Check out latest China trip photos.

[Rick Lee]

Just returned from my sixth trip to China. Last one was just before Covid. I came back on 12/05/2019 and was patient zero. A lot has changed since then.

We planned to do a lot of driving around Yunnan Province and my father in-law doesn’t like long drives. Mrs. Lee got her DL only after coming to the US, so cannot drive in China. And since she’s still a PRC citizen, cannot get a permit there. For citizens it’s license or nothing. But I’m a foreigner, so I was eligible for a permit. Oh man, that DMV experience was something to behold. Anyway, I’m legal there now.



China is now a total surveillance state. This was in the Beijing airport, but cameras are absolutely everywhere, even over every table in every restaurant.



I saw almost no police and not a single gun in two weeks, other than in a museum, and I think even that one was fake. The cameras keep everyone honest and I’m told there is just no more street crime. You can leave your phone and wallet at your table when you go to the restroom and they will be there when you return. In fact, Mrs. Lee’s folks left a gift in an “unauthorized” taxi who picked us up at the airport and were able to track him back down from the guard shack camera at their apt. complex to get it back.

This was a breakfast place we went to in Kunming. They butchered the cow right there in front of the door, had to walk through the blood to get in.



Excellent and cheap breakfast. Hey, the beef was fresh.


China is almost totally cashless now. Even the roadside fruit stand only accepts cash app payment via QR code. I had about $150 USD equivalent leftover from my last trip and it was very hard to get rid of.


Wedding photos are a ginormous industry in China. I felt sorry for all the couples hiking up into these mountains with full wedding attire on. This one was at probably only 7000’. But there were plenty headed up to 14,000’ in the gondola.



My reading glasses always tend to break when I’m traveling and away from all my spares at home. So we went to buy more. Hadn’t heard of this brand before.



More to come.

[masraum]

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

[look 171]

We were there about 6 years ago or was it 7. Even back then in some small city deep into the mountains in Sechun the old ladies selling apples or fruit off the street are using their phone for a couple Yuens of Apples. A whole bunch of old ladies sitting on the park benches are on their phone sharing who knows what. I feel so dumb next to them not knowing how to fully use my I phone to my advantage. Since I am not a citizen, so no bank account therefor no credit card or somehow set up Wechat to pay for stuff. Out guide took care of most of the transactions and we were able to reimburse them.

[Cajundaddy]

Thanks for sharing Rick. It is indeed a very different place from when we were there in 2007, just before the Olympics. Several people we knew were in China as teachers at the time and they all got out between 2015-2019. I am sure it is still an amazing place.

[LWJ]

This is amazing. I have traveled a bit and so much of what you wrote is completely new to me. Wow. More please.

[Tim Hancock]

Very interesting... Thanks for posting!

[flatbutt]

Hi Rick, what would it be like if you weren't traveling with someone fluent in the language and culture? I've always wanted to go but I have no clue about either.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Awesome, please post more. I have done a brief stay in Japan and several weeks in S. Korea, I find Asian cultures to be a fascinating mix between history, tradition, and technology.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Hi Rick, what would it be like if you weren't traveling with someone fluent in the language and culture? I've always wanted to go but I have no clue about either.

I went there twice on my own before I knew Mrs. Lee, actually met her in VA. First time was January, 2005. I had been engaged to a woman, co-incidentally also from the same city as where Mrs. Lee grew up, and the engagement broke off. By then I was so damn curious about China, I just had to go. I took some classes at a local high school, but they kept canceling the level 3 classes because I was the only person who signed up. So I booked a flight from Newark to Hong Kong, non-stop, no tour, and just went by myself. I had gotten involved in a chat forum a while before and had some offers of local help in a few cities. A guy, who I thought was a Chicom, offered to come get me at the HK airport and take me to Shenzhen and then Guangzhou.

He turned out to be as white as I am, was an Aussie expat arms dealer, spoke Chinese, had a driver, a bodyguard (former local cop) and really gave me a great intro into how things work in Mainland China. Once he dropped me off in Guangzhou, I was on my own and it was like getting hit the face with a bat. Just a different planet and Cantonese is nothing like Mandarin. Two local ladies I had met on that chat board really helped me out and I'm in touch with them to this day. Ditto for when I went to Chengdu and Xi'an.

English was pretty rare there back then, even in the hotels. Sometimes women would just walk up on the street and want to chat to practice their English. But I sure spent a lot of time on my own and trying to figure things out. Getting food on my own was tough. At one point I walked for miles before I found a restaurant with photos on menu. That was before iPhones and Google Translate. Street vendors were much easier to deal with for food. I ate things that'd make a billy goat puke and I never had the slightest stomach problems there.

Now that I always go with Mrs. Lee, I've really gotten lazy. She handles everything for me and I'm rarely on my own. I kind of like the feeling of getting myself into situations, purposely knocking on the wrong door, starting a chat with someone I know I can't finish, getting lost, etc. I don't get to do that as much anymore with Mrs. Lee always by my side and her folks usually nearby. Next time I really want to spend some time in Korea and/or Vietnam before I head to China. Mrs. Lee won't want to do that, so I'll get to do some adventure travel on my own then.

[Rick Lee]

Random street scene in Nanjing.



These fried bread sticks are the best.



Picking out the raw stuff we want grilled for us.



Absolutely epic and cheap meal in Lijiang. From left to right - eggplant, beef skewers, lamb skewers and fish, all spicey.


I think this is the daughter of the owners of the restaurant where we ate in the above photo.



It turned out we didn’t need these because we could not get tix for the gondola all the way up to the real elevation. But we used them anyway, just to not have to carry them anymore. I really think they were just filled with normal air.



It was kind of cool seeing monkeys in the wild. Watching these guys jump and climb was pretty amazing. I don’t think there’s anything they cannot easily reach.

[javadog]

Man, that scene with the cow is beyond my ability to tolerate.

Nope, not going there...

[Rick Lee]

You think the beef you bought at Safeway is better? The beef in that photo is as fresh as it gets.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

You think the beef you bought at Safeway is better? The beef in that photo is as fresh as it gets.

Fresher, no.

Also, not dissected on a dirty alley pavement. I'm bothered both by the lack of hygiene and the depravity of it.

I grew up in Singapore at a time when the food hawkers worked on carts out in the street, so it's not completely unfamiliar to me. That's just too far.

Enjoy, it's all yours.

The rest of your photos are interesting.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by javadog

Man, that scene with the cow is beyond my ability to tolerate.

Nope, not going there...

100%. That right there told me to never go.

[MBAtarga]

I feel the same way as those two guys ^

[RANDY P]

Pretty cool. Do they call it "DWA" (Driving While American) there?

rjp

[Arizona_928]

don't forget to wear your seatbelt and not to smoke while driving.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

don't forget to wear your seatbelt and not to smoke while driving.

Cameras absolutely everywhere, even over each table in a restaurant, keep people honest. But I saw plenty of people smoking in cars.

[LWJ]

I am fine with the cow slaughter. Cultures are different. Police surveillance state? Mmmm. That one is tough to swallow.