A Week in the Himalayas

Day 1:

Today we departed for our week long adventure led by some teachers in our program. All 25 of us gathered in the lobby of our dorm at 9am to bus to Hongqiao airport where we boarded a 12pm flight to Kunming. Kunming is the Capitol of a province called Yunnan. The area is notorious for having the most ethnic minorities in China and therefore offers a completely different cultural world than Shanghai.

Our flight was probably the worst I have been on thus far. It was rocky with volatile turbulence from the very start and our descent was so bumpy that many passengers were vomiting. I made the joke to my friends that this quite possibly could've been our pilots first landing ever. No one was amused enough to laugh due to a little too much nausea.

After our stomachs recovered from the rocky plane ride, we headed onto our bus which took us to a lovely scenic area called Dian Lake. It consisted of a big body of water, back dropped with high grassy mountains. I instantly knew I chose the right trip to go on. After walking around the lake area, we got back on our bus to head over to a local Kunming restaurant for dinner. We had rice noodles, chicken with vegetables, pork with vegetables, and many more delicious chinese dishes.

With full bellies we headed to our hotel to crash after a long exhausting day. Tomorrows wake up call is at 7am and we have a day filled with hiking. I cannot wait. 

Day 2:

Today we woke up bright and early at 7am preparing for our long second day. The hotel was not the nicest accommodation I have stayed in and the wifi didn't work. That's Chinese Internet for you! 

After we ate breakfast we headed on the bus to see the Stone Forest. This area was extremely scenic with breathtaking views of the tectonic ruins. The area was packed with tourism which made some sightseeing aspects semi frustrating. When chinese people want you to move out of their way, they don't say "sorry" or "excuse me" they'll just push you aside. That part was a bit annoying especially when many people had cigarettes in hand (dangerously close to your head..). Aside from the packed area, the sights were still beautiful and it was nice being outside in sunny 80 degree weather.

After the Stone Forest we stopped off at a local flower market where I purchased a jade  bracelet and a delicious mango pineapple smoothie.

We had another traditional chinese meal for dinner while one of our tour guides taught us a few songs. After dinner we took the bus to Kunming train station where we boarded an overnight train to Dali. This marks the beginning of our ascent where we begin to climb altitudes daily until we hit the Tibetan peaks.

More adventure and pictures to come.

Day 3:

We arrived at Dali around 6am and headed to our hotel. We had a chance to head in the shower and get ready for our day ahead. After breakfast we got on the bus and went to Cangshan national park. It was incredible. We took cable cars all the way up the mountain and the views were exquisite. I got a little dizzy at the top of the mountain but the views were too good to consider the slight headache I was experiencing. After the climb, we headed to Erhai Lake, a big body of water at the bottom of the mountain. We boarded a giant cruise ship where we coasted in the water for about 3 hours. The sun was strong and my face showed the signs of a bad burn after exiting the long cruise. I was exhausted by our long day but our exploring wasn't over yet. 

After our day activities we had the night free to grab dinner and explore downtown Dali. We went to a place called the "Foreigners Street" to escape to some western food for dinner. We got some pizza and burgers and enjoyed the view of bustling Dali. After dinner we weaved through countless markets where I ended up purchasing a bunch of souvenirs for family and friends. 

Time for bed, big travels tomorrow!!

Day 4:

Today we got our wake up call loud and clear around 6:30am. We packed up quickly and checked out, heading to the Tiger Leaping Gorge...the place I most looked forward to. We met our new local tour guide named William. He almost looked like an Asian Johnny Depp and led us fearlessly through the city of Shangri-la. We arrived at the Tiger Leaping Gorge and it looked even better than I imagined. Huge mountainous landscapes surrounded by rushing white water, I was speechless. We climbed up and down over 1,000 stairs to see the full view of the mountain. After the hike we headed to lunch where my dizziness started to creep back. Only this time it was accompanied by a more aggressive headache and waves of nausea, but I tried to ignore it and carry on. 

We got on the bus and made a long trip headed to a local Tibetan families house. The pain in my stomach had become so strong I couldn't think of anything else. I told my teachers my stomach was not okay and they told me to relax and it was probably due to the altitude. Relaxing was not a possibility for me. My stomach was in so much pain that I couldn't eat any of the dinner or even speak to anyone. I began to feel chills all over my body and got really cold. When my stomach got to the point of no return I ran behind a stone wall and got sick for the next 3 hours we were there. I finally felt like my sickness passed for a bit so I boarded the bus and sat there alone waiting for my group to be done. I was texting my mom and feeling particularly homesick without her loving and sympathetic touch during my illness. 

My health only felt worse as we got to the hotel and I called the teachers to my room. They took my temperature and told me that my fever had reached 102. That felt like the least of my worries as I continued to get sick and have a splitting headache. The tour guide came up to my room and gave me a portable oxygen tank to help relieve my headache. I laid in bed wondering when I'd be feeling better. 

