Xishuangbanna

Young Ten was at the guest house just after 7:30. He went across the street and got me the potato curry and naan for my breakfast. We left for the Shangri-la airport just after 8. It was about 15 minutes away. I had a connecting flight in Kunming, but Young Ten was able to check my bag all the way to Xishuangbanna. However my two bags now weighed too much to check both of them on a domestic flight. I had to carry one. The flight was less than an hour. I only had a short wait in Kunming.

Flying into Xishuangbanna was gorgeous. There are rows and rows of manicured rubber trees along the lush green hills. I found out later that these all used to be old growth forests and during the cultural revolution, the workers from the city (the ones needing re-education) had to clear the forests and plant the rubber trees. Now rubber is big business here. Tea and rice are secondary.

Xishuangbanna has a long history as the tea plant was discovered there sometime around 2700 BC. Originally tea was used for medicinal purposes, but Lu Yu (sometimes called the father of tea) popularized tea. He wrote about tea cultivation, the best ways to make and drink it, which utensils to use, and the best water sources for tea. Slowly by 1000 AD, tea had evolved from a medicinal beverage to more of a social custom and tradition for China's elite.

Tea used to grow on trees in old growth forests. In this part of China, there are still wild tea trees. Some being trees from cultivated plants that were let to grow wild due to lack of care. But there are other trees that grow wild in the forest. Many tea trees in this area are hundreds of years old.

I knew the weather would be hot and tropical. But when I left Shangri-la in the morning, it was still cool. I was
definitely overdressed for Xishuangbanna. My guide Tony was there waiting for me. He was half Dai and half Han Chinese. At first I thought he was going to be a great guide. But found out later his understanding of English was not as good as I originally thought. I asked if he wanted to see my itinerary to be sure it was the same as his. He said no, it was fine. Instead he was trying to sell me tickets for some musical performance this evening at like 400 yuan ($60). I said that I was not interested. The guides are not supposed to do this and they know it. I was dropped off at the hotel and they would pick me up tomorrow at 8:30.

I wanted to make sure I had a good hotel here. Xishuangbanna is near the Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand borders. It's an earthquake prone zone. There were two relatively large quakes in the last six months so I had to have a sturdy building. I've heard some horrible stories about sub-par buildings in China. For Chinese standards my hotel was listed as 4 star, but for my own personal standards it was somewhere around 3. It was clean but well worn.

Anyway it had air conditioning. I needed to cool down and take a shower after all my traveling and climate changes. I showered and set out to explore Xishuangbanna or more properly the city of Jinghong.

So starting this morning my day changed from the beginning of spring at 3600 meters to a lush tropical rainforest with summer heat and humidity and at 600 meters. This was a weird and strange feeling all in one day. But I embraced where I was now. In the part of San Francisco where I live, it is rare to be outside in the afternoon and especially the evening this time of the year without a jacket (and sometimes even hat, scarf, and gloves).

So as it turned out, this was a very centrally located hotel to the restaurants and cafes. All I had to do was turn right and walk less than a quarter mile and all the western travelers and ex-pats were here, mixed in with some Chinese tourists and locals. I went to the first place that had wifi and an English and Chinese menu. I thought about tea for a second. Then ordered a beer. It was so hot just walking down the street such a short distance. I couldn't imagine drinking something warm.

I hadn't really eaten since my great breakfast, so I was hungry and ordered Yangshou fried rice. It went perfectly with the beer. When I finished eating and was still sipping the beer, Nicole sat down at a table near mine.

We started chatting immediately. She was from Australia (originally Cannes). She had just finished taking the test to teach English in China. She would hear the results in 14 days. I think she said she wanted to teach in Guilin or Yangshou? I can't seem to remember now. She had been traveling in Laos most recently and had only been here a day or two before I arrived. She ordered a beer too and then we continued to hang out and split another beer. I didn't want to drink all day since I just arrived and wanted to explore. And because of the hot weather it would have been easy. We exchanged email and hoped to meet up later or for dinner, etc.

