Hi All
Yesterday we arrived to Kunming, Capital of Yunnan Province, 5 Million people. Going from the airport we noticed a lot of motorcycles standing on the side of the road, with the drivers. It appears that those are motor-taxis. They are cheaper then regular taxis and can get faster in the traffic jams which plague the city (and actually all the other big cities in china).
Then we were stopped by the police. They were checking whether the bus is not overloaded (to many passangers or luggage. It was OK.
Our new guide -Shery- is of the Ei and Han minorities. Kunming is a beautiful modern city. The weather is always springlike, and it is called the spring city. We visited the Stone forest, an amazing phenomena of rock formations creating trees, forests and all kind of figures like elephants, birds, turtles etc. We strolled thru narrow canyons and paths, up and down and it was astonishing.
Today, still in Kunming, we rode the bus toward the western hills. The road was a highway of two levels, the upper one completed just recently. The amont of concrete and iron they put into it is uncomprehensible, according to our guide who saw this during the construction. In general, as I might have told you, China is building its infrastrucure at fantastic speed, and not only in Beijing. So we climbed the hills with the bus and then with a chair lift, among the greenery of spring, flowers and butterflies. A wonderful feeling. From the height of the hill we could see the closeby Lake and the town itself. We descended by foot, sometimes on a very steep steps, passing by many sculptures of buddha and others. At the lower part – A Shuk of Shmontzes, a kilometer long. Mom did very well, on the chair, the descent and the Shuk.
In General, again, as a group, the most visited site is…. the toilets. And they are a story by itself. The Chineese are aware of the Toilet problem and trying to improve the situation towards the Olympics.
I am writing now from the Plaza Guilin hotel. We are room 618, Sarit has the phone number, which is this time correct.
Benny, Write a word.
Closing time of the Business center, where I am writing from. so Goodbye to everyone. Hemi and family, enjoy your trip. I took hundreds (probably more than one thousand) of pictures.
Abraham