Day 5:

I wasn't allowed to go on the hike today due to my altitude illness so I stayed in our Shangri-la hotel with one of our tour guides. I continued getting sick early in the morning but felt better after a quick videochat with my mom. I slept until around 11:30 and then met up with my group for lunch. I couldn't eat anything at lunch and the idea of Chinese food made my stomach hurl. 

The whole day I still didn't feel right. After lunch we had a 3 hour bus ride to Lijiang, our next destination. We checked into the hotel around 5pm and I stayed in for the rest of the night. I was able to have some chicken noodle soup for dinner but that was about it. Heading to bed early tonight. 

sleeper train

Day 6:

Still not feeling well. Stomach was in pain all night and morning. The group is hiking the Jade Snow Mountain today, which is at the highest altitude our group would reach. My teachers told me that I had to stay in the hotel again so I slept until around 2pm. I had some eggs and toast for breakfast which actually made my stomach feel better. Next I met the group for dinner and watched them eat some chinese food. Now I'm in the train station at Dali ready to board our overnight train to Kunming where we will fly out tomorrow.

Can't wait to get back into my bed in Shanghai! 

Day 7:

Got off the overnight train around 7am. The train was a nightmare. At times I was scared that the train would fall off the tracks because it felt as if we were going too fast. Then, at 3am the train employees decided to blast Chinese music in the corridor of the train, so none of us slept the rest of the way. 

After an adventurous trip, I finally made it back to Shanghai and I'm already feeling better. Time for class tomorrow. 

Hainan: China's Hawaii

Drink of choice in Hainan

This weekend we had an extra day off to celebrate Tomb Sweeping Day in China. My friends and I decided to book a quick get away to a place called Hainan, an island off the south of China. Hainan is known as "China's Hawaii" and it did not disappoint. 

On Thursday afternoon my friends and I left our school and headed to Pudong international airport to catch our 7:55pm flight...or so we thought. We zoomed through baggage and security lines with no problem only to arrive at our gate and see the words "DELAYED" flashing across our gates screen. We approached the counter and tried our best to communicate in Chinese to see what was going on. The woman at the desk told us the plane was delayed due to weather in Shanghai and we would have to wait an additional 2 hours to board. We were a little bummed out but we decided to make the best of it by grabbing some dinner and a few bottles of wine. When 10pm rolled around we went back to the gate, only to see a large group of angry passengers huddled around our gate. My friend Katie and I pushed our way through to try to see what was going on. Apparently our plane was indefinitely delayed and the airline was shuttling people to a hotel overnight and told us they had no idea when we would take off. I found one staff member who spoke a little English and I asked him "please tell me what you know, when will the plane be here so that we can board?" And he responded "no time." "Soo, never?!" I asked with a half smile on. "Yes." I could tell he didn't fully understand me. He had that blank stare that I often have when people speak too much Chinese to me. I returned to my friends with a confused look on my face. "So looks like we may never be leaving..?" 

After my friends and I decided that we would try out the hotel deal, we were told they weren't bussing anyone from our plane to the hotel because it was full. The airport that was once warm and humid during the day became frigid and I was struggling to stay warm in a longsleeve shirt and shorts. We all fell asleep on the floor, chairs, or any open space we could find. Finally around 4am we were notified that our plane arrived and we could board. I almost squealed with excitement as we ran to the gate. The plane was relatively small and crowded. We were told by a semi-English speaker nearby that we got delayed so long because we were on a budget airline so air traffic control looked at us as a last priority. 

I started to doze off on the plane waiting to take off and by the time I woke it was 6am and we were still on the ground. We were told once again we were indefinitely delayed and people were starting to exit the aircraft. My friends looked at each other with distress...what do we do?? A few of my friends favored the idea of leaving and just heading back to campus. I said I did not want to leave. I felt that we made it this far and I was dying to see the beach. Two of my good friends agreed and we strapped in for the long haul. 

The crew at dinner

Our plane finally took off at 8am, 12 hours after our scheduled departure time. We landed in sunny Hainan around 11am and I instantly knew we made the right decision. The island is sprinkled with big mountain ranges and vast bodies of water. We stepped off the plane and were welcomed with 85 degree weather and sun. After a short 10 minute cab ride we arrived at our resort...the Holiday Inn.
The next few days were bliss. We laid out by the pool with sunshine and piña coladas in hand. We also used plenty of our Chinese as none of the staff spoke English. We headed to the beach most afternoons, and I almost forgot what it felt like to have sand between my toes. 

I am on the plane now heading back to Shanghai. We took off without a hitch and had no delays this time. Now I'll have to rush home to catch up on the Chinese homework I was neglecting while getting a little bronzed on the beach. Time to go back to reality.