I had purchased a map at the hotel. As soon as I went to use it, I realized it was mainly in Chinese. However, I got an idea of the city lay out, parks, etc.

I couldn't get over the people here. Looking at them, I really felt like I wasn't in China. The Dai people are the largest ethnic minority in this region. Many of the signs would give the Chinese, English, and this third language. I thought it might be Thai. Later I found out it was the Dai language. It is a cross between Thai and Laos. Although, speaking the language, Dai, Thai, and Laos are very similar.

I headed towards a mainly local neighborhood. There was a mini market on the streets and I saw all types of fruits and veggies as usual. This time, I saw some eel too. The temples here were different. We were back to more of the Indian influenced Buddhism versus Tibetan. Many women were dressed in what looked to me more like a traditional Thai dress or some sort of cross between Indian and Thai. Again really beautiful colors and patterns, but not as ornate as the saris.

Lots of buildings had elephants on them and there were many sculptures of elephants around too. I turned around and walked the other direction. Then I tried to find some places that were listed in the guidebook. There weren't very many recommendations in this city, so I figured I would check them all out.

The Wangtianshu Deli actually had a lot of western products, homemade breads, but the homemade sweet section had already been picked over. If I wanted to find something here, it would have to be early morning. I book marked it on my map just in case.

I was also keeping a watch for tea houses and some nice teaware. There were several tea shops but none that looked so inspiring.

I kept walking. It was still light out, but the night market was setting up. There was some interesting stuff. I'll probably walk by it again soon as it is close to the hotel. By now it was 8 or 9 and I was hungry again. I went to MeiMei Cafe. I could get local Dai noodles and a pot of puerh. There is seating indoors, outdoors, and a patio in the back. I hung out for a while and people watched as I drank my tea. I headed back to the hotel by 11.

The following day, I met my guide and we were heading to the elephant sanctuary and the Dai village. Just as we started driving he told me today we would be going to the Botanical Gardens first then the elephant sanctuary. I said there is a mistake. Can we please stop the car and straighten this out. I knew I should have discussed this with him yesterday. So he reviewed my itinerary, made some phone calls, and then we headed to the Dai village. I also made him read the rest of my itinerary too to make sure there were no more surprises.

We went to the village first and then the local market. There was a buddhist temple. Again, this was rebuilt after it had been destroyed during the cultural revolution. We walked by the local homes. Typically the homes are on two floors and built on stilts. The downstairs is where the animals live and is used for food storage. Then the bedrooms are on the second floor. Each family had such beautiful gardens. Tony knows a lot about the local plants. He showed me papayas, mangoes, plum trees, peach trees, black pepper plants, lemon grass, jack fruit, teak wood trees, and probably a few more. I was impressed. The Dai people mainly are farmers.

We got back in the car and drove a little way to see the local market. I walked for around 45 minutes. This market was huge. It was inside a large covered area. You could get any type of spice, fruit, noodles (either for take away or to cook at your home later) vegetables, chicken (dead or alive), meat, snakes, toys, fabrics, etc. The market is there and is this size every single day.

The drive there and back was along the Mekong River. There were hills rising up on both sides and the predominant thing growing was rubber trees.

This road was really bumpy. Apparently it was being re-surfaced. I noticed a chairlift going over the river and asked what it was. Right now it was closed down due to the road construction, but it goes to a monkey sanctuary.

So we were now on the way to the elephant sanctuary. In my mind, I had such a different thought of what this would be like. Instead of really being a sanctuary, it was more of a theme park. There were so many buses filled with tourists.

I specifically had written in my itinerary--no elephant show. Tony asked me if I wanted to watch the elephant show??? Then he said we should eat as it was noon. I told him I wasn't hungry. We both had eaten a huge buffet breakfast at my hotel at 8. I said maybe we should eat later. Everyone was watching the elephant show right now so it would be pretty quiet at the park. He said he wanted to eat. I asked him if this place right here was the only place in the entire park you could get something to eat. I asked him twice. He said yes. So he went to eat while I walked around.

I saw several other places to eat besides, where he went. I went to look at some of the snake and outdoor exhibits. I couldn't tell if Tony and I were having communication problems due to cultural differences or if he didn't really understand English that well.

