xīnnián kuàilè!

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Bring on the year of the Dragon and ten days off from teaching!

I am over the moon excited to admit that in less than 24 hours i will be in another new city starting another crazy road tripping adventure! This time however i'm trading in the huge RV and camper van (fit for two but slept 3) for planes, buses, and trains. In that order. Traveling China will definitely be a completely different experience than trekking it across the scarcely populated outback of Australia. Plus, I'm bringing along one of my favorite British boys solely for entrainment purposes due to his accent. Um, and these pictures... oh, and he is also much better versed in the language than I am.

Okay, starting off we have a flight from Xi'an to Kunming that will land us in the capital of Yunnan Province which respectively boarders Laos, Burma, and Vietnam. We're breezing through this city and only spending time to catch up on some sleep and figure out a train ticket back to Xi'an for later on in the week. Tom has the idea that "flying isn't really traveling, but a 35 hour train journey is". As usual, up for most anything I agreed and with our fingers crossed we will get a bed on this train ride and not just a seat. You see, when Chinese New Year (in China) hits there have been reports of over 2 BILLION people traveling during this time. As I said, we're crossing our fingers for beds.

After making our way around Kunming for the morning we will be catching a bus that will wind along strange and alien roads for around 6 hours before dropping us off to see the Yuanyang Hani Rice Terraces. At this time of year, these famous terraces are flooded so that at sunrise and sunset, they are one of the most sought after sights in all of China. Bundling up with our cameras charged, we'll be getting up early for a couple days to witness what so many people rave about. I wasn't sure what we'd be doing hanging out where rice grows at 4am until I saw these photos... 

After zipping up our coats and pulling down our hats for months now, we are pretty excited that our final destination is at the southern most part of China, Xishuangbanna. Although the name is a mouthful, in English it means "twelve thousand rice fields". Which makes sense considering what we are stopping to see previously in this trip. Known as the "Thailand or Jamaica of China" it's reputation is a bit of a hippie oasis full of jungles and elephant treks. Being a huge melting pot of many cultures, only a third of which speak Chinese, I'm pretty interested to see the variations of food and the day-to-day lifestyles of it's inhabitants. Plus, I'm not going to lie... I'm hoping to kick off my boots, slip back into my flip flops and get some sun on my face. After living in Australia for a year, the lack of sunlight is killer over here. And although Chinese women relish pale complexions it's definitely not the best look for me.

What will I be doing on Chinese New Year's Day? I have no idea... but I know where I will be and I know who I will be with, which is the most important part. I've dusted (literally dusted, it's been under my bed) off my hiking backpack and have packed and repacked a couple times now. My Chinese - English dictionary is out and ready and my passport is back in it's case. Relatively, Tom and I have a pretty secure plan on getting to our destination... it's getting back that's the tricky part. If you don't hear from me for a while, have a fantastic rest of January! 

xīnnián kuàilè everyone! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little brother John, who is 22 today. There will be a position over here open once you graduate. Think about it.

Check for updates in two weeks!

xoxo

Em

Ps - Yes, Mom and Dad I have packed my epipen and inhaler.

the mad ones.

'the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars...' - jack kerouac

"this is china."

"this is china"

loud. rambunctious wheels, turning under heavy loads… with driver's legs as unsure as the wood they've been constructed out of. thousand endless days turning on like the rickety spheres, like the sculpted legs. unforgiving and tedious smells, rising and falling once more, blowing in the thick air. attaching to souls of feet and piles of hair. finding homes in colorless alley ways and bright lights. consistently changing, ebb and flow. the comfort in habitual actions that have outlasted generations of looters, explorers, lovers, and fighters. and the heartbreaking simplicity of it all... this is china.

foreigners, westerners, aliens... not familiar. like being dropped, slippery and blinking from a home where nourishment, comfort, and life were forged easily. never thinking, always trusting. predictable successes easily attainable. here we are... waltzing into the smoke of the unknown. twirling about with our ideas of how it all should be. stumbling, coughing when the fog wears, and the world is sideways and screaming. laughing nervously as we attempt to shake the dust and debris. slowing when it declares it's there to stay. growing accustomed and used to it. home is in the clouds, atop dozens of other wanderers, and under even more. commonalities are ordinary like rain, time, and sleep... all other details lost, overtaken by deafening reds and regal golds. this is china.

our mouths are filled with unnatural sounds... lips part in ways that need to be learned. catching phrases that last moments before slipping through cracks between our fingers, gaps between our teeth. tongues tasting, ravishing in bitter liquid and biting food. neighbors glistening with the day, perspiration and faded lines. snapping shells on street corners along side mountains of black, brown, grey, sooty street sweeps. the raging effort of movement, pressing... threatening... to expose you as new. this is china.

cigarette embers blaze while the tails of ash retire to the floor. clattering of dishes... heaped together in corners along with rusted children's toys. bamboo as stability... holding, protruding, guarding. as stuck together as the rich rice pressing against the roof of our mouths. swallowing completely, this life. shot of discrepancies through cores and patching it all up with new touches, new sounds, then feeling whole once more. this is china.

dark nights, hazy mornings... firecracker days. along hard roads, stone walls, and heavy puddles. splashing through and drinking in. paralyzed in moments where everything exists, but the curtain might be hauled up any instance. this is china.