“It’s a Kinda Murder”
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007!
I m writing this blog entry from the airport in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Last year at this time, I resolved to get to this country. Although I had intended to get to the north (which I technically did as I flew into Beijing), I have come to he south upon the advice of friends as well as the warmer climate down here.
New year’s eve was spent in an "ancient" city called Dali (yes, like the painter). I put parenthesis around ancient b/c although some of the architecture remains true to it s traditional design, the town has transformed into a commercial venue for thise seeking to escape the urban jungle. All this said, I still had a great time there hanging out with fellow travellers, hiking in the mountains, and checking out the local hippie scene, which brings me to the title of this entry.
New year’s eve was spent in a 50 Bowls, a tiny jam-session bar. Surrounded by hemp lovers from all over, I listened to their hymns of social injustice. Most of it was genuinely good. I did have a moment of objectivity (aided in no doubt by the doobie that I had smoked earlier with some people at my guesthouse) when I listened to this probably-american guy sing his politically charged tune "It’s a kinda murder" As he sung about the social maladies in the this tiny niche of "idyllic" SW china, I couldn t help but bring to mind Phoebe’s (FRIENDS) "Smelly Cat, Ooh Smelly Cat.. it s not your fault" crusade for the betterment of impoverished feline friends. What can I say, I guess I’m a jaded urban tigress accustomed to the jungle. It was a good time though. After 50 Bowls, my new friends and I went down to a party at a guesthouse near Er-hai lake just outside of town. That was tragic (been there, done that about a decade ago, at frat parties in "downtown" Binghamton - " " - there goes the angry tigress again rearing her head). I retired at about 4 AM and took off to my guesthouse, The Bookworm.
Now it s time to move again. Today I’m taking off to Guilin, a bit east of Kunming. When pitted with the choice of a 30 hour train ride or a 1 hour plane ride, the airways seemed friendlier. Although the Plane ride is probably about 7 times the cost of the train ride, we re still talking about roughly 90 dollars. My daily debate here in China is whether to shell out the extra 4-5 bux and get alot more comfort. China is financially do-able, though I m sure that I’m getting ripped of b/c of my zero chinese ability. Maybe next time I’ll vogue and wind up getting a discount. I’ll try.
Seeing as I have a couple of more minutes on this computer… I ll sign off now… off to Guilin.
