 2021, which we’ll be following for a couple of weeks. Eventually, this line may connect China with Bangkok or potentially even Singapore.

Once on the second train, we cracked open our lunch. Kaja had picked up some mushroom fried rice and fried dumplings. I’d gone back to the restaurant last night to get Bai style fried ‘chicken’ strips and the pickled tomatoes. It felt fitting to be heading into the area where the edges between China and southeast Asia blur, whilst eating food which combined culinary styles.

The were a lot of very long tunnels on this route, with sometimes only a few hundred metres above ground every 20 or 30 kilometres. When we did pop out, the valleys were precipitous and the foliage gradually more tropical. I had to fight for these views mind as the person in front kept trying to close the window blind (the sun was on the other side, so not in anyone’s eyes). This is probably the only thing I’ve had disagreements with Chinese people over. I find it utterly baffling and infuriating but it’s the common thing to do here. Close the blind and go to sleep until you arrive at your designated destination, no matter how spectacular or interesting the scenery is along the way. I’d love to understand this phenomenon a bit more.

As we entered the region area around Pu’er, endless rows of tea plants began to appear on the hillsides along with the occasional golden stupa. After Pu’er, we passed into the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, which borders both Laos and Burma in this southern corner of China. Just before alighting in the capital city of Jinghong, we passed over the muddy Lancang (or Mekong) for the first time. Hopefully we will get to know this river over the coming weeks. For the second time on this trip, after Mestia to Batumi in Georgia, we’ve travelled from 2,000 metres to a tropical landscape in one day.

Driving through Jinghong, there were golden objects and lotus symbols on the streets and worked into many buildings. I went for a walk after dark and cannot decide what to make of this part of the city! It is simultaneously luxurious and tacky, genuinely interesting and full of touristy fakeness, seedy and religious. I stumbled across an enormous golden temple (which we will be sure to go back to), through street food markets, and along the Lancang River with brash hotels reflecting in its waters. It felt like an intoxicating and overwhelming soft landing into southeast Asia.