The Aliens have Landed

Time to leave Laos – China day had arrived, and Jen and Eamonn were excited!

And Anita, our Chinese guide for the next 25 days, was happy to meet us.

Anita

Anita joined us at the border where, after getting stamped in, we had to get Penelope the tick of approval too. She passed with flying colours, so the crew were happy as well.

Will, Izzie & Penelope with her new Chinese licence "plate" (a laminated sheet propped on the dash)

Due to a 3-day holiday, the border procedure was relatively painless and soon we were heading north along much better roads.

On the way to Jinghong, we created our own traffic micro-climate as other vehicles slowed beside us to take pictures and gawp. This was to become a recurring theme, known to the group as The Aliens Have Landed Effect.

The view from our hotel in Jingling - the contrast between old and new is another theme of China

We were now in the land of tunnels; rather than go around the mountains, they’ve simply dug through them, for kilometres and kilometres. The longest one was around 12km! The better roads meant it was a much more relaxing ride in the back, allowing time to read and listen to music on the way to Kunming.

Martha, Anil, Rob the Younger, Jen, Kat & Kelly enjoying the smoother ride, while Anita gets quizzed about China

The service stations in China are great places to stop for lunch – for just a few dollars you can load a tray full of yummy food, and if you don’t know exactly what some of the dishes are, well it just adds to the experience!

Will & Jo get to grips with their chopsticks

The stops also provided the curious local rubberneckers with an opportunity to get up close to the Alien Mothership. Personal space isn’t so high on the cultural priority list here, so we all needed to keep an eye out for random individuals climbing on board for a harmless stare!

Kelly with a couple of invited restaurant / fuel attendants

Navigating into Kunming turned out to be a little more interesting than anticipated when every corner seemed to lead to a low bridge, but between Will’s expert driving, Anita’s map, directions from a boisterous man on a motorbike, and a little assistance on the roof, we got there in the end!

Is helping guide the truck into town

A well-deserved beer and group meal was in order, it was decided.

Kelly, Maree & Anita distributing the beers on the Lazy Susan in Kunming

The next day it was onward to Dali, on the shore of Erhai Lake. This would be our stop for 2 nights, and staying beside the walls of the old city made it easy to explore the traditional towers and pretty streets.

City walls

Some of the group took a trip to the Three Pagodas of Chong Sheng Temple, which dates back to the 9^th century. 

Anil, Eugene and a really big bell

Martha and a really big door

Kat with Rattie & Rosie who have travelled with Rob the Younger and Jen around India, Nepal, Thailand, Laos and now China

Rob the Younger and Jen having a moment

A Llama

Going out for dinner can sometimes be a bit of a guessing game but the restaurant in Dali had many of the options laid attractively out beside the entrance.

Clockwise around the table from Eugene's orange shirt: Kent, Ed, Jo an extremely happy John, Rob the Elder, Maree & Kelly

Clockwise from left: Will, Anita, Eamonn, Anil (too busy eyeing up the pork dish!), Jen, Kat and Rob the Younger

Of all the group, Kent has struggled the most with chopsticks, bless him.  90% of the food ended up on the table and floor. Here he is, demonstrating his technique for not going hungry

He has no problems with drinking beer though (with Will & Rob the Elder), so happy days!

Lijiang was our next stop, the short drive leaving the rest of the day to wander the busy cobbled streets, enjoy the sunset and join in with the mass dancing after dark.

Poor frogs on the menu

To get to Xichang the following day, we left the expressway and wound our way up through the mountains, where we were treated to stunning views and road-side stalls selling juicy grapes.

The Baggy Trouser Brigade: Eugene, Maree, Jen, the two Robs & Kat

Once we were on the flatter roads again, we said goodbye to Yunnan province and entered Sichuan. The hotel for the night provided a particularly wonderful example of the room layout common to Chinese hotels. Privacy does not come as standard.

Our first stop in Sichuan was the Giant Buddha at Leshan, which is not only the largest stone Buddha in the world but also the tallest pre-modern statue.

Then it was onto Chengdu, Anita’s hometown! With two nights there, it was panda, hotpot and opera time!

Rattie & Rosie rode up front and got a cuddle from the truck monkey

Kent enjoying the view from the truck on the way to Chengdu

Chengdu lit up at night

Eugene's sandal comes in useful for opening beers

Kelly & Rob the Elder showing off their seat-dancing moves

There was really only one thing I could wear to see the pandas – a panda onesie! Fortunately, the weather had cooled down enough that it wasn’t unbearably hot in it. Will dressed as a monkey, but also passed as a red panda for the occasion, albeit one with furless ankles!

