 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
So as Oma rested for the day, it was just the 3 of us who headed to the Weishan market, held every 10 days. The morning started out cold and cloudy with threatening rain in the air. This mainly Yi minority market was to be the highlight of our trip to Dali but we were unsure if it was in Weishan itself. An hour by bus and we entered the town to find the local market. After taking a few sweeps of the market area (with the sun peeking through the clouds now and then) and having a nice lunch, we decided to call it a day and head back to Dali. But since it was still early afternoon we thought to hop off the bus at another market we had noticed along the way in. As soon as the folks stepped out and walked through the horse carts and chaos at the market gates, |
|
|
|
they knew that we had spent the morning visiting the wrong place!!! This was the market they were after - this was Kashgar all over again! In the large open field the vendors had their wares spread out everywhere - colourful it was.... and the traditionally dressed minority people were prominent! Especially the Yi ladies were represented colourfully with their headdresses, stocking and pleated skirts. We had heard that they were camera shy but found that this was not the case. With a bit of joking and chatting Mummy managed to get the shots she wanted before the light really ran out. We ended up arriving in Dali by dark. |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Next day Oma was better and I spent the day with Papa and her visiting some more villages along the lake: Xizhou and its lively market in the old streets and Shacun. Mummy used the precious time to run various errands, like buying some nice clothes, as the next day we had an early flight south to Jinghong in Xishuangbanna. But that night I was sick and kept throwing up, which kept my parents on edge all night as well. By the time our taxi arrived at 7:30 am to take us the 1-hour trip to the airport, I was feeling better but still a bit weak.
It's a wonder what some warm sunshine and palm trees can do for the soul... As our plane touched down we felt we were in a different country - it actually felt much more like South-East Asia - the palm trees, the wooden houses on stilts and many ladies in colourful sarongs. All new to me, but I liked the looks of it all. Our short taxi ride passed through wide, palm tree-lined avenues. The hotels all had large enclosed gardens and had the look and feel of resorts - just the ticket the folks wanted for our "Christmas vacation". We settled into a couple of very nice and large rooms at the beautiful Banna Hotel and then went to lunch at a nearby dumpling house. Now there I got to meet my 4 new buddies.... 2-week old puppies - the cutest little ones you could ever imagine... I named them Rufus, Bubblegum, Hanky, and Sleepy. I kept returning each day to look for them and brought them little gifts... I even got to bottle-feed them, as their mother was sick and nowhere to be seen. They were up for adoption and each day I was secretly hoping they would all still be there. But alas - the very next day the biggest and sweetest of the bunch, Rufus, had found a home... I was now down to 3 and eventually it was the last 2 - Bubblegum and Sleepy - that kept me entertained during my stay. Jinghong is a nice, quiet, laid back town with a couple of western restaurants: Mei-Mei's, James' Cafe and Mekong Cafe were some that we frequented at breakfast and dinner.
For the next couple of days we were a bit worried, Mummy got word on the 22nd that grandpa was quite sick. She tried reaching home in Toronto and finally spoke to A. Joanna. Fortunately we were staying put for the next few weeks so she was in touch by phone with my aunt. By Christmas day grandpa seemed to be better and thanks to A. Joanna (who braved a major snowstorm to get to the nursing home) managed to get him on the phone with Mummy. Mom was very happy to speak with him and glad that he was doing fine.
On the 23rd Papa and Oma went for a long bike ride through the fields and to a monkey-breeding center. On the way back they crossed the Mekong River by cable car. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
While they were out biking, mummy and myself went about decorating our hotel room. First we went in search of a Christmas tree or anything even remotely similar. Next it was the job of making a "manger scene" - a tradition mom wanted to keep no matter what - and we did it. We bought coloured paper and glue and together we fashioned papermarche figurines! (I loved it - getting messy...). We created our traditional cave with crumpled brown paper and placed it under a cutout star on the desk (this year our manger scene had only Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus: since we didn't have time to make any more, the shepherds and animals were a "no show" this year). After Papa and myself cut out decorations, set up and decorated the small tree.... it finally started looking like Christmas ... at least in our room!
There was no Catholic church in town so we found a couple of Christian churches and decided to attend their services. This way we actually had two services - one, an afternoon service was held on the 24th at the small village church behind the hotel; and the other was on Christmas morning at a larger |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
church a bit further away. We decided to attend both even though we couldn't understand and had absolutely no clue as to what was going on. The 24th afternoon ceremony looked like a kind of healing/purifying ritual: people were being called up in groups to get "blessings" from a minister - We tried to find out what was going on and what denomination of Christianity it was but no one spoke English well enough to explain. The small village church was very crowded and there seemed to be a feast being prepared and decorations were being made during the ceremony. We didn't stay for the whole thing and left about 3/4 hour later, just after hearing some familiar Christmas carols. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please click here to go to the next page. |
|