We met a little later and went to see the butterfly area. This section was completely enclosed in a large dome shape. There were lots of plants inside that attracted butterflies.

Then we walked to get in line for the chairlift. The bird show just letting out and everyone was also running to get in line for the chairlift.

The line ended up taking about 20 minutes. The chairlift ride itself took about 30 minutes. It was beautiful. The lush tropical forests were below. There were mountains in the distance. Several times a car passed by in the opposite direction and someone was playing the wooden flute. We went uphill on the lift for a while then we would go back down and then back up again.

Finally we got off with everyone else. I waited a while to let the groups go through. I figured there would be absolutely no chance to see an elephant while hanging out with 50 people and a loudspeaker. I walked slowly and took a lot of pictures. Finally the big group got ahead of us. There was a walkway which was mostly elevated. There were also a lot of Eco-huts sprinkled around the beginning of the park. These were now closed. Apparently you used to be able to spend the night here. I don't know why they closed them. The accommodations were pretty basic, but it would have been cool to see the elephants beneath you.

I also found out that the park adds salt to the lake below to attract the elephants to the tourist path. We could see footprints here and there but I knew there would be no chance to see elephants. Tony told me that early in the morning and then after 4 in the afternoon are the best times to see the elephants. After walking about the first 10 minutes, I finally began to enjoy the park for what it was--just being out in nature. The cicadas were making such loud noises. We actually saw some on the tree branches. Apparently if locals find them, soon they will cooked up in hot oil and eaten.

From time to time, Tony would point out new and different plant species that we hadn't seen before. The total walk was about 40 minutes. I also asked him when was the last time he actually saw an elephant at this park. I was really skeptical that it ever happened. But he said it was less than a month ago. I was really surprised.

So when we got back to the car, I was trying to tell Tony that I really wanted to see the big tea trees. I asked him if it was possible when we met again in two days, if we could skip the Hani village and go to see the big tea trees. He said it would cost a lot of money. I said how could that be? I showed him where it was on the map and it was just before we would reach the tea plantation.

I told him that maybe I will take a bus on my own then. I asked him to write down for me the directions to get there or the names of the towns nearby in Chinese and he wouldn't.

I was very frustrated. I then asked him what the best hotel in the entire city was. I said if the president of China came here, where would he stay? He pointed to a place on the map, that was very close to my hotel. The reason I asked him this is that I wanted to try to find an English speaker to help me get to the big tea trees. Worst case scenario, they would have good teas in the hotel so I could drink tea.

I told him I will contact my travel coordinator in Shanghai. Maybe something could be done to change my schedule. We agreed to meet at 8:30 in two days.

I was hungry when we got back so I went out to eat. It was getting close to dinner time. I still didn't know what to do about the tea trees. I wanted to do that more than anything and had a free day tomorrow and again two days later.

I went to the Mekong Cafe. The menu was outside the cafe and the owner quickly came by to explain it to me. He was originally from France but married a local woman and has a 4 year old child.

Just as I was sitting down I saw Nicole. She asked me to join her. She was talking to a couple. He was from Melbourne. She was from China originally, but they met in Melbourne five years ago where she was studying English.

It sounded like he has several businesses in Australia, but he also opened up a guesthouse 5 kilometers from Lijiang. He said it's peaceful and quiet and there are great views. It sounded more like it was his holiday home and whenever was convenient for him, he would allow guests. At some point he would have a restaurant too. As he continued to talk, it sounded more like she was going to get stuck running it while he hung out and drank beers with his friends. He said there is a tight group of expats in Lijiang. There are about 40 of them running various businesses.

Nicole and I caught up briefly about what we had been up to and what we were doing later today. Also the owner dropped by and gave us each a good map in English! I told Nicole about my desire to see the big tea trees and that I didn't know how I was going to get there. She said that maybe I should ask the Chinese woman to translate a couple a words and then I would at least have a starting point tomorrow. She said I should hurry though because they are leaving soon, and then they are going back to Lijiang.

