The overnight train to Dali from Kunming was booked out of a week, so rather than take the expensive new bus, we opted for 7 hours daytime train. This is me relaxing in the spacious top bunk (note the sheepish "i'm going to take a nap now" expression and the new shoes... stylin') - we shared a cabin with a grandma and grandpa with their granddaughter. She made friends and soon we were surrounded by very interested kids and more food than we could refuse - processed pork pieces, miso soup, plum lollies, strips of nori seaweed and other yummies. Each cabin was supplied with an urn of hot water for making up tea nd instant noodles. Made for a great journey and certainly the winner over a bus, at a third the price.
While these girls were super sweet, well behaved, and obviously spoiled a bit by Nan and Pop, I witnessed two parents berating their 11 or 12 yr old boy, both physically and verbally, for at least an hour. The boy was in tears for most of that time - as you'd expect after being slapped in the face by your dad on a public train. While they got a few disapproving stares from other Chinese, generally they were ignored as they yelled and pointed fingers in his face, and it was tough not to intervene.
Little Emperors - the result of the one child policy in China (where there's 12% more boys than girls born, and you know that's not an accident). While this one was obviously under a truckload of pressure, I've also seen elderly women stand for little boys on buses... It's a weird situation and I wonder how these little boys will grow up.
Anyway, once we arrived at New Dali city (still 30 min from the tourist destination), we jumped straight on a #8 bus from the train station - no changing required (Lonley Planet 0, us, 1)
No comments:
Post a Comment