Day 9 – “I think this is my least favorite city in China.”

The train arrived in Kunming, Yunnan around 6 am.  I wasn’t ready to be awake yet and neither were my companions so we decided to head to a hostel and crash on the couches there.  It was a great idea!  At about 8, I woke up, ate some breakfast, and then decided to use my less-than-12-hours to explore Kunming.  I didn’t want to do anything touristy so Simon (the photographer) and Jayoung and I got on a bus to head to the Kunming Old Town.  The bus didn’t actually go to the old town so we ended up in a city market.  It was gross but many things were photo-worthy.  Like this:

These fish were all alive. Most of the animals available for purchase were still living. There must have been something special about buying a rooster for the New Year. Every family purchased a live rooster to take home.

Do you like your food spicy or not spicy? If you like spicy, this is the place for you! 🙂

This woman decided to take a rest in her basket! 🙂

I found these two little one in the large market. My favorite part of this picture is not the VERY LARGE knife that the girl is holding. But--the little boy's hand. Hmmm..... I wonder what happened to him. About a minute after I took his picture he started to cry. A lot.

This is sugarcane. I didn't try any in Kunming, but I did eventually try some in Yangshuo. It's not too bad. The vendor peels off the 'bark' for you and you basically chew on it for a while and spit it out.

We left the city market and found the Old Town (via taxi).  It was here that I decided to photograph some people.

These two women were having a very animated conversation. I couldn't tell if they were arguing or not.

I don't think this man was thrilled that I was taking his picture. 🙂

Okay, so this isn't people but I thought the colors of the seeds and nuts were beautiful!

It was fun to watch this man make this peanut-brittle type food. The white stuff is sesame (I think), and the stuff on top is peanuts and some sort of sugar mixture. After pouring it out, he spread it out and flattened it. It as fun to watch. It was also delicious. 😉

After most of the day walking around, we decided to try the bus back to the hostel. There was supposed to be a dumpling making party there. (This was Chinese New Year’s Eve afterall)  I was in line to get on the bus and the driver opened the door.  I felt someone take my phone out of my FRONT pocket on my jeans. (seriously?) So, I quickly turned around and angrily grabbed my phone from the man who reached into my pocket.  It was a close call and I was shaken up a little bit.  🙁  But, I was happy to still have my phone.  When we got back to the hostel, there was no dumpling party so I ordered some food for supper and just relaxed until I had to leave for my train.

Since this was New Year’s Eve, most people are at home with their families.  I was on a train (sleeper car–6 beds) with only one other person.  It was AWESOME!  Best Decision Ever.  I slept so well that night.  I heard snippets of fireworks going off around me as I was whisked away to another province.  🙂 

It was a restful night.