Where I'm staying

According to the 2010 census, China has a population of more than 1 billion people (1,339,724,852 to be exact).  In 2010, Yunnan had a population of almost 46 million people. 

It will be interesting to see what this actually looks like on the ground.  I'd heard there are communities of people everywhere, and it took me some time to realize that even some of the quaint looking Dali and Lijiang are home to over a million people.  Shangri la is smaller, and Shaxi is so small that I couldn't find a population for it.....

Links to information and photos of the hotels and guesthouses that I've booked.....

Kunming - population 6+ million
Eway Xintiandi Hotel  $40/night

Dali - population 3+ million
Moonshine Inn  $27/night

Shaxi - population of Jianchuan County 170,000
Horse Pen 46 Hostel  $7/night

Lijiang - population 1+ million
Shanghai Family No. 68 Hostel  $10/night

Shangri la - population 130,000
Songtsam Hotel  $100/night
   

Open letter to Dr. Laura regarding God's Laws

Sorry, this has nothing to do with China, but it's one of the most entertaining things I've read in a long time....  I did see it while I was on the computer looking for images of China if that counts, listening to Pink Floyd who have had some of their albums released in China (by EMI China and China Record Shanghai Corp).  However, Richard Wright's solo album "Broken China" seems to have nothing to do with China the country.
http://www.yuricareport.com/Parody%20and%20Humor/OpenLetterToDrLaura.html

Itinerary

• Fly on Friday Sept 9 from Vancouver to Shanghai, then onto Kunming in the province of Yunnan. I arrive at 00:23 on Sept 11. There is a 15 hour time difference.
• Kunming, Dali, Shaxi, Lijiang, Shangri la (formerly Zhongdian), then a 14 hour bus trip back to Kunming.
• Depart Kunming on Wednesday Sept 28 at 7:30 am, arrive Wednesday Sept 28 in Vancouver at 9:30 am (yes, that's 2 hours later!)
• Back to work on Thurs Sept 29 - in great shape and raring to go I'm sure!

China with Provinces
Map of Yunnan
Hotel in Kunming

What I've learned so far....

• I have a passion for trip planning and it's a terrific part of the travel experience.
• Lots about China than I didn't know before.
• That I can reach out to people for help.
• There are incredible sources of information at my fingertips on the computer keyboard: translating programs, travel reviews, photos, e-mails to and from guesthouse proprietors, booking sites....  I've been able to find an answer to almost every question I’ve had, sometimes just by typing the question into Google.
• I need to trust my instincts more, which led me to Yunnan in the first place.
• It's cheaper to fly to China than to Canada's East Coast ($950 return)
• I can call and text to China!  My first call to a guesthouse in China filled me with trepidation although. I'd read that Lucy the proprietor could speak English. I was surprised when Lucy – who sounds like she’s in her 50s or 60s - suggested that I text her my e-mail address.  Off went my text to China and back came my reply – a surreal experience for my non-texting self.  To reach China I dial 011 + 86 + area code + phone number.
• There's a lot to see in China, and there are many sights I want to see that I’ve had to let go of for this trip. For my first time I’m staying on a fairly well-travelled tourist path and staying with attractions close to that path. 
• Ways to safeguard my health.   Most of these precautions aren’t covered by BC Health Care and aren’t cheap – and you need to plan ahead.  I was referred to a knowledgeable travel doctor (Dr. Johnson) by my GP. On the flip side, a nurse I know and respect who has travelled extensively doesn't get any innoculations to go and hasn't had any problems.
• IM shots for Hep A and B.
• Tetanus (covered by health care).
• Ingestible solution for Beijing Belly.
• Diamox for altitude sickness (above 3,000 metres).
• A prescription to take with me in case I get diarrhea.
• Consultation chat with the doctor about how to stay healthy.
• No Jet Lag, for jet lag.
• Insight into impacts on relationships.
• Travellers to China need a 3-month tourist visa. To get it I had to hand over my passport to Foster for 8 days, and when I got it back the visa was stamped on a page right in it – very cool looking!
• I’ve learned a lot about small computers – in particular the Acer Aspire One as I bought one 2nd hand for $100. It has a 9” screen and is very portable.  I also ventured into e-Bay to purchase a 6 cell battery. I wanted to take a computer with me to watch movies on the flight, bus trips, log my travels, and keep in touch with e-mails.

Getting Ready

My first post!  I decided to take this trip back in July - sitting in Chinatown having lunch, looking at a travel agency across the street dreaming again of going there, and then realizing that the only thing stopping me from going was me!

So far it's all been an adventure – deciding to go, plotting my trail, choosing accommodations, deciding what to take and shopping for what I don't have (mostly at the Village of Value). Part of the joy has been giving myself permission to indulge in the exploration I want to do.

I haven’t felt anxiety about launching into my trip yet, and I’m trying to plan for eventualities as much as possible – in recognition of the language barriers and possible panic at feeling lost and frustrated. I'm working on the language with phrase books, Mandarin lessons on CD, the Say It Right in Chinese translation system. I have Chinese and phonetic translations of place names and addresses that I checked with Foster (the Victoria agent from FlyGreatChina who arranged my travel), and translations from the accommodations themselves. I like the way Chinese sounds and feels  on my tongue.  I wonder if I'll have the courage to use it!  Well, I'm very comfortable with "Ni Hao"! (Hello)

Michelle told Ian that it will be good for me to do this trip.  She is a seasoned traveller and a wise person in many ways - in my imagination she meant that this will be an opportunity to: overcome some fears, experience the joy of travelling that we both share, and follow my dreams.

My cynical self knows that reality can be very different than the ideal. At the worst I might: not find China full of beauty, feel very out of place, stay in my room the whole time, get very sick, be lonely, go a little bit crazy, be in danger, have made the wrong choices, not remain open to the experience, and on and on.....  At the best I might find my wings and fly, be strengthened by my self-reliance, relish the license to set my own course, love my courage....  it’s likely that the reality will lie somewhere in between. I don’t want my practical self to drown out my best hopes.  And at the very least I will learn and I do love to learn.

Beth said that her trip to China changed her life as much as having a child.  I won’t speculate on how it might change mine. Maybe this trip really is motivated as a bucket list item, or it could be a distraction to keep my mind from going into negative places.  Perhaps both....