I went up to the woman and showed her in the lonely planet guide where it was marked "king of tea trees" on the map. She said she had never heard of it before. I said I thought there were some very old tea trees there. 300-500 years for sure but possibly older.

She looked at the book and the two maps I gave her. She wrote the English and Chinese words for me for king of tea trees, Nannoushan, and then ask how to get to Banpolaozhai.

Wow, this was at least a start. I didn't know if I would go tomorrow or wait and see if I can get the guide to take me.

I ordered food and Nicole was just finishing up. Then we split another beer. She was trying to get to the rice terraces in the east. She had heard that the bus left at 6:30 in the morning and there is only one bus per day. This bus wouldn't even get her all the way. She would have to stay overnight and transfer to another bus. Her second problem was that she had to get to a bank and convert her Thai money to Chinese before she could go. She didn't think she was going to get there tomorrow. Then she said maybe she would end up going to Kunming instead. She didn't want to miss the rice terraces, but couldn't afford to waste another day when her time was limited.

I told her I was going to head out and walk to this hotel my guide told me about. It was supposedly really nice. They would probably have good tea and maybe an English speaker.

So she said she wanted to come. I was glad to have someone with me. But I was so used to walking around by myself even at night. We both said that we felt very safe here.

We walked by the night market. They were just setting up. She showed me the teapot she had been eyeing. A Chinese man came up to us and started speaking English. She asked the merchant how much. After she said the price, the man told her the price she could really get it for if she was a good bargainer.

He had told us he just got done working on a co-sponsored project with the Chinese and Germans. It was a three year project on climate change. He said he had learned quite a bit himself just being a translator. He was a nice man and we chatted a little more with him. Then we headed for the hotel or tea or whatever. It looked like this hotel was in a park.

When we got there it looked large and beautiful from the outside. From the inside there was a huge lobby but not one person hanging out. We went to the front desk to see if the woman could be any help. She didn't speak English and there was no tea house. So we used the restrooms. There was no way this hotel was the best hotel in the city.

We turned around. We had passed a few tea houses on the way. Maybe we should go for tea anyway. There was one on my google map. We tried asking some people if they knew where it was. Nicole spoke a little Chinese.

We kept being sent to different places with no luck. Then we walked to the opposite side of the street where the park was. We found a family exiting a restaurant and they were helpful. What we think they said was turn left and when you come to an intersection turn left again and you will find a tea house. Nicole was a good sport. She hadn't been to any tea houses in China yet so she wanted to keep up the search. We finally found it. It was quite large and there were three older woman there drinking tea.

She tried asking in Chinese if we could taste tea. They didn't understand her so I just said "puerh cha". Then they motioned for us to sit down with them. They were drinking a shou cha which is a dark and fermented tea. I had no idea about how old it was. We couldn't tell. It was nice. I was trying to explain a few things to Nicole about tea. Every once in a while the woman would say something in English. Between the two of us, we would say a few Chinese words too.

The woman pouring the tea called her friend who spoke English. She handed the phone to me. We didn't know anything about her but on the phone she said she was having dinner right now. Maybe we could meet her in about 1/2 hour she would take us to a tea shop. She said we should meet her at MeiMei Cafe. She said the tea shop is very close by.

So Nicole was still with me. She enjoyed the chase. We thanked the women for the tea and said goodbye. We walked back. The night market was hopping now. She looked at the teapots again but couldn't get to the price she wanted. She saw some dolls in all sorts of Chinese ethnic minority costumes. She had two nieces in Australia to buy for. She found two she liked and got a great price. Then we walked the rest of the way to MeiMei Cafe.

The woman who spoke to me on the phone was there. She was originally from Hong Kong. She was living in Jinghong for 7 years now. We walked through the back door. She told us all these shops back here were tea shops. It's called tea alley. We walked a little way and into a tea shop. There was a young Russian guy in there drinking tea. We sat down. The woman poured us the two teas that he was already drinking. One was a shou cha--5 years old. It sounded like the leaves were from this county but we didn't get a specific region or mountain. The other was a 1 year old sheng cha (green tea that was unfermented) from Yi Wa. I enjoyed both.

