Yunnan May 2012 (Day 1)

Well, we did not plan to visit Yunnan, China initially. But hearing so much compliments by my neighbour and mum's friend who have all been to Yunnan about the scenery and culture of this place, mum, bro and I decided to give this place a try.

Yunnan is a province located in the western part of China and it consists of several counties: Kunming, DaLi, LiJiang and Shangri-La. They are all located on higher altitudes which Shangri-La situated closest to Tibet. Hence, as the altitude gets higher, we can expect snow mountains. The Yunnan province has less history to offer as compared to other parts of China but is still attractive in its own way due to its rich culture(many minority groups) and scenery.

Chose a flight that departed at 3am but it was further delayed to 3.30am due to the heavy downpour... Everyone was so tired from waiting...

Captured this beautiful sunrise using my lousy Canon camera... hehe

China Eastern is the worst airline I have ever been on. The size of the aircraft was similar to that of budget airline and the seating position was rather stiff throughout the flight...

Boarded a bus that brought us to the custom... the girl in pink is ahem...

Our tour bus...

Streets of the city area of Kunming... Sad to say, Kunming is not as attractive as any of the places I went to during my last China trip such as Suzhou, Wuxi or Shanghai... Most of the places were under road construction and looked dusty and dirty...

We all went prepared with plenty of long-sleeved shirts thinking that the weather was going to be rather windy and cooling. Turned out when we reached, it was the worst summer of Yunnan with mad scorching sun. Most of the time, mum and I were hiding from the merciless sun to prevent from being sunburnt.

Breakfast at MacDonalds!

Surprisingly good grilled chicken burger! So tender and the coleslaw in it was yummy!

Our Kunming tour guide, Yuan Yuan... She masters the skill of talking continuously for 30 min without stopping! Respect for her man...

First stop of the day: Yuantong Temple

Coincidentally, it was Vesak Day when we visited the place and the crowd was scary! So many people and the weather was soooooo hot. The burning incense did not help...

The tour member that I hated the most during the trip is this old aunty called Ann (as seen above)... Action beidek...

Upgrading in progress...

taken by my bro using his dslr...

taken by e using my 8 megapixels camera... not bad huh? who's better?

wonder what this old lady was praying...

Camera-shy aunties...

Second stop: Cui Hu Park

Luckily I brought my hat along for the trip...

Third stop: Da Guan Pavillion

This place was beautiful because of the flowers in bloom... In addition, it was mid afternoon by then and so the sunlight made phototaking easier...

Bougainvillea everywhere!

More flowers...

Gorgeous lotus pond... perfect for phototaking...

First time seeing a 'tree' of bougainvillea... haha

My pose is definitely weaker than those of the ah tiongs... they can tiptoe one leg and tilt their backs back at the same time. No one can master that...

Pose-y mum haha...

No cherry blossoms but bougainvillea also can la...

Back to hotel for a few hours of rest... the toilet is visible from the outside! Fret not, there's a blind in the shower area...

Silk museum where ppl will hardsell their silk mattress to you...

Silk embroidery...

Banquet dinner with performance by the various minority groups in Yunnan...

Performance was great but food was meh...

Majority of the female dancers have good figure...

Highlight of the banquet is this Guo Qiao Mi Xian which is basically some uncooked ingredients placed inside a bowl of hot chicken soup. The soup has a thick layer of oil so that the soup will not get cold easily...

My opinion? I think it tasted horrible because the meat has a strong smell....

Another terrible food...