An extremely cute panda

Working the camera

Tiny panda having a nap

Uncanny!

A red panda - slightly blurry, possibly due to fear.  We were warned that they can be quite aggressive but there were deliberate holes cut in the fence to enable them to wander wherever they liked, often close to our vulnerable toes!

Hotpot is a Chengdu speciality. A large pot of simmering stock, separated into spicy and not-so-spicy, is placed in front of each small group of diners. Ingredients are added or dangled in with chopsticks until cooked. This was a particular challenge for Kent, but we all dropped items and then had to go on fishing expeditions with the ladle provided.

Kent, Anita, Martha, Kat, Ed, Will, Eamonn, Kelly, Eugene & Anil ready to hotpot it

Kelly, Eugene and Anil concentrating hard.  The hand to Anil's left is Kent's - look at him go!  Rob the Elder's lessons are paying off...

The Sichuan Opera was a real highlight, with biàn liǎn or the art of face-changing the main attraction. Performers wear brightly coloured masks, which they change in the split second it takes to wave a fan or tilt the head. It was extremely impressive, as was the shadow puppetry, seen by most of the group as the best part of the evening.

After Chengdu, we drove north-east into Shaanxi province to the city of Xi’an.

Jen & Rob the Younger catch some shut eye on the long drive

This is where the Silk Road begins and from here we will turn west to follow it across Asia. Xi’an is one of the oldest cities in China and its city walls the best preserved.

But what Xi’an is most famous for is the Terracotta Army, an astounding collection of sculptures modelled on the armies of the first Emperor of China and designed to protect him in the afterlife. It is estimated to include 8000 soldiers plus many chariots and horses, and each of the figures have unique facial features, varying body shapes and heights.

Kent and Julia, our final group member

John posing with some replicas available to buy from the gift shop!

All warriored out and noodled out - Eugene, Kat, Kelly, Ed, Peter, Martha, Julia, John and Kent tuck into some Subway food

That evening, Will and I organised a baijiu (grain spirits) tasting session. Unfortunately, Kelly had developed an ear infection which was a concern for the altitude of the upcoming Tibet section of the trip, so Anita went with her to see a doctor. Without Anita’s translating skills, we were left to label the “wines” as best we could. “Hand-grenade” and “draino” were some name suggestions, the latter being particularly apt.

Kent, Peter, Julia, Anil, John, Eamonn, Will, Kat, Izzie, Rob the Elder and Maree ready to take on 100% proof (and largely cheap!) alcohol

Draino and friends

It is traditionally served with food, so we presented the group with different varieties of crisps/chips.  One of the favourites was "numb and spicy" flavour, pictured here with "hand grenade"

Eamonn looking a little dubious as he pours!

Aided by the consistently revolting drinks (feedback ranged from “nail varnish remover” to “that one made me screw my face up the least”), the party really took off. Jen, an accomplished pianist, swept aside the “do not touch” sign while Eugene, true to his Irish roots, broke into song in the hotel foyer. Delightedly, we all joined in.

Rob the Elder and Maree belt out a ballad

Action Anil grabbed Maree for a dance...

... but perhaps peaked too soon?  Every time we thought he'd gone to sleep in his chair, he roused enough to yell "Yeah baby, that's my roomie!" in Eugene's general direction

Miraculously, members of the group were up and about reasonably early the next morning to explore Xi’an.

Jo takes on a warrior monkey

Julia and a posing monkey warrior

Rob the Younger and Eugene join in with a game of jianzi a kind of shuttlecock hacky-sack

Rob the Younger and Eugene hamming it up with some soldiers on the city walls

Ed & Anil, not so full of Action after the previous night...

Flat bread stall in the Muslim Quarter, one of the best night markets in China

Ed tries his hand at smashing peanuts with a giant hammer

After 3 nights, it was time to move on. The route to Lanzhou showed us the boundary between the lusher parts of China we had been travelling through and the drier climate we can expect from Western China.

Julia leads Anita, Rob the Younger and Jen in a stretching session while Rob the Elder, Ed, Izzie, Will and a random Chinese person look on

Izzie introduces the new truck mascot, a maniacally dancing donkey

As I’m writing this, the group are on board the highest railway in the world, heading to Lhasa in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Will and Anita are accompanying them while I relocate Penelope to Golmud, where the group will join me in a few days.