Nicole was mesmerized by the whole process. Watching the woman wash the cups and the tea. Pouring the tea. Straining it into a glass pot. Using the tea utensils. She really enjoyed the shou cha.

It turned out the Russian guy, Nikita, spoke English well. He was most recently in Laos and Puerh City and just arrived today. In Moscow, he had a partner that was in the tea business. He said he helped him and was traveling around trying teas. And if he found a good connection, he would try to get samples for his partner or maybe buy teas.

He was very interesting. He had his own ceramic cup for drinking tea. And he had this plastic business sized card. He always placed his tea cup on it. He said his partner created the card. He said it changes the composition of the water in some way to make the tea taste better. He had no idea what compound or component made it work, but he said it made a difference in the way the tea tasted for him, so he used it all the time.

The next tea we tried was a 5 year old fermented tea stored in bamboo. I wasn't particularly interested in trying this one. But she was interested in telling us about it. She was actually a math teacher and this was her son's business. She enjoyed teaching people. She brewed the tea and made everyone try it. She wanted everyone's opinion. I didn't really get much flavor at all until the end. It was ok, but nothing special for me. But, I didn't want to offend her, so I just said I could only taste the flavor at the end.

Nikita said he liked it. After everyone tried it, she told us the tea was bad. She said see how your mouth feels. Maybe it's a little numb. This is not a good tea. She was exactly right. I did get that numbing sensation in my mouth and on my lips. I stopped drinking that tea.

She poured one more tea for us and it was another sheng cha from Yi Wa. I liked this one better. It was also from last year. We drank that for a while. In conversation it came up that maybe Nikita would be hiring the Hong Kong woman and her partner to go visit tea plantations. I told Nikita about the old tea trees. He was very interested. We said that maybe we could coordinate a trip together and use them as guides.

We kept drinking the tea. Nikita had the woman pouring tea for us try drinking two separate cups. One cup would have the plastic business card underneath and one without. She laughed and said she didn't notice any difference. She also let Nikita make tea for us and then gave him a few pointers. He was pouring the tea from too great a distance into the cup and also, he moved the lid of the gaiwan too often. She said the tea would be too harsh that way.

He said he was experimenting making it a few ways. He says he had a different set up at home and was getting used to hers. She also said he was too serious and he should loosen up. He said he felt very self conscious and wanted to make some good tea for everyone. Of course he was being serious!

Nicole was having a great time. I told her to just be careful drinking tea. It is possible to drink too much if you are not used to it.

Nicole kept lamenting that it didn't look like she was getting to the rice terraces this trip. The woman from Hong Kong asked her why. She said that the bus tomorrow was so early, plus she still needed to change money.

The woman from Hong Kong got on the phone and called someone. It turned out that there was a direct bus to the town. This bus would leave at 9:30 instead of 6:30. Nicole was thrilled she would possibly be able to make that one.

Then the Hong Kong woman and her partner started talking to Nikita and I about a trip tomorrow. She quoted him a price for one person with a driver, guide, and lunch for 650. For the two of us it would be 450 each. I thought that was a little rich. None of them had heard about the old tea trees until I mentioned it. So I wasn't even sure they would know how to find the place or identify the trees.

Then Nikita asked about the price for a half day trip for one person. They said 550. They said there were still some fixed costs so that was the lowest she would go.

Nikita and I briefly concurred that it was too much money. But we decided that we should meet tomorrow and try to go there on our own. I told him I had the Chinese and English names written down of how to get there. It would be a lot cheaper and it sounded like we could take a bus to Nannoushan and then ask for directions once we got there. We agreed to meet here at 8:30 and plan our course. He was staying across the street from the tea house so Nicole and I said goodbye to him. We walked towards her guest house. Mine was just a little bit further down the road.

What an interesting evening that turned out to be! I felt bad for the Hong Kong woman and her partner. They got nothing out of the evening but did a lot of translating. Their prices were simply too high and they didn't even want to bargain. Everyone else got information or connections